The Land Use Bylaw Project: Development Permit Forms

We’ve got new development permits!

Traditionally, The Town of High Level development permits were a one-size-fits-all affair. And let’s be honest, they weren’t the easiest forms to navigate. And it could be difficult trying to fit all the information on a single page!

This usually meant that you would fill out the permit and submit it, and then we would call you to go through the form and ask you for even more information, and it was… a lot.

Our new forms have plenty of room for all of the necessary information, which helps speed the process along faster because we won’t need to call you to make you go through everything and fill in all the gaps. 

This change has sped up the process considerably – development permits now have an average turn-around of two days, when it used to take a week or more. The forms have a checklist, and all you need to do is complete the checklist and then bring it in and we can get the process moving.

We now have different development permit forms that you can pick depending on your needs:

We have one residential permit that is relevant for R-1, R-2, R-3, and R-4 Land Use Districts – you just mark off which one you need and away you go!

We have another form for commercial and industrial developments, relevant for C-1, C-2, C-3, and industrial use.

And then we have another form for all other Land Use Districts – meaning Community Use, Agricultural, Park, Direct Control and Environmental Reserve districts would all fall under this permit form.

For other purposes, we have a Land Use Bylaw amendment form for people who would like to rezone their property or request changes to the Land Use Bylaw – these applications go straight to Council and bypass Administration.

We have an application form for Demolition permits, as we believe this is something that was overlooked for many years. This form would include information regarding removal of material – in other words, a proposed route through town from the property to the landfill. Particularly if the property includes hazardous materials such as asbestos, as we need to know how those materials will be handled and disposed of.

Finally, we have a new application form for signage. Signage is surprisingly complicated, as it covers everything from temporary signs to billboards. And all those different types of signs require different supplemental documentation from blueprints to conceptual design.

There are a couple of important underlying threads for these permit application forms. If you are the applicant but not the registered landowner, we need a signature from the landowner prior to processing the permit paperwork. Another is that we need to know the estimated project value of the development, even if it is a small project!

Safety Codes permit fees are calculated based upon the project value, and it is often something missed by applicants, causing unnecessary delays. Project value information is also vital to how the Government of Canada tracks revenue sources for the Town – and the Government of Alberta likes to use this as an indicator when they prepare their annual construction statistics.

Finally, a big change is how you access them. While we continue to have paper copies on hand, you are also now able to access them online as fillable PDF forms. That means you can download the form, fill it out online, add a digital signature, and send it to our new email address specifically made for development – it’s right in the name! development@highlevel.ca.

You can find these forms online under Development here:

http://highlevel.ca/277/Forms-Permits

The Town of High Level is currently reviewing and developing their Land Use Bylaw. As part of that process, local residents are strongly encouraged to take part in the process and help direct future development in High Level.

For more information, please contact Hayley Gavin, Land Use and Planning Manager, by phone at 780-502-0778 or by email at development@highlevel.ca.  

A complete list of all proposed changes to the Land Use Bylaw is available HERE.