The northwest Alberta resource city wants developers to know it's made great progress in streamlining development approvals. Grande Prairie recently snagged a silver award from the Institute of Public Administration of Canada for the creation and implementation of its LEAN pilot project.
By taking a look at its internal and external practises, city admin streamlined the permitting process to an average 14-day turnaround for permits, compared with a 41-day average in the past.
Development permitting manager Valerie Norris-Kirk says the city needed to be willing to look at things differently. "Administration had to be open to discussion to understand what [customers] considered barriers."
In addition, city staff worked to better educate applicants on what's required to move their permits quickly through Grande Prairie's approval system.
– Compiled by David Hudal
from Western Investor April 2013
