Developers have to deal with the requirements imposed by a
municipality through the development permit process. These
requirements can be onerous and time consuming, and sometimes
appear to the developer as unreasonable or arbitrarily applied.
One land owner decided to push back against the denial of a
development permit that the District of Squamish refused to issue.
The land owner sought a declaration from the court that Squamish
was required to issue the development permit in the case of 0742848
BC Ltd. v District of Squamish.
The Local Government Act permits a municipality to designate
development permit areas (DPA) in an Official Community Plan
("OCP") for a number of purposes. Developers commonly
must obtain a development permit for the form and character of the
development, but may also need a development permit relating to
other issues like the protection of the natural environment or
protection from hazardous conditions.
