In the months leading up to starting construction on a 2nd story addition at a home in Oak Bay, the team here at Alair Homes Victoria had the pleasure of working with the Oak Bay building department as we developed the permit application package. Pleasure putting together a building permit application we say? Yes! It was a pleasure, our clients were on board and enthusiastic throughout the design, our design team and sub-trades pitched together to engineer a great construction plan, and the building department gave us lots of input along the way. The folks at the building department help desk were very helpful indeed, taking time on four different occasions to answer questions, provide guidance through their bylaws and code interpretations, and to share the file history of the house including the original drawings and permits which helped save time during the design and engineering of the new addition.

There are 3 easily described steps to working with the Oak Bay building department, which can all be done during their drop in hours M-F at either 8:30-10:00 or 1:00-2:00:

1) Ask for a list of items that will be required for the submission

2) Prepare each item clearly and professionally in to a submittal package

3) Ask the help desk to review the package to ensure it is complete.

If at step 3 they indicate that something is missing, repeat steps 1-3, until it is complete and ready to submit.

Starting off on the right foot with the building department is a key component in ensuring a smooth construction project. This starts long before stepping foot in to municipal hall to speak about a project, for us it starts with having a mindset of true appreciation and respect for the staff at the building department and their role in the community… building and zoning codes are developed through a democratic and public process where all stakeholders including homeowners are invited to participate. Building codes exist to ensure public safety, in the past 80 years since Codes have become in effect and improved, hazards that used to prominently exist in private and public buildings such as catastrophic fires have greatly reduced, and others such as contaminated drinking water have become almost non-existent. Zoning codes keep neighborhoods in balance, preventing issues such as a high-rise apartment building being placed on a quiet street of single-family homes. The folks that work at the building department have chosen that profession to serve the public and be a part of bringing these types of safety and lifestyle benefits to the community.