Colin Shen, the owner of an up-and-coming business, Yudi Patisserie, has been waiting for almost seven months to get a building permit to start renovations.
Since he submitted his application in March, Shen has spent almost $28,000 on rent and insurance for a vacant shop.
“It’s just been taking too long. And many times… we send email(s), we call the city hall, we call Vancouver Coastal Health and we rarely get any response,” said Shen.
Shen had expected the processing time to take around four months, having spoken to business owners in Vancouver and Burnaby. His friend, who applied for a permit in Richmond around the same time, also got his just after four months.
This unforeseen long and costly waiting process has left Shen feeling “frustrated,” as he can’t open his shop until renovations are complete.
“I feel like nobody really cared about the small business owners,” he said.
Shen was “surprised” to finally see the light at the end of the tunnel this week, after receiving an email notifying him that the health inspection has been completed and he should be receiving his permit soon. He credits it to the fact that he reached out to city council for help.
“After we sent the email to city council, everything goes forward so smoothly. And it’s done in like one and a half weeks!” he said.
Not a unique case
Au and other Richmond Community Coalition Association (RCCA) candidates met with business owners including Shen earlier last week to discuss delays with permits.
A big issue with the current system is the lack of communication between the city and Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH), according to Shen. He thinks part of the delay could have been because people in the city and VCH who were in charge of his application had taken consecutive vacations back in May, and no one took over while they were gone.
He also wishes the system were more transparent.
“We don’t know what’s going on. We don’t know what to expect. If we don’t know what’s going on there, we’re going to keep calling them, keep bothering them.
“But that’s the thing we both don’t want,” Shen said.
Shen’s case is by no means unique, explained Au, as he usually gets four to five similar requests per month. In some cases, business owners have had to wait up to 11 months or even two years to get their permits.
“The important thing is that for businesses that are carrying leases, they’re carrying mortgage, they’re paying property taxes. These weights are really expensive, and for new entrepreneurs, that’s a huge disadvantage,” said Shaena Furlong, president and CEO of the Richmond Chamber of Commerce.
However, Furlong thinks the new electronic tools launched by the city this summer, including the MyBusiness portal, should give businesses “more control” over their application.
Mayor Malcolm Brodie, who is also seeking re-election, said the city is always working to “revise and upgrade” the business licence and permit application system to make it more “responsive,” and such electronic tools are part of its efforts.
“In general, the city does a pretty good job,” said Brodie, explaining that, while he has heard of a couple of incidents like Shen’s, it’s not always a clear-cut and simple issue.
The system has to change
RCCA, the party Au belongs to, has some ideas to help streamline business applications as part of its campaign platform.
“(It) shouldn’t be the case that somebody like the city council has to intervene in order to get things done,” said Au, who thinks the city can start by simplifying the application forms and streamlining the decision-making process.
“For example, (RCCA candidates) propose that there could be a joint meeting right from the beginning with the application and the city and VCH… So everything that could be sorted out, could be sorted out right in the beginning,” he said.
He also hopes to set up a “monitoring system” to keep track of the application progress and hire more people to increase the city’s capacity to fast-track such applications.
Incumbent Coun. Carol Day, running with RITE Richmond, has also heard similar complaints and has a similar suggestion. Having worked with businesses facing such delays, Day said the main reason behind them is usually deficiencies in the applications.
“The city should do a better job at following up on those deficiencies,” she said, adding these reminders could help applicants who might not be familiar with the process.
The timeline for permit applications at the moment is “basically open ended,” Au added and said the ideal processing time should be two to three months.
“I think, basically, it goes back to how can we help small business people to get back onto their feet, or making it easier for people who want to do business in Richmond,” he said.
But setting a timeframe for permit applications might not be a viable solution, said Day, as the waiting time might vary depending on the type of permit and work. Since the trades are in high demand as of late, it could take some time before business owners can hire someone.
Both Au and Day acknowledged that city staffing shortages might also contribute to such delays.
“I would love to see the city commit to a standard timeline for building alterations in commercial and industrial buildings. And I think it’s critical that we have adequate staff as a city to help our businesses launch on schedule,” said Furlong.
As Richmond gears up for the Oct. 15 civic elections, Au hopes voters and the city will consider this issue.
“Not too many talk about the economic issue of how difficult it is for people to make a living in terms of trying to start a business,” he said.
“This is an issue that we have to address if we want the city to be really business-friendly and to help with the economy.”
