- Burlington, Ontario, earned a 2026 PlanON Vision Award of Excellence for its eCheck (aka AI PreCheck), which uses AI plan review to show applicants zoning and building-code issues before formal submission.
- Wanneroo, Western Australia won UDIA WA’s 2026 Local Government Authority of the Year for its achievements in housing-delivery, planning, and industry collaboration, supported by workflow reforms and AI-assisted assessment.
- Burnaby, British Columbia won UBCM’s 2026 Excellence in Service Delivery award for its Development Approvals Process Program, a broad transformation that cut review times by up to 85% by incorporating process redesign and expanded digital services and tools, including Archistar AI PreCheck.
While most municipalities by now have sounded the call to start using AI in their planning and building departments, that is a generic directive, not a formula for success. However, innovative cities are beginning to unveil formulas for combining their professional expertise with process improvements and new technology like AI tools to better manage development, deliver housing, and serve their applicants.
And some are being awarded for it.
In particular, the City of Burlington in Ontario, Canada, the City of Wanneroo in Western Australia, and the City of Burnaby in British Columbia, Canada, have all demonstrated award-winning planning innovation and services in 2026, serving their communities by making building and development approvals work better.
The City of Burlington, in Ontario, Canada earned a 2026 PlanON Vision Award of Excellence from the Ontario Professional Planners Institute.
Burlington Ensures a Smoother Review Experience Before Submission
The Ontario Professional Planners Institute (OPPI) granted the City of Burlington a PlanOn for its Assistive AI Tool for an Improved Development Review Experience. Burlington’s eCheck tool helps applicants proactively approach compliance. The AI-driven system integrates both zoning regulations and building code and currently checks building code for single detached dwellings and zoning for employment or industrial buildings. Users can check their plans against those rules to help identify issues early, before formal submission. This gives applicants a convenient way to improve their application quality and have a smoother permit review experience.
OPPI called Burlington’s initiative a “globally-leading approach to regulatory transformation.” The eCheck tool uses Archistar AI PreCheck technology to process its findings and send applicants a report with “pass” and “fail” results, as well as guidance for corrections.
In its OPPI award announcement, the City of Burlington credited its Planning, Building, and IT staff for collaborating on the project’s delivery. The city also described itself as “one of the first cities in Canada to use assistive AI technology to help simplify the development review process, and the first municipality anywhere to extend this capability for building code assessment.”
City of Wanneroo Mayor Linda Aitken (left) is shown here receiving the 2026 Local Government Authority of the Year award from the sponsor Mel Castle (right), Geotech Manager, Structerre Consulting. Courtesy of UDIA WA.
Wanneroo Reforms Workflows to Handle Record Volumes of Applications
Recognizing its leadership in planning, housing delivery, and industry collaboration, the Urban Development Institute of Australia, Western Australia (UDIA WA), bestowed the 2026 Local Government Authority of the Year Award upon the City of Wanneroo.
The major suburb of Perth earned this distinction with a large output of results. In announcing the award on LinkedIn, Nice de Vecchis, Manager, Approval Services, City of Wanneroo, noted that his department has been managing record volumes of applications, “one of the largest development pipelines in Western Australia.”
He cites Wanneroo’s processing of 6,651 subdivision lots in 2024/25 (about 20% of Western Australia’s total) and supporting 3,840 completed lots in 2025, up 36.6% from 2024. That’s only part of its strategic framework for facilitating about 55,000 new dwellings by 2041.
According to de Vecchis, UDIA WA also recognized Wanneroo’s innovative reforms, such as fast-track pathways, triage-based assessments, and a Planning Exemption Policy designed to let officers concentrate on more complex, higher-risk proposals. The city has also advanced its use of AI assessment tools to support application processing efficiency, completeness checks, and compliance reviews.
“What makes this recognition particularly meaningful is that it acknowledges the dedication of the people behind the numbers,” de Vecchis says, pointing to the Planning Services, Building Services, and Administration teams that handle record workloads while embracing new technologies such as Archistar AI PreCheck.
Burnaby City Hall in the City of Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. Courtesy of the City of Burnaby.
Burnaby Transforms Its Whole Development Approvals System
Another Canadian city, Burnaby, British Columbia, won the 2026 Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) Community Excellence Award for Excellence in Service Delivery for its Development Approvals Process (DAP) Program.
This award recognizes a five-year transformation program the City of Burnaby kicked off in 2021, which involved 75 initiatives and more than 100 staff across eight departments. The program developed a more coordinated approvals system, incorporating a process redesign, new planning tools, and digital permitting.
As part of the 2024–2026 Implementation phase of Burnaby’s transformation, the city began piloting Archistar AI PreCheck in March 2025, officially launching it and expanding eligibility to duplexes in July 2026. AI PreCheck sends a compliance report to Burnaby applicants with feedback after checking their drawings against more than 50 local zoning rules.
In addition, Burnaby has expanded its online application services, automated workflows, and standardized processes. For example, the Small-scale Housing Feasibility Tool (SHiFT) helps homeowners and builders explore housing opportunities before investing in detailed plans.
All of Burnaby’s efforts have amounted to significant results. The city recently reported that its residential building permit review times have shortened up to 85% and that the average review time has shrunk from 21 to 13 days.
Bravo to the Winners
Archistar would like to congratulate the cities of Burlington, Wanneroo, and Burnaby, not just for adopting new technology, but for building wholistic systems in the which the technology can work best. Each of their 2026 awards celebrate their dedication to refining processes that take advantage of staff expertise, cross-departmental collaboration, and digital tools to better serve their communities.
