Permits & Applications

For change of use, building addition or changes to external appearance proposed for a property. A Preliminary Plan Approval is an approval granted by the Director Planning and Building ensuring compliance with the Zoning Bylaw. 

For property owners wanting to use or develop their land in a way that is not permitted under the present zoning. 
 

If you have an Easement or Right Of Way on your property and the utilities related to the Right of Way have been removed, you can apply to have the restrictions formally released. Contact us for information on how to apply. 

For buildings with newly designed structures that require existing service connections to be adjusted. 

New! You can now apply for your Service Connection Adjustment Application online by logging into My Permits Portal.

If you need assistance with this new process or with your My Permits Portal account, please reach out to the Engineering Department. 

Additional Information:

Older/original homes were serviced by connections to City sewers that were appropriate for that time. Many new homes are being designed with basements in mind, which results in the need for deeper foundations. Service connections may need to be adjusted either by increasing their depth, or their location.

Before a building design is completed/approved, the designer/owner/builder should find out if the existing service connection(s) and location of connection(s) meets the newly designed structure. 

For a property to be connected to a sewer. This is a bylaw requirement. Contact us for information and how to apply.

For any structure or advertising device, visible from any street that is used to attract the attention of the general public. Signs can be placed in a variety of locations such as on an awning, canopy, face of a building (fascia), roof, window or on their own as a free-standing sign.

Please contact the Planning Department to speak to a Sign Bylaw Technician before getting started. 

For soil to be imported from an outside location and placed on a site within Burnaby.

For soil to be removed from a location within Burnaby. 

For doing work on City-owned roads. Use this application if you are an owner or contractor and are going to perform civil construction, such as installing concrete assets like a sidewalk / connector walk or curb and gutters.

For doing work on City-owned roads. Use this application if you are an owner or contractor and are going to install third-party infrastructure such as electrical, telephone, cable or other service provider to a subdivision project.

Use this application if you are going to perform civil construction unrelated to a development application. For any project work in or abutting a street, boulevard, alley, sidewalk, park, terrace, or other property controlled or owned by the City (including right-of-ways).  

A complete application should include: 

• Application form: all sections in the application form are filled out and is signed & dated 
• Cover page: includes detailed contact information, project scope, proposed work dates. State whether the proposed works is by open trench or drilling boring. 
• Design drawing of proposed work: includes location address or intersection. Plan view scale at 1:250. Existing city utilities (sewer, drainage, water, street light conduits), and third party utilities with offsets from property line. Trench profile 1:50 vertical scale sections including at city utility crossings (water / sewers) / street lighting).  Proposed utility joint trench offset distances. 
• Pavement restoration plan following the City of Burnaby Pavement Restoration policy. 
• Certificate of insurance: includes City of Burnaby as co-insured and has policy expiry date. Use the City of Burnaby prefilled Certificate of Insurance standards form for basic or sensitive utilities. 
• Traffic control permit: includes permit # (if applicable)

For the installation or removal of any aboveground or underground storage tank.

Additional information:

Permit fees are $49 per tank for residential properties and $98 per tank for commercial properties. No tax is charged for these permits.

Please note: All tank removal companies must have a valid Burnaby Business Licence and must present the licence number and scheduled date of tank removal/installation when applying for a permit.

Send completed permit application to [email protected] for processing, or mail directly to the Fire Administration Office. 

Cheque or online City of Burnaby Invoice payment is preferred; any payment drop-off must be scheduled in advance through the Fire Administration Office (4867 Sperling Avenue, Burnaby, BC  V5E 2S9).

Verification Reports 

We require each applicant who is issued a permit to remove a tank to provide us with written documentation once the tank has been removed. This documentation should include:

• Photos of the tank being removed
• A letter stating that the tank has been removed and on what date
• Receipts, including for the recycling or disposal of the tank and/or disposal of contaminated soil
• Results of soil samples, if applicable 
• Verification that the soil meets or exceeds Environment Canada guidelines

For property owners wanting to create a new parcel(s) of land out of an existing parcel or consolidate parcels.

For temporarily placing a container on-street. Examples include: construction bins, moving containers, shipping containers, trailers, etc. Whenever possible, containers/pods should be placed on private property.

For temporary land uses not permitted under the current zoning districts, subject to Council approval. Temporary Use Permits are valid for up to 3 years and may be renewed once for an additional maximum 3 years.