eCheck Digital Building Permit Review Tool
About this pilot program
The City of Burnaby has launched a pilot program to use new digital tools to speed up residential building permit processing.
This program, which is funded in part by the CMHC Housing Accelerator Fund, helps home-builders get timely feedback on zoning regulations, submit permit applications with fewer potential problems, and experience a faster, simpler, and more transparent application process.
Our pilot features 2 new services for residential building permit applicants:
- Explore provides specific zoning requirements and permissions for R1-zoned residential properties, which covers over 98% of all residentially-zoned lots in Burnaby. Use Explore to quickly and easily find important zoning information about your property, like the maximum number of dwelling units permitted on the lot, parking requirements, and technical specifications such as building height and setbacks, so you can correctly draft your building design.
- eCheck is a digital tool that assesses building plans for compliance with the Burnaby Zoning Bylaw and creates a report showing where drawings follow or don’t follow regulations, enabling fast feedback on potential problems with the design. During the initial phase of the pilot program, participants can opt into eCheck during their permit application. After opting in, Burnaby staff will use eCheck to analyze the building drawings, which will help them review and process the permit application faster.
While these automated tools will enable faster reviews, Burnaby’s plan checking staff will still review submitted documents to resolve complex issues and ensure compliance with the BC Building Code. Both tools were developed by Archistar, Burnaby’s software vendor for this pilot program.
Sign up for Explore
During our pilot phase, we’re launching the Explore platform to provide a fast and easy way to look up zoning information. We’ll be continuously improving features and functionality as we transition from a pilot program to a full release.
- Register for an account by entering your email address below.
- Once you are signed up, you will receive a welcome email from Archistar, asking you to access your account which will require you to set up a password.
- To finalize your account, you will need to enter your name and set a strong password. Once that is done, you will be launched into the web app.
- To access your account and begin using the platform, please visit Burnaby.ca.archistar.ai.
We are aware of some address search issues, especially with numbered streets in southeast Burnaby (e.g. “18th Avenue”) and streets with a north extension (e.g. “Ellesmere Avenue North”). If you encounter an error looking up an R1-zoned residential property with the address search function, you can still pan the map to the property manually and click on the lot to access zoning information.
As an early user, your feedback is valuable. If you encounter any issues using Explore, please report them to [email protected]. We will be making continuous improvements during our pilot—thank you for your patience.
Be part of our eCheck pilot program
Applications for single-family dwellings without a suite, and with or without a rear principal building (i.e. laneway home) are now eligible for our eCheck pilot. To participate, opt in to eCheck when completing your building permit application.
When our program expands to an open pilot, participants will be able to upload building plans to eCheck themselves and receive an easy-to-understand report within 1 business day of submitting their design. This fast, accurate feedback will enable applicants to revise their drawings to solve design issues before submitting their permit application, saving time.
As the pilot expands, additional building types will become eligible, including the following types (regardless of whether a rear principal building is included in the proposal):
- Single-family dwellings with a suite
- Duplexes without suites
- Duplexes with suites
Benefits
- Early, clear, and accurate zoning information: The Explore platform is available 24/7 and provides specific zoning information for an R1 zoned property. With Explore, most applicants will be able to get answers to zoning questions instantly, without needing to call or email City staff.
- Enhanced transparency and communication: Standardized zoning compliance reports will improve transparency and communication between applicants and staff.
- Cost Savings: Providing more information upfront and ensuring faster responses can minimize the need for costly design revisions. This approach accelerates the construction process, reduces carrying costs, and reduces barriers to new housing development.
- More homes, faster: Faster permitting means more homes can be built in Burnaby, faster.
- More staff support for complex reviews: Automating routine checks on zoning regulations frees up City staff time to support customers on other, more complex reviews and applications.
eCheck program details
eCheck will enable you to fix any problems and address design issues in advance, reducing errors, requiring fewer revisions, and speeding up approval. The eCheck report shows which zoning rules apply to your project, whether your design passes or fails each rule, and offers tips to fix any issues. The eCheck system follows strict security protocols to protect your information and the files being uploaded, and the copyright holder of the plans maintains the ownership rights.
It is important to note that eCheck doesn't replace professional designers and expertise. It checks objective zoning rules, not ones that need judgment. Applicants are strongly recommended to retain experienced qualified design professionals who are familiar with the Burnaby Zoning bylaw. As this is a pilot program, City staff will provide close quality control of reviews, and will continue to fully review drawings for Building Code compliance.
During our pilot, you can participate by opting in to the eCheck pilot program during your application. This can be done for online applications via My Permits Portal.
To be eligible for eCheck, your architectural plans should include a cover sheet/technical data summary, topographical and survey plans, site plan, floor plans, and elevations. Please refer to the Drawing Requirements – R1 SSMUH Information Guide for further details.
If you are the owner of the drawings, you will retain all ownership of copyright and other existing intellectual property rights that you have in your drawings. There is no transfer of ownership in such drawings to either Archistar or the City of Burnaby by use of the eCheck platform.
Archistar and the City of Burnaby may use your drawings to train and improve eCheck’s performance and functionality to scan and interpret drawings, such as recognizing and detecting features like doors, windows, and room types. For greater clarity, drawings will not be used to create new building plans.
The purpose of eCheck is to provide faster feedback on any drawing deficiencies, and speed up the City’s review times. The intent is to increase efficiency and support and facilitate quicker issuance of building permits. Currently, the use of eCheck is voluntary. If you prefer not to use eCheck, you can still proceed to submit your building permit application directly to the City’s Building Department.