AECO and RESCON hope pilot sets the stage for Ontario-wide digital approval process, The Canadian Business Journal

Vaughan, Oct. 6, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The AECO Innovation Lab, the Ontario Homebuilding Council (RESCON), and the One Ontario Consortium announced that CMHC will implement a centralized One Simcoe County housing development approval process. Window Digital Platform to streamline and modernize. The pilot can serve as a model for a more streamlined development review process across Ontario.

AECO CEO Arash Shahi said: “The blueprint we have developed will help remove barriers, eliminate data silos, process applications faster, and improve housing affordability in the region.”

Funding for this initiative is being made available through CMHC’s Housing Challenge. AECO has worked and partnered with regulators, counties, local governments, conservation agencies, leading agencies, and others to create a blueprint for implementing the platform. This includes a portal for submissions, a data exchange platform to enable information transfer between groups, application tracking to support applicants and inform policy decisions, improve efficiency, reduce errors, and improve efficiency between municipalities. Includes a workflow engine for developing seamless processes that improve communication. , indigenous communities, etc.

Currently, the housing project process is lengthy and complex, resulting in delays and increased costs that lead to higher home prices, lower supply, and fewer affordable housing units. Streamlining communication makes it easier for all parties to handle and gives developers certainty. Simcoe is ideal for pilots because the county has a mix of urban, rural and Indigenous perspectives.

The platform has three main parts:

• standardized One window portal This allows the applicant to submit a set of drawings and documents, which is used to communicate the status of the application to the applicant.
• Ann Intelligent data exchange platform This will ensure that the application is complete and accessible to relevant staff within municipalities, counties and applicable agencies. The system can track when submissions are made, documents are uploaded, communications are made, or approvals are granted.
• a Regional Development Application Manager It is used to track applications in county workflow, document management, drawing reviews, and other application management tools.

“This proof-of-concept pilot will help tackle the housing crisis by setting the stage for a more efficient development review process, streamlining the approval system and reducing costs across Ontario,” said Rescon President. said Richard Lyall of “We have supported this initiative because the lack of a standardized process makes development applications more complex, time-consuming, fragmented, and introduces delays that impact housing affordability and supply. CMHC is well on its way and I hope the state will provide the funding to move the needle further.”

Both AECO and RESCON argue that there is an urgent need for a connected and integrated development approval system at the regional and state levels. Each time the project is delayed, the 125 low-rise and 125 high-rise homes incur additional costs of $456,000 and $276,000, respectively. This is due to loan maintenance costs, increased local government levies, and inflation.

A more efficient system will allow local governments to see property taxes and other charges from projects sooner. As a result, additional earnings can be spent on initiatives such as creating inclusive places within the community or supporting more affordable housing projects.

After being implemented in Simcoe County, AECO is considering expanding the initiative to Ontario and other parts of Canada. The platform expands to accommodate different needs.

AECO Innovation Lab is an industry consortium dedicated to developing solutions to pressing problems facing the architecture, engineering and construction sectors.

Rescon An association of the state’s leading homebuilders committed to providing industry leadership and fostering innovation.

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