Ontario Construction News staff writer
The City of Guelph is starting the new year with new rules for submitting building permit applications and inspection requests.
Starting Jan. 1, 2020, all projects – whether residential, industrial or institutional – must be submitted electronically, through the Building Services online portal.
Requests for building inspections in Guelph must also be sent online using the portal, no longer by phone or email.
Drawings and other documents may still be delivered in person at the building services counter on the 3rd Floor of City Hall on a USB device.
A series of video tutorials is available on the city’s website, detailing steps to become a registered user, apply for a building permit or book a building inspection. Visit https://gpas.guelph.ca to create a free account and get started.
Application process
The process to review applications for completeness is two business days and if complete, the applicant will be notified by email of fees owing. Fees must be paid within two business days after receiving the email notification for the application to be reviewed based on the initial submission date.
If the application is incomplete and/or the fees are not paid within two business days, the application will be delayed until all items have been received.
All files must be in PDF format, unsecured and not password protected. The maximum file size of each document is 50 megabytes. If a set of drawings exceeds 50 megabytes it will need to be separated into multiple PDF files of less than 50 megabytes each.
Residential permit applications
Building permit applications for detached houses, semi-detached houses and row-type townhouses, and their associated permit applications (decks, finished basements, etc.) should be submitted with all drawings and supporting documentation in one electronically created PDF file.
The naming of all files submitted should include the civic address for the permit application being submitted.
Industrial, commercial, institutional and multi-residential permit applications
Building permit applications for larger projects, including stacked townhouses, shall have the drawings organized into separate, electronically created, vector-based PDF files. Files shall be named as follows, where the Project Address is the civic address for the permit application being submitted:
- Project Address – Architectural (or ARCH)
- Project Address – Structural (or STRUCT)
- Project Address – HVAC
- Project Address – Plumbing (or PLUMB)
- Project Address – Electrical (or ELECT)
- Project Address – Radon
- Project Address – Fire Alarm (if not part of the Electrical)
- Project Address – Sprinkler
- Project Address – Energy Efficiency (If not part of another discipline)
Supporting documentation, including forms, reports and schedules shall be submitted in separate PDF files and named “Project Address – Commitment Form” etc.
The city introduced the Building Services online portal in 2009 for low-rise residential building permit applications as part of a commitment to making it easy to do business in Guelph.
In January 2019, Guelph started accepting other permit application types online, including for all residential, industrial, commercial and institutional projects.
The portal can be used to apply for building permits, submit and receive drawings, track a permit’s status and to book inspections.