BANFF – Banff’s building and development permit revenues dropped off in 2022 compared to a record breaking year in 2021.
In 2022, about $388,900 was collected in activity revenue compared to just over $1 million the year before; however, revenues are looking to rebound in 2023 with a projection of $632,000.
“We’ve just come off two record years for building permit revenue in our community and so that’s a real testament to reinvestment in our commercial sector during COVID-19,” said Darren Enns, the director of planning and development for the Town of Banff.
“We’re experiencing a bit of a lull in 2022 in terms of revenue in building permits, which is usually a fairly substantive area.”
Coun. Hugh Pettigrew questioned the impacts of the federally-legislated commercial development cap on the planning department’s workload and staffing levels over the long-term.
“Basically, the area redevelopment plan at the train station is the last commercial allotment that might come,” he said.
“We’ve had some pretty significant redevelopment come though … I don’t know if we are going to see a repeat of that and how that affects the long-term of the planning department and staffing.”
Enns said there was a perception there would be a period of stagnation following introduction of the commercial growth cap in 1998 and subsequent distribution of commercial allotments through the lottery.
“What we’ve experienced is something different. We are seeing redevelopment being the norm in Banff," he said, adding there was reinvention of current spaces as opposed to construction of new floor area once the cap was reached.
“Redevelopment won’t stop, but it will stop in the sense of expansion of new floor area. I think the commercial sector, which has been very vibrant for the last few years, will continue to show strength.”
In terms of the big picture long-range planning and policy development, 2023 is shaping up to be a big year for the planning and development department, particularly with the review and update of the Banff Community Plan.
In addition, current policy planning activities include the area redevelopment plan for the train station lands, housing and parking cash-in-lieu policies, heritage resources, off-site levies bylaw and seasonal lighting.
“It’s jam-packed is the best way to put it,” Enns said.
The planning and development department is set to get a partially granted-funded intern position to help with the busy workload. It has been supported by council in service review, but won’t get final approval until budget deliberations, which are scheduled for Jan. 18 following conclusion of service review on Jan. 9 and 11.
Alberta’s Municipal Internship Program is Canada’s longest running program of its kind, providing support to municipalities and planning service agencies to build capacity in the municipal sector by developing recent post-secondary graduates to become future leaders in municipal government.
The planning and development department explored this grant opportunity in order to bolster permit processing times, customer service, and policy development through a municipal intern, which would be an 18-month, partially grant funded position.
The total cost for the program is $55,000 in 2023, with the province picking up $27,000 of the that, and $61,000 in 2024 and the province chipping in $33,000.
