Practical commitments. Measurable results.

Permitting and business services that people can count on

North Vancouver should be an easy place to improve a home, open a business and invest in our community. Applicants deserve clear expectations, consistent requirements and an honest account of where delays occur.

A first coordinated review means an approval or one consolidated list of required changes. The service clock starts when the City confirms an application is complete and pauses when the City is waiting for information from the applicant.

• ✓Give complex development applications a named contact and written processing schedule within 10 business days of being accepted as complete.
• ✓Measure City review time separately from time spent waiting for information from an applicant.
• ✓Give every applicant one clear point of contact and a straightforward view of the status of the file.
• ✓Identify and coordinate requirements early so applicants do not encounter changing interpretations later.
• ✓Ask customers whether the process was clear, timely and consistent.
• ✓Report results quarterly, including median and 90th-percentile processing times, review cycles, major causes of delay and customer satisfaction.
• ✓Meet each published standard in at least 90 percent of eligible cases and explain missed targets to the applicant.
• ✓Measure workload at intake, plan review and inspection so Council can see where improvements are needed.

Tell people how long it should take. Measure how long it actually takes. Ask how the City performed. Publish the results. Then improve the system.

A Local Business Health Report

New commercial space is not the same as a healthy local business community. The City should measure whether independent businesses can open, operate and remain in North Vancouver.

• ✓Publish an annual report on business openings, closures and commercial vacancies.
• ✓Track storefront sizes, business-licence processing times and displacement caused by redevelopment.
• ✓Report commercial asking rents when reliable information is available.
• ✓Measure conditions before and after major parking, bike-lane and streetscape changes.
• ✓Use the results to identify recurring barriers and guide practical improvements.

Experience matters. So do results you can measure.

Lonsdale Cross Streets

A vibrant city needs more than large commercial spaces and activity concentrated in one district. Appropriate side streets off Lonsdale can make room for useful neighbourhood businesses and more homes.

• ✓Support human-scaled mixed-use development on appropriate Lonsdale side streets.
• ✓Encourage small, adaptable storefronts instead of only large generic commercial units.
• ✓Make room for cafés, repair shops, small grocers, dog services, studios and independent retailers.
• ✓Allow housing and workspaces above street-level businesses where appropriate.
• ✓Connect clearer zoning with faster decisions for complete, compliant business applications.
• ✓Build a more active evening economy beyond the Shipyards.

A vibrant city needs businesses that can afford to open, serve their neighbours and stay.

Infrastructure alongside growth

Growth can strengthen North Vancouver, but it has to work in practice. Transportation, schools, parks and public services should be planned with new development rather than treated as a later correction.

• ✓Assess infrastructure needs when growth is planned, not only after new residents arrive.
• ✓Make transportation, parks and public-service requirements visible in major growth decisions.
• ✓Report whether promised infrastructure is funded, scheduled and delivered.
• ✓Work with the District, TransLink, the school district and the Province where responsibilities cross municipal boundaries.
• ✓Judge plans by measurable results for residents, not announcements alone.

Infrastructure arriving after overcrowding is not the same as infrastructure planning.