For years navigating the regulatory red tape in the planning and building departments at city hall could leave applicants feeling like a ping-pong ball, but that’s about to change.

It’s a frustration City Planner John Fleming has frequently heard from Londoners, but now “With one organization they are not bouncing back and forth between city planning on Dundas and Development Services at city hall.”

In the past, where you went depended on what you needed done, even if the distinctions might seem minor. For example:

  • Property need to be rezoned? Then go to the Planning Department on Dundas.
  • Need architectural drawings stamped? Then go to city hall on Dufferin.
  • Have a building in a heritage district? Return to the Planning Department.
  • Ready for a building permit? Return to city hall.

A reorganization of municipal staff aims to streamline that process with one window for service.

Staff have been shuffled and applicants will now have a single person guiding them through the process.

The changes will also free Fleming to do some long-term planning, something he admits has been lacking in recent years because his Planning Department was so busy with day to day applications.

“I think it is a great opportunity to do some new types of planning and dig into some very important areas that we haven't been able to.”

Those include looking into implementing London’s smart city initiative to weave technology into municipal government, explore resiliency planning within the city and developing a strategy to cope with climate change.

And Fleming says that will require input from Londoners, so he wants to, “get that discussion…into the community. Discuss where are we going, how do we compete with other cities and what do we do to move ourselves forward?”