HomeMy WebLinkAboutFIN-2022-155 - Streamline Development Approval Fund (SDAF)
REPORT TO: Committee of the Whole
DATE OF MEETING: March 21, 2022
SUBMITTED BY: Ryan Hagey, Director of Financial Planning & Reporting, 519-741-2200
ext. 7353
PREPARED BY: Ryan Hagey, Director of Financial Planning & Reporting, 519-741-2200
ext. 7353
Mike Seiling, Director of Building, 519-741-2200 ext. 7669
WARD(S) INVOLVED: All Wards
DATE OF REPORT: March 15, 2022
REPORT NO.: FIN-2022-155
SUBJECT: Streamline Development Approval Fund (SDAF)
RECOMMENDATION:
That a total budget of $1,625,000 be established for Streamline Development Approval
Fund (SDAF) projects; and,
That funding for $625,000 be budgeted and transferred from the Building Stabilization
reserve fund with the balance coming from the SDAF grant; and
That the Chief Financial Officer and General Manager of Development Services be
delegated authority, subject to the satisfaction of the City Solicitor, to sign any relevant
documentation and/or agreements pertaining to the Streamline Development Approval
Fund; and further,
That Council Approval Authority be waived, in accordance with the Purchasing By-law,
for the Procurement of Consulting Services greater than $100,000, for any project that is
partially or fully funded from the SDAF.
REPORT HIGHLIGHTS:
The purpose of this report is to approve the transfer of $625,000 from the Building
Stabilization fund to contribute to the SDAF projects and waive one requirement of the
purchasing by-law due to the tight timeframe to complete the work.
The financial implications include $1M of grant funding and $625,000 of Building enterprise
funding. Any implementation costs beyond the eligible project period would be identified as
part of the annual budgeting process.
Community engagement occurred with several interested parties as part of the Development
Services Review, the Audit and Accountability Fund, and a Council Strategic Session.
This report supports the delivery of core services.
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BACKGROUND:
On January 19th, 2022 the Province of Ontario announced a new $45 million Streamline
Development Approval Fund (SDAF). The fund outlines a range of eligible initiatives related to
streamlining development approvals initiatives. This includes things like e-permitting systems,
temporary staff (including fulltime staff or interns) to address backlogs in residential development
approvals, online application portals, and other provincial priorities. The City of Kitchener is
eligible for $1 million in funding through this initiative.
Through engagement with the development industry, agencies, Council and residents on the
Development Services Review, follow up work through the Digital Transformation Solution
ability Fund, and the Council Strategic
Session on Priorities for the Planning Division in August 2021 the City of Kitchener has a clearly
articulated set of eligible initiatives to advance.
SDAF timelines are very tight, with final reporting required by February 2023. Any unfinished
work would also be unfunded by SDAF. Because of this, staff are requesting the delegation of
authority to award SDAF related work to streamline the procurement process This would save
between 20-60 days, which would increase the likelihood of work being completed within the
funding timelines set out by SDAF.
REPORT:
Based on previous feedback, staff have developed a list of projects that can be funded by the
Streamline Development Approval Fund. In addition to the $1M provided by SDAF, staff are
recommending supplemental funding of $625,000 be provided by the Building enterprise to help
move ahead some highest priority projects that would not be fully covered by the SDAF grant.
The different projects and their funding sources are shown in the table below.
Proposed SDAF Projects and Funding Sources
# Item SDAF Building
1
status checking, interaction between the applicant and staff, fee
payments, online application forms, submission of supporting X X
documents and drawings, and automated file management
workflow
2 Software and licenses needed to streamline development review
X X
processes (AMANDA, Bluebeam, AutoCAD, etc.)
3 Hire a Project Manager or Digital Transformation Associate to be
a dedicated resources to support all digital transformation X
initiatives
4 Two temporary, full-time contract positions to assist in
development review activities where there is the greatest need to X
deal with backlogs.
5 Additional three co-op students to support greatest needs related
X
to development approval backlogs
6 Third-party consultant for Parks process review to streamline
X
subdivision review, design and approval stages
7 Consulting fee-for-service resources to undertake to support new
X
housing types, including but not limited to: inclusionary zoning,
missing middle, secondary plans, as well as background studies
to inform the next Official Plan
8 Community Improvement Plan (CIP) Study, with a focus on
X
affordable housing
9 Develop an online meeting/booking system for pre-consultation
and Site Plan Review Committee meetings for development X
applications
10 Additional purchase of mobile technologies for digital onsite
X
inspections to streamline development approval timelines
STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT:
This report supports the delivery of core services.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
There is no approved budget for SDAF projects, since the funding announcement was
unexpected at the time the 2022 budget was set. The table below outlines the total budget and
the contributions from the SDAF grant and the Building enterprise.
Proposed Budget for SDAF Projects
Funding Source Amount
Streamline Development Approval Fund (SDAF) $1,000,000
Transfer from Building Stabilization Reserve Fund $625,000
Total $1,625,000
The Building Stabilization reserve fund balance at the end of 2021 was $14.5M, which is more
informed the Kitchener Development Liaison Committee (KDLC)
supplement the SDAF grant with $625,000 of funding from the Building enterprise and there was
no objection from the group to do so.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT:
INFORM a in advance of the
council / committee meeting.
PREVIOUS REPORTS/AUTHORITIES:
No formal report has been previously provided to Council on this matter, but information
th
regarding SDAF was shared on January 28, 2022 via email (from Justin Readman, General
Manager of Development Services).
APPROVED BY: Jonathan Lautenbach, Chief Financial Officer, Financial Services.
Justin Readman, General Manager, Development Services