The One Stop Development Shop has opened by the City of Thunder Bay, intending to streamline the process to begin development.
Joel DePeuter, the City’s director of development services, said the initiative is part of a growth strategy to make development easier in Thunder Bay.
“We’re committed to growth, but to grow, we need development and that development results in additional tax base so that we can support all of our services and all things that our residents enjoy,” DePeuter said. “At the One Stop Development Shop, we’ve brought additional services under one roof to make it more seamless for the customer. It also provides additional ways that customers can find services and a broader range of services to help them with their development.”
The added services include sewer and water connections, driveway permits and heritage building approvals, among others.
“If you just want to close a sidewalk or a street for construction, those are services where people previously would visit city hall or another municipal office. And now that can be done at one location, through one website, one phone number, one email address to make things simpler,” DePeuter said.
He added that it’s in addition to adjusting how staff help people, by providing additional assistance to guide projects.
He says the team has engaged with developers and businesses for months and found that development can be quite complicated even for the most seasoned developer.
It was also useful to be able to engage with City staff early and identify the different approvals that are needed.
“That, in part, led to this, these changes,” DePeuter said.
The new service, located in the former Development Services Office on the second floor of the Victoriaville Civic Centre, aims to make the development process faster, simpler and seamless, which is expected to result in more completed projects.
“Sometimes there are projects that aren’t completed because of uncertainty or risk, or maybe conditions changed while the projects are under design,” DePeuter said.
“If we can streamline that supply and go faster, then I think we’ll see more development, and that will ultimately help growth.”
John Collin, City manager, said it’s not just changing office spaces and putting up a fancy counter, it’s the entire process and mechanisms behind it, and to turn all of that around in six months has been truly exceptional.
There has been some shifting amongst positions throughout City administration, and Collin said, “It’s all about our renewed focus on growth.”
“If you want to be focused on growth, you should be structured for growth, so that’s really the driving force behind it,” Collin said. “But we also have embraced this notion of continuous improvement. As we looked at our structures, we asked how we can be better. How can we be more effective? People came up with ideas, and we acted on those ideas, and this One Stop Development Shop is one of them.”
The centre was opened on Wednesday with a ribbon cutting and a small ceremony.
