Edmonton’s ability to retain, attract and grow businesses is affected by how the City regulates and provides service to businesses, property owners and potential investors. An efficient permitting, licensing, and regulatory process helps reduce barriers and encourage investment in our city, which is a key goal of both The City Plan and Edmonton’s Economic Action Plan.
The City continues to advance a number of initiatives to encourage investment and make it easier for businesses and homeowners to navigate the zoning, permitting and licensing process and obtain what they need to renovate or build a home, or expand or start a new business.
The improvements seek to maintain a balance between providing timely service and ensuring that what is built is safe, meets appropriate regulatory standards, fits in with the surrounding neighbourhood, and respects community interests.
Our Commitment and Approach
The City is committed to making development permit, building permit, inspection, and business licensing processes better, easier and faster for customers. Since 2017, service improvements are estimated to have saved planning and development customers 260,933 days and $4.6 million in delay costs annually based on demonstrated reductions in permit timelines.
City staff work with city-building partners (industry, citizens, service providers, and other groups) to find and implement creative solutions to specific challenges.
In 2017, Edmonton launched an initiative focused on changing the way planning and development services are provided. This served to build momentum within the City administration, focusing attention on the customer experience, efficiency, and taking action to improve planning and development services.
This initiative largely focused on streamlining the initial stages of the land development process from rezonings to subdivisions and servicing agreements. It decreased application requirements, standardized technical review of applications to only what was required, and set service level timeline targets that are reported quarterly.
In 2020, a Permit and Licensing Improvement (PLI) initiative was launched, and continues to listen to customers, city building partners and staff, and implement changes that improve the experience of customers and enable staff. It focused on services for:
- Homeowners doing renovations
- Contractors doing commercial or residential renovations, and
- Business owners opening a new business or moving into a new space
Staff and industry workshops generated over 400 improvement ideas that were captured, themed and used to inform focus areas. The City's PLI Initiative was the 2022 winner of the Government of Alberta's Municipal Excellence Awards in the Red Tape Reduction category. Edmonton was also ranked as Number 1 out of 21 Canadian municipalities in residential permit processing through the 2022 CHBA Municipal Benchmarking Study.
While significant progress has been made, the work to make Edmonton an attractive location for investment and living is ongoing.
Current Initiatives
Permitting Transformation for Businesses
Outreach and research shows that many business owners are unfamiliar with City processes, which creates a barrier to accessing what they need in a timely manner to open or expand a business. This project focuses on streamlining and enhancing technology to improve business owners’ and staff’s experience with the commercial permitting and licensing application process.
The work will better align the process to the applicant’s journey by basing it on the type of business the applicant wants to open or expand, or the type of renovations they need to undertake, rather than on the permits and/or regulatory requirements that are triggered.
Improvements will include:
- Creating an integrated application process across business licences, development permits, and building permits. Delivering one integrated process will avoid confusion and delays that can occur across the various city processes a business owner needs to navigate.
- Developing an interactive self-serve experience that will automatically create the appropriate permit applications and documentation requirements for the user, addressing a common barrier for business owners who do not always know which permits they need for their projects.
- Streamlining zoning and safety code feedback to the applicant during the application process to reduce time-consuming requests for more information.
- Exploring concurrent development and building permit reviews, allowing business owners to complete their projects and open sooner.
Target Project Timeline: May 2022 to December 2023
Regulatory Changes to Support Development and Business Growth
Business Licence Bylaw Renewal
A new Business Licence Bylaw came into effect on January 17, 2022. The new bylaw provides clearer, more consistent regulations to help reduce barriers for businesses. It also allows the City to respond more quickly and decisively to new and emerging business types.
Some of the key changes and benefits for businesses include:
- One or two-year licence option with a discounted fee for choosing the two-year option
- Discounted fee for businesses that renew their licence on time
- Simplified fee schedule, where businesses with multiple categories will only be charged a single-category fee
- New, updated licence categories with clearer descriptions and licensing requirements
Business Support Services
The Edmonton Economic Action Plan (Action Plan) is a 10-year road map to building a vibrant, inclusive and sustainable economy. This Action Plan is one of the key elements of the City Plan and is aimed at creating jobs, attracting investment, supporting business and strengthening our economy.
Business Grants and Supports
Many grants and support initiatives have been made available to support local businesses, especially through the COVID-19 pandemic:
- Edmonton Economic Action Plan Grant launched to support a more resilient, diverse and equitable local economy
- Commercial building grants: Businesses can access the Storefront Improvement Grant to improve the exterior of their business, and the Development Incentive Grant to help with interior renovations and new development in targeted areas, or the Corner Store Grants to help with interior and exterior beautification in neighbourhood renewal areas
- 2021 Edmonton Economic Incentive Construction Grant that stimulates high-impact private construction projects in the Centre City area (beginning before March 31, 2022)
- Edmonton Economic Recovery Grant launched to support businesses through the pandemic
- Business licence fees reduced by 50% in 2020 and 2021
- Dispatch and vehicle licence fees reduced by 100% for limousines and 50% for all other vehicles for hire in 2020 and 2021
- Business Improvement Area (BIA) Tax Levy Payment Deferral in 2020 for businesses located in BIAs
- Property Tax Relief for property owners in 2020
- City-owned Property Rent Forbearance for tenants of City-owned buildings and facilities in 2020
Client Liaison Unit
Enhanced service to support the building industry on major commercial, industrial, and large-site mixed-use infill projects through all stages of the approval process.
