A backlog of building permit applications in White Rock has business owners feeling the pressure and officials say, for some, the associated financial burden is verging on untenable.
RELATED: Permit-application backlog prompts White Rock to seek outside help
“They’re carrying a very expensive commercial lease without any revenue coming in, which is a recipe for having a lot of businesses who will simply walk away,” said Alex Nixon, president of the White Rock Business Improvement Association.
Although walking away was never an option for restaurateur Lan Do, she said opening a second location of Bánh Mì Très Bon, a Vietnamese restaurant, on Johnston Road presented unforeseen challenges, as the permit took six months longer than she was initially told it would.
“That was probably the hardest part because it cost us a lot of money while we waited for that permit for an entire year,” Do told Peace Arch News.
“Everything went up (in price) so it was difficult. I know there was nothing (the city) could do but it was really difficult financially.”
Given a range of three to six months, Do said she planned everything carefully, anticipating that the permit would get approved closer to the six-month mark.
She hired a construction company after signing the lease and began ordering equipment, all of which sat in storage, resulting in more costs.
“The supplier had to push out our inventory and then when it was time to get the permit, then we paid 30 per cent more,” Do explained.
“Everyone came back saying (equipment) went up in price, I’d say anywhere from 20 to 30 per cent like my flooring, all the materials that I used for furniture. Labour went up, so everything came back ‘Sorry, we can’t charge you what we quoted you a year ago.’”
“It’s in the queue” is what Do would hear every time the business followed up with the city about the status of the permit. She described the situation as “sitting idle for a year.”
From Richmond, where her first location of the Vietnamese restaurant opened, Do said she did not know about the permit process until later.
“Yes, it’s frustrating,” she said, but the staffing challenges at city hall were understandable and “they did the best they could.”
Having her restaurant open to customers since June 7, however, has made it worth it for Do.
“I actually moved to White Rock from Richmond (just before opening). I just want to be here,” she added.
“It’s surreal, it’s been two-and-a-half years waiting to see customers sitting in my restaurant eating and smiling and just sharing the food with family and friends… I achieved what I wanted to achieve.”
Not all businesses in the area have reached that point yet, however.
Thrifty Foods and Fieldstone Bread have still not opened their doors at their two White Rock locations.
Thrifty Foods’ new location was announced for Miramar Village a year ago by Alycia Kamer, director of commercial leasing at Bosa Properties, but the supermarket has yet to open its doors.
Under a LinkedIn post from Kamer, a user asked four months ago when the storefront at 15181 Thrift Ave. would open. She replied by saying that the tenant has been waiting more than 14 months for a permit from the City.
“Once those are in hand, they will be about 5 months to opening! We are hoping for the fall,” Kamer’s reply continued.
Neither Fieldstone nor Thrifty Foods has yet responded to PAN’s request for comment.
The City of White Rock’s communications department confirmed that Thrifty and Fieldstone are both active files, but would not comment further, citing confidentiality.
“I do have a lot of sympathy for the city of White Rock, I think it’s operating in a really challenging environment. The city of White Rock isn’t able to pay the same salaries as our neighbouring municipalities. That said, we have encouraged the city to look at its processes and see if there’s any way to streamline (them),” Nixon said.
“We keep seeing businesses with signs up that haven’t opened yet and I know it’s because of permitting issues. Unnecessary delays just add significant stress and make it very hard for them to survive. I know of several businesses that went through permitting process that barely scraped by because it took so long.”
A staffing shortage has been cited among the key reasons for the “significant” backlog, as well as “quite a bit” of turnaround in the planning department that occurred in 2021, chief administrative officer Guillermo Ferrero said previously.
In February, council pre-approved the hiring of two additional permanent staff for the city’s planning department to address challenges as soon as possible.
“We have hired the new clerk position, filling a much-needed support role for the department,” an update from the city to PAN reads.
“We have also recently hired a building official 1 so that less complex files can be processed more efficiently. We have continued to utilize the supports of casual staff to progress permit applications to issuance while we recruit the building official 3 position.”
An industry skills shortage was cited as a challenge in filling the role to this point.
Two more positions are expected to be added, one in 2024 and another in 2025, as outlined in city council’s strategic priorities for the four-year term until 2026.
- with files from Tracy Holmes
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