There are few things as frustrating and time consuming than trying to build or renovate a home in Jasper National Park.
For anyone who has ever tried to build an exterior door or put in a new bathroom, dealing with Parks Canada can be an exhausting and discouraging experience.
Time and time again we鈥檝e heard stories from locals about Parks Canada making people jump through hoops to get simple variances and discretionary use permits for small home renovations.
In fact, the experience is so commonplace it鈥檚 often a point of conversation between complete strangers, after talking about the crummy weather or the cost of cheese in town.
Fortunately, Parks Canada may be listening and has made it easier for people to renovate their homes.
In July, the agency announced it was making changes to the Committee of Adjustments by streamlining the Planning and Development Advisory Committee (PDAC) process.
According to a public notice, people who wish to create a third bathroom or build additional entrances into their home or approved home accommodation will no longer have to make a case before PDAC to justify their project.
Instead any minor variance or discretionary use, such as the construction of a third bathroom, will be posted on the Jasper National Park website for public review for two weeks prior to approval.
These changes are expected to speed up the application process by six weeks cutting down the amount of red tape involved in getting a permit.
In the past, any minor variance or discretionary use application would have to be reviewed by PDAC which would then have to be approved by Parks Canada鈥檚 vice president of operations for western and northern Canada.
In most cases, the applications were for minor home renovations that simply needed to be rubber stamped, creating unnecessary work for everyone involved.
By streamlining the process, Cathy Jenkins, realty and municipal manager for Jasper National Park, will now have the authority to sign off on a list of pre-approved variances, speeding up the process and saving everyone time.
In a town where things tend to move at a glacial pace, cutting the amount of bureaucracy and red tape involved for simple home renovations is a welcome sign, even if it鈥檚 only a drop in the bucket.
