Despite seemingly being pretty well built out and the municipality being constrained by the Agricultural Land Reserve, the City of Delta over the past decade continued to grow when it comes building activity.
Delta planning staff provide council with monthly updates but recently provided with a summary of building permit and land use applications for an 11-year period from 2009 to 2019.
Here’s how things grew when it comes to building permits and plumbing permits for new construction and renovations for single-detached dwellings including renovations, agricultural, multi-family, commercial, industrial, institutional and miscellaneous permits.
According to the planning department which used 2009 (1,231 permits) as the base point for the number of permits issued, the volume of building permits increased over the years averaging an annual increase of 20 per cent.
In 2011, however, the number of permits issued (1,260 permits) increased by just two per cent.
Permit issuance peaked in 2019 by 39 per cent, totaling 1,713 permits.
The average yearly number of permits issued during the 11 year period was 1,451.
City of Delta report
Meanwhile, as far as building permit construction value for the building permit applications issued, using 2009 ($154 million) as the base point for the construction value, the value increased over the years averaging an annual increase of 63 per cent.
In 2010 and 2011, the construction value decreased slightly, while it peaked in 2017 by 144 per cent over the base year, amounting to $376 million.
The average yearly construction value during the 11 year period was $251 million.
When it comes to applications received for a Regional Growth Strategy amendment, Official Community Plan amendment, Land Use Contract discharge, rezoning, development variance permit, development permit, subdivision, temporary use permit, agricultural, Board of Variance, heritage, liquor licence, pre-application meetings and restrictive covenant amendments, using 2009 (198 permits) as the base point, the number of applications received increased over the years, averaging an annual increase of 69 per cent.
Total land use applications received peaked in 2016 with a 132 per cent increase over the base year, totaling 459 applications that year.
In 2019, however, the number of applications received decreased by 25 per cent from the base year, with a total of 148 applications.
One factor was the elimination of the North Delta Development Permit process, according to planning staff.
The planning department also notes that, additionally, the decrease in development permit variance and Board of Variance applications is largely attributed to the adoption of the new zoning bylaw.
The number of land use applications, though, does not reflect level of complexity of files, while the department has seen a growing number of larger and more complex comprehensive developments, multiple-family and mixed-use projects, as well as industrial applications, during the 11 year period.
