Benchmarking the GTA’s municipal development application process

Altus Insights Podcast Series

Date: October 11, 2022

Name of podcast: Altus Insights Podcast Series

Episode title and number: Episode 11 - Benchmarking the GTA’s municipal development application process

Episode summary: Daryl Keleher, Senior Director in Altus Group’s Economic Consulting practice, joins Marlon Bray and Raymond Wong to discuss a very recent GTA municipal benchmark study Altus Group undertook on behalf of BILD. In this episode Daryl, Marlon and Ray walk through some of the more eye-opening findings from the study which draw connections between housing affordability and municipal processes and policies.

Mentioned in this episode:

• BILD Municipal Benchmarking Study – GTA – 2nd edition

Panelists in this episode:

· Daryl Keleher is Senior Director at Altus Group Economic Consulting, having been there now for 15 years. He is a registered professional planner (RPP), land economist and is a frequent expert witness at the Ontario Land Tribunal. Daryl specializes in matters related to municipal finance, provincial and municipal planning policy, housing and commercial real estate markets. His clients are a mix of municipalities, home builders, developers, and public agencies.

· Raymond Wong is the Vice President of Data Operations for Altus Group’s Data Solutions team. Overseeing 60+ researchers across Canada, Ray’s primary responsibility is to ensure data collection is all encompassing, reliable and accurate and that it adheres to the Altus Group data governance guidelines. Ray works closely with both internal and external clients to ensure the information meets their needs and that it is both accurate and timely. He also regularly presents on key market trends to clients and at industry events.

· Marlon Bray is the head of Altus Group's Ontario pre-construction and contract administration services as part of the Cost and Project Management team. With over 25 years of experience, specializing in budgeting, value optimization, and providing visibility on risk through the entire lifecycle from early due diligence through to completion. Marlon oversees a team that leads the way with cutting-edge estimating technology and data analytics, bringing a greater level of transparency, and added value to all projects he is involved with.

Key topics:

· 02:02 - Affordability concerns and regional demographics across the GTA municipalities

· 06:15 - Long municipal processes and resource intensive requirements

· 08:22 - Which municipality has the longest approval timeline?

· 08:48 - How many studies are municipalities requiring for planning applications?

· 10:48 - What’s slowing down applications in smaller municipalities?

· 11:35 - The correlation between development application timelines and unit count

· 13:26 - Barriers to development approvals – Province vs. municipality

· 15:32 - The ironic connection between municipal staffing levels and affordability

· 17:03 - What is the difference in municipal charges between high-rise and low-rise developments?

· 19:44 - Increases in development charges across municipalities

· 20:44 - Have there been any improvements in development application processes?

· 20:54 - Perspectives on municipal data transparency and accessibility

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