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‘Dragging on’: Man losing $9K a month waiting for Burnaby to approve house

Man trying to build his family a house says City of Burnaby bureaucracy is too slow.
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Amandeep Chot is trying to build a house for him and his family to live in at 6182 – 9th Ave. in Burnaby.

A Burnaby property owner says he’s losing more than $9,000 a month waiting for the city to approve permits so he can build a new house – a process he says has been “dragging on” for about 11 months.

But the city has told him repeatedly that he needs to provide more information from his engineers in order to move forward.

Amandeep Chot is trying to build a house for him and his family to live in at 6182 – 9th Ave. in Burnaby.

Chot said he submitted applications in May 2021 and it’s been a back-and-forth process ever since. Chot supplied numerous emails between him and the city.

“At the time, we started a retaining wall and clearing the land and were stopped by the city hall asking if we were allowed to,” Chot told the NOW. “They had said ‘yes’ and then because a neighbour had complained, we had to stop. Which is OK. Then we applied for another permit in June to July to prepare the land and build the retaining wall, which they said we should have in two months. This has been dragging on. Let's say out of the 11 months, my engineers could be accountable for two months. Also being that city keeps asking for something new or different.”

The City of Burnaby doesn’t normally answer questions about specific applications due to privacy concerns.

But in emails to Chot from staff, the city said it has concerns about such issues as two driveways planned on the property, as well as a retaining wall and submissions from the engineering firm hired by Chot covering the grading of the property.

“Can you make sure the elevations on the resubmitted grading plan matches other plans submitted?” a city staff member asks Chot in one email.

Chot says the city needs a more streamlined process and for city staffer to respond quicker to messages. Chot supplied multiple emails of him pleading for responses to his questions. 

“And every time I try to call the city, it takes weeks to a month for them to respond,” he said, adding that it’s unfair for him to be “chasing them” for answers. “I am building this house for myself and my family to live in,” he said. “And it's been a journey. We have four kids that were supposed to start school in Burnaby in September if we had our permits on time. We are moving from Vancouver. So far, nothing but headaches.”

Follow Chris Campbell on Twitter @shinebox44.