A local real estate agent is upset with the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority (NVCA) after it took three months to respond to his inquiry about a property for sale — a property that sold while he was waiting.
When looking at potentially buying a piece of property near his home in Oro-Medonte, Glenn Wagner, of Right at Home Realty, noticed two properties for sale near the intersection of Mount St. Louis Road and Line 11. One was 55 acres and the other was 17 acres.
The Royal LePage listing stated, "Large rural lots like this don't come available often." The end of both listings read, "Property is regulated by Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority (NVCA). Buyer is encouraged to determine building permit availability from authorities to ensure intended use is permitted."
Wagner initially called the NVCA on Oct. 21 and left a message with a development review assistant after talking to a receptionist. Two weeks later, he still hadn't received a call back. He then filled out a property inquiry ticket on the NVCA website on Nov. 5. He received an automated email stating his ticket had been received.
In mid-January, when he still hadn't received any information, he wrote a letter to OrilliaMatters.
A reporter emailed the communications staff at the NVCA about the issue with questions Jan. 20. After five business days without a response, the email was sent again. OrilliaMatters received a part answer Jan. 27 with the remainder of the questions answered Jan. 29.
Wagner was also contacted by NVCA officials this week.
"These guys are not doing their job," said Wagner.
"Their customer service is totally lacking. As a concerned consumer who may be looking to do something, waiting three months is outlandish. From their website, they have 50 staff, and I couldn't get anybody to call me back.
"There needs to be a hard review of what these authorities are doing and how they are doing it. They hold a lot of power with no public scrutiny. They are not elected officials."
Wagner said long delays in response times leads to higher costs of housing as well as NVCA permit and study fees. The more studies that need to be done, the longer it takes and the higher the costs, he said.
Muskoka and many other areas seem to manage properties without conservation authorities, Wagner said, questioning the very existence of conservation authorities.
"Why can’t local municipalities via their building departments carry out the functions performed by conservation authorities? Why do we have an entire added bureaucracy with unparalleled power and overheads that increase the costs to builders and potential homeowners? I see it as a duplication and a service that isn't being done very well," he said.
Jonathan Scott, chair of the NVCA board of directors and a Bradford West Gwillimbury councillor, offered an apology to Wagner. He also emailed OrilliaMatters, saying, "I want to offer our unreserved apology for this delay to Mr. Wagner. NVCA staff recorded Mr. Wagner's property inquiry, but did not promptly contact him for more information."
The NVCA will soon launch a new e-permitting platform that will make it easier for residents to inquired about their properties and apply for permits.
"This platform will also reduce human error and manual administration work, allowing staff to focus on corresponding with residents and processing permit applications," Scott said.
Maria Leung, senior communications specialist with the NVCA, said the customer service charter requires staff to acknowledge receipt of mail, voicemail and email within two working days.
The NVCA website states staff provide responses in the order they are received.
"Administrative staff receive between 10 and 20 inquiries per day and can typically respond to all inquiries within 48 hours," Leung said.
Inquiries are first reviewed by an assistant to determine the nature of the inquiry. If a request is related to permitting and the property is regulated under the Conservation Authorities Act, the applicant is informed of the pre-consultation and permit review process, she said.
The application then moves to the next stage of review with staff in the development planning and permits area. Applications that include additional studies are also reviewed by technical staff. Studies may include environmental reports, natural hazard assessment, geo-technical reports, soil reports, topographical surveys and architectural design plans, Leung said.
The NVCA website lists its permitting and planning fee schedule.
Conservation authorities protect watersheds and manage development to protect lives and property from natural hazards like flooding and erosion and manage water resources including wetlands, rivers and streams.
The NVCA provides specialized planning and engineering services to all 18 municipalities in the Nottawasaga watershed, where water empties into Georgian Bay.
"Our staff have expertise in water resource management that other municipalities may not be able to provide. Municipalities in our watershed benefit from our services as they do not need to have their own complement of staff who specializes in water resources," Leung said.
"Municipalities that do not have conservation authorities are responsible for protecting lives and properties from natural hazards through various municipal processes and may not benefit from having water resources managed on a watershed approach.
"For over 70 years, conservation authorities have been responsible for directing development outside of natural hazards, such as floodplains and areas prone to erosion. These watershed-based organizations also ensure development does not impact sensitive environmental areas, such as wetlands, shorelines and watercourses."
What would expedite housing permits and keep costs to a minimum would be development applications that are outside of natural hazard areas that would streamline the need for studies on flooding, erosion or wetlands, Leung said.
"In cases where NVCA approval or review is required, NVCA encourages builders to provide a complete submission package that meets the criteria outlined during pre-consultation. Submitting a complete package that specifically addresses NVCA's concerns will help the applicant and builder save time and money. Quality submission packages that meet NVCA criteria will lead to significantly faster review times," she said.
For his part, Wagner said he is unsure if he wants to purchase the smaller lot as he was more interested in the larger lot, which was sold while he was awaiting an answer from the NVCA.
