Permitting is steadily moving forward in Jasper, according to the Jasper Recovery Coordination Centre (JRCC).

At the August 5 regular council meeting, Directory of Recovery Michael Fark updated Jasper Municipal Council on the most recent activity facilitated through the JRCC’s offices. 

Fark said that 100 percent of demolition permits have been issued and that more than 99 percent of debris in the town has been removed. Two last sites remain, both of which have been actioned, he said.

“No sites remain that have not been initiated.”

Regarding debris clean up and site contamination, of 295 reports submitted, 195 of those (74 percent) have come back as contamination-free, Fark said. 

However, Fark’s report said that about 60 percent of leaseholders who have received their Certificate of Completion for their demolition permit hadn’t yet applied for a development permit.

“There are a significant number which are fully cleared and which could be moving forward and are not doing so at this point,” he said.

Fark suggested that the main factors delaying those permit applications include the extent to which leaseholders are insured and the financial situation they may require in order to move forward.

“The vast majority of people would never voluntarily choose to take on a project like this in their lifetime,” Fark told council. Councillors Wendy Hall, Ralph Melnyk and Kathleen Waxer, as well as Mayor Richard Ireland, are all rebuilding post-wildfire.

As of August 5, Parks Canada had issued 212 development permits—84 of which are to rebuild fire-affected properties—and 73 building permits, Fark reported. 

Those 73 BPs include 17 in-town residential properties, one apartment building, one condo complex, six in-town commercial properties, and one outlying hotel.

Fark noted that almost 100 percent of building permits applied for have been issued, and that the same was true for the large majority of development permits applied for.

“I think it’s important to make it clear for council that there are some who have pushed the narrative that the reason why more construction has not started is because of some obstacle within the permitting process. Actually what the information indicates is that is not the case,” he said.

Fark acknowledged that some properties have had to go through several cycles of contaminent testing and that has resulted in some delays.

“We don’t want to minimize the challenges they’ve faced,” he said. 

But he emphasized that it is not the JRCC which determines which testing supplier leaseholders engage.

“We don’t control that process, it’s entirely up to the leaseholder and the contrators they hire.”

Fark reminded council that while soil sampling and debris removal is ongoing, leaseholders can still apply for permits. However he cautioned leaseholders against sumitting an incomplete application, noting the average processing time for applications deemed complete was 27 days, as opposed to those deemed incomplete, which could take up to 70 days.

Councillor Wendy Hall thanked Fark for the clariity on the relatively high number of close out certificates versus the relatively low number of permits applied for.

“I think that it just speaks to the fact that so many people are going through this not by choice and have no idea really what to expect,” Hall said.

Interim Housing Update

Fark said 276 interim housing units are currently occupied by 532 residents, with 18 more in the lease-signing process (as of August 5). 

“We’re at full offer but not full occupancy,” he said.

More than 100 Jasperites have not yet received interim housing offers, and 95 people are on the waitlist “in need of a better option than what we’ve been able to provide them so far,” Fark said. 

This week the first two housing units destined for the lot beside the Jasper Museum arrived. Six more will follow by the end of the month. 

And site servicing is taking place at Patricia Circle, with anticipated completion by September.