Permit me

A woman complained to us about how her municipality handled her request to convert a shipping container into a garden shed. She said after she chose not to proceed with a building permit application because of the cost, she received a notice from the municipality that the container needed to be removed. She received no response to the complaints she submitted via the municipality’s website. We spoke to the municipality’s Chief Administrative Officer, who acknowledged that the municipality had not responded to the woman’s complaints, contrary to its customer service standards. As a result of our inquiries, municipal staff contacted the woman to apologize for the delay and explain why the shipping container had to be removed from her property. Staff also agreed to assist her if she wished to reapply for a building permit.