Sparwood staff flag illegal suites, permit gaps

Sparwood’s planning and development department used a March 17 presentation to give council a closer look at the daily pressures facing the building department and the growing importance of geographic information systems, or GIS, across the municipality.

Director of Planning and Development Patrick Sorfleet said the department’s work stretches from permits and inspections to long range planning, subdivision, land sales and environmental assessment work. He brought building official Tom Myers and GIS technician Eric Reynold to council for what he described as a deeper dive into two service areas that are often not fully visible to the public.

Myers told council his daily work includes permit application review, plan review, issuing permits, answering front counter and phone inquiries, helping with business licence reviews, responding to property information requests and supporting other departments when needed.

In 2025, the district saw 75 permit applications submitted, 59 permits issued and eight closed. So far in 2026, he said 10 applications had been received, eight permits had been issued and two had already been closed.

Myers said the department is now working to better use its cloud permit system, including on site inspections and creating notifications for applicants when permits are nearing expiry or have remained dormant for months.

He also said staff are working through old permits that have lapsed and are preparing a new building bylaw more in line with current practice.

At the same time, Myers said several challenges are becoming more common.

Those include problems with sea cans, sheds and other accessory structures being placed without proper permits or in the wrong locations. He said clearer public guides could help reduce those issues.

Another major concern is unpermitted secondary suites.

“We’re noticing an increasing number of illegal and or unsafe secondary suites being brought to our attention,” Myers said.

He pointed to the provincial Home Suite Home guide as a useful resource and said the district could benefit from developing its own user friendly material as well.

Myers also said some contractors appear to be arriving in the area without strong enough knowledge of the current B.C. building code. He suggested a required pre construction consultation for contractors new to the region could help avoid avoidable errors.

Still, Myers said some things are going well. He said improved customer service has generated positive feedback from the public and that having a regular weekly building official on staff has significantly cut response times.

The presentation also included a straightforward pitch for why homeowners should get permits.

Myers said permits help ensure safety, legal compliance, insurance coverage and resale value, while failing to get a permit can lead to stop work orders, fines, forced demolition and title complications.

Reynold then walked council through the less visible side of GIS work.

He said much of the job involves data management, coding and scripting, including quality control and integrating new infrastructure data into existing systems. One recent example involved incorporating information from a water main looping project in Lions Park.

Reynold said GIS also supports bylaw maps, FireSmart work, mains flushing maps and the municipality’s asset management program through Brightly Asset Essentials.

He said Sparwood is also upgrading its public map platform as the older version reaches end of life.

Councillor Sam Atwal praised the presentation and said he would like to see future reporting on permit turnaround times and on cost or time savings created by GIS.

“We’re seeing an increase in use of GIS throughout industries across the board,” he said.

The discussion also turned to housing enforcement when Mayor David Wilks asked whether “hot bedding” could technically fall under the same concerns as illegal secondary suites.

Sorfleet said the current issue is illegal suites themselves, while hot bedding usually involves a bedroom rented to many people rather than a separate dwelling unit. He said that kind of arrangement is not strictly allowed under current bylaw language because the people are not living together as a bona fide domestic unit, but he also noted it is very difficult to catch.

Councillor Jason Christensen asked whether most of the district’s enforcement work in this area begins with complaints. 

Myers said his understanding is that most cases are first flagged through bylaw complaints and then investigated further.

Wilks closed the presentation by thanking staff and saying the GIS role, while largely behind the scenes, has become exceptionally valuable to the organization.

The presentation gave council and the public a clearer picture of the work being done behind the permit counter and inside the systems that quietly support much of Sparwood’s day to day operations.