Subdivision Design, Review, Approvals and Development
Fee: $1,295 / Online / Sep 23 - 25, 2026 / Course Code: 17-0901-ONL26
OVERVIEW
Please note, This instructor-led course has specific dates and times:
This course is held online over 3 days on the following schedule (All times in Eastern Time Zone): Day 1 & 2: 10:30 am-1:30 pm; 2 pm-4:30 pm (Eastern Time) Day 3: 10:30 am-3 pm (Eastern Time) The course content and the example projects have been chosen to be of value both to individuals without any previous development experience as well as persons who are involved in the real estate development field. Please note: The course focuses on the process and skills and cannot address the specific legislation/unique aspects of each municipality or province. While it's geared nationwide, it is using the province of BC as the baseline.
After participating in this course, you will be able to:
- Evaluate, prepare, and review subdivisions comprehensively, navigate regulatory frameworks, and ensure compliance and legality
- Change your perspective to understand the fundamentals of real estate, needs of the Developer, financing and financials, range of consultants and external professionals, as well as the Regulatory/Approving Agency expectations, needs and requirements
- Evaluate the effects of provincial policy, legislation, and local regulations on your potential projects
- Ensure you are engaging the right professionals at the right time in order to maximize effectiveness and efficiency, but not getting ahead of what is needed
- Understand key players and stakeholders for effective collaboration and apply sensitivity analysis to mitigate delays and schedule adjustments
- Learn about incentives, changes, and initiatives that may benefit your application
Description
Subdivision and Development is a multi-disciplinary adventure involving enormous funds and resources and remains an approval quagmire: we will pull back the curtain and evaluate the process from all sides.
Time is money, and the timing of land assembly or land development is one of the most critical factors in the development industry. A successful Developer must be ready to meet the demand for new housing as the pressure on the housing market increases. A successful Approving Agency will understand the financial impact of quality and value-added development and expedite those that provide real benefits. The Developer and Approving Agency are both subject to external influences and forces that the other has yet to understand: now.
Bringing together experts from all sides of the process, this course will explore the fundamentals of subdivision development, design, review, approvals and development. It will also introduce some changes in the plan review process, legislation governing the subdivision of land, development charges, and new incentives and initiatives.
The instructor will discuss aspects of the subdivision development process, including the changes in the planning system, market studies, smart growth, wide shallow versus conventional lots, how to keep lots affordable, environmental issues, procedures for seeking approval, as well as engineering design, and alternative development standards.
Who Should Attend
Land use planning and engineering consultants, developers, lenders, development engineering project managers, surveyors, accountants, investors and property managers both in the private and public sectors, real estate agents, municipal planning officials, development review and approvals personnel, technicians and technologists, water resources managers, environmental engineers, traffic engineers, and business administrators concerned with real estate development.
Special Features & Requirements
The course content and the example projects have been chosen to be of value both to individuals without any previous development experience as well as persons who are involved in the real estate development field.
Please note: The course focuses on the process and skills and cannot address the specific legislation/unique aspects of each municipality or province. While it's geared nationwide, it is using the province of BC as the baseline.
SYLLABUS
Welcome, Introduction, Workshop Preview, Learning Outcomes and the Assessment Method
Land Development Business - A Developer’s Perspective
The process for developing raw land to residential subdivision: Demand, opportunity, land acquisition, proformas, consultants, financing, sales & marketing, and construction.
Land Development Business - A Municipality’s Perspective
The process for developing raw land to residential subdivision: Regulatory regime, changes in local official plan policies, zoning and subdivision law and its regulatory agencies provincial policy and interests including smart growth.
Planning Process
- Legislative and regulatory framework
- Roles and responsibilities of the provincial government, municipalities, and agencies
- Municipal planning policies, by-laws, and regulations
- Strategies for planning approvals
- Submission requirements for planning applications
- Public involvement in the planning process
- Permit issuance
- Development charges
- Questions and answers
Engineering Development Standards
- Evolution of Engineering Development Standards
- Market demand and public sector response
- Innovation and alternative development standards
- Relationship with urban design
- Resulting engineering considerations: underground utilities, surface improvements, stormwater management
- Municipal infrastructure
- Development disciplines
- General private drainage and grading
- Complaints
- Site alteration permits
- Water and sanitary
- General policies- public works
- Questions and answers
Consulting Team Roles & Responsibilities
- Planners
- Surveyors
- Civil Engineers
- Environmental
- Geotechnical
- Landscape
- Legal
- Marketing & Sales
- Appraiser
- Banker
- Legal
Adjournment
Day II
Site Plan Application
- Site plan submission: drawing requirements, background study requirements
- Application circulation: internal agencies, external agencies
- Consultation with applicant and agent
- Conditional site plan approval
- Clearance of conditions
- Site inspections and cancellation of security deposits
- Minor modifications
- Questions and answers
Engineering Design Process
- Economic/demographic trends
- Changing housing preferences
- Choosing the appropriate type of market analysis
- Assessing development potential
- Land survey
- Streets and sidewalks
- Stormwater Drainage
- Sanitary sewers
- Manholes
- Water distribution
- Hydrants
- Substation/transformers
- Street lighting
- Traffic signs and signals
Case Study/Assignment
Day III
Cost of Development
- Costs related to process changes
- Costs related to engineering standards changes
- Costs related to the type of development - conventional vs traditional neighbourhood development
- Scheduling and cost control during the design and construction phase
- Municipal cost/benefit and asset management
Development Financing
- A lender's perspective on financing
- Financing sources
- Preparing proposals for financiers
- Environmental risk
- Interim financing
- Criteria for assessment
Registration, Sales & Marketing, Construction & Completion
- What comes first, the construction or the registration?
- Fees & Charges
- Sales & Promotion
- Realities of Construction
- Project Completion & Success
Functional Servicing Requirements
Water, Wastewater, Drainage
- Expectations & Requirements
- Responsibilities & Cost of Infrastructure
Watershed Management
- Subwatershed management
- Drainage plans
- Stormwater management: water supply development and sewage disposal for subdivision development in unserviced areas
- Effective Environmental Impact Statements
- Case study
- Questions and answers
Traffic Implications of Land Development
- Internal site design
- External traffic analysis
- Mitigating measures
- Street widening, auxiliary lanes, signalization
- Application of standards and techniques to produce an acceptable resolution
Questions and Answers and Feedback to Participants on Achievement of Learning Outcomes
Concluding Remarks and Final Adjournment
INSTRUCTOR
Development Engineering Manager — AshTer Holdings Ltd.
Kelowna, BC
James is a Professional Engineer who has been designing, administering and approving land development and municipal engineering projects across Canada since 2001.
James and his teams deliver development projects, including municipal works, subdivisions, townhouses, commercial plazas, and industrial and institutional projects. He has served in the public sector with three different municipalities and in the private sector as a developer, builder, and consulting civil engineer. James has earned distinction and accreditation in the fields of Consulting Engineering, Project Management, Environmental Design, Water and Wastewater, and Erosion & Sediment Control.
Having served as a Development Engineering Manager and Approving Officer, James brings all aspects of Subdivision Design, Review, Approvals and Development into an interactive and informative course.
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