- City of Burlington launches AI-powered platform to streamline the development review process for planning and building department applicants.
- Platform reviews plans for compliance with zoning regulations and the Ontario Building Code for more accurate application submissions and faster processing time.
- Initiative helps accelerate the permitting process and construction starts.
Burlington, Ontario – To help accelerate the permitting process and construction starts, the City of Burlington has officially launched the eCheck (aka Archistar AI PreCheck) digital compliance platform for planning and building development applicants.
The platform is now publicly available in a testing phase for applicants to review plans for compliance with Burlington’s zoning regulations for employment and industrial buildings, as well as the Ontario Building Code (OBC) for single detached dwellings.
The City of Burlington, located on the southwestern waterfront of Lake Ontario, is among the first in Canada to deploy AI for zoning assessment and the first municipality anywhere to extend this capability for building code assessment..
Part of the driving force was the city’s vision to address the housing needs of its community. In June 2022, Burlington City Council approved the city’s Housing Strategy, which focuses on 12 actions to increase housing supply and affordability, including exploring tools to streamline the development review process.
During the testing phase, applicants will be able to review requirements for zoning regulations on employment and industrial buildings, and the rules of the OBC for single detached dwellings—with more zones and building types to come.
The AI platform will check for both completeness and compliance, generating a report with “pass” and “fail” results and guidance for corrections. But before submitting plan sets to the City of Burlington, Archistar’s trained architects in Vancouver review the AI PreCheck reports, ensuring applicants’ submissions are accurate and complete. Their added “human in the loop” review helps reduce costly and time-consuming resubmissions.
“Burlington was one of the first municipalities in Ontario to recognize the benefits of deploying AI PreCheck permitting tools to deliver faster, more transparent permit application reviews for citizens and developers,” says Joe Philbrook, Archsitar’s VP of Customer. “It is Burlington’s bold vision that has enabled the OBC compliance solution to come to life and enable faster housing starts.”
To learn more about eCheck (aka AI PreCheck) visit the City of Burlington’s website, and start a free account.
