Assessing development permitting workflows: A practical guide for city leaders

This article explores how city leaders can assess development permitting workflows to identify delays, improve coordination and strengthen service delivery.

For city managers and planning and community development directors, development permitting is more than an administrative function. It is a core service that reflects a city’s commitment to economic vitality and the effective implementation of adopted plans and policies. When permitting workflows and timelines are unclear, outdated or inefficient, the impacts are felt well beyond the permit counter, often showing up as applicant complaints, missed development timelines or repeated questions from elected officials.

Process inefficiencies can slow the completion of housing and other economic development initiatives, erode applicant and resident confidence, and make policy goals harder to achieve. A structured assessment of development permitting workflows is an effective step city leadership can take to improve performance and effectiveness across planning, land use and building permit operations.

Understanding your current development permitting workflow

Current systems are rarely the result of deliberate, enterprise-wide design. Permitting workflows and processes typically evolve over time, often in response to staffing changes, technology upgrades or new regulations and codes — and frequently a combination of all three. For directors and senior managers, understanding where delays occur, why certain projects stall and how staff time is actually being spent can provide valuable insight into where and how to initiate improvements.

Below are a few considerations from Baker Tilly’s development permitting process review professionals to help you begin reforming your process, improve internal effectiveness and enhance customer satisfaction.

• Taking an end-to-end view of the workflow is often most beneficial. However, if time or budget constraints do not allow for a comprehensive assessment, focusing on one or more key areas of concern can still produce meaningful results. Even targeted reviews can improve customer satisfaction and may reduce processing times.
• The clarity gained from a focused or end-to-end review can strengthen accountability and improve process predictability, while also supporting an environment that is responsive to the needs of the development community and aligned with regulatory and internal workflows.

City leaders can use the following questions as a quick diagnostic of their current permitting experience:

• Where can residential and commercial applicants find forms, application instructions and processing timelines for simple permits, rehabilitation projects and new developments (including projects with public improvements) on the city or county website?
• How much time, in days, does it take to approve a simple permit application — such as for a deck or fence — from application intake to permit issuance?
• What is the cycle time, in days, to complete a commercial footing or foundation inspection, including the initial inspection request, review comments requiring corrections and any reinspection?

City managers and directors can also benefit from acting as “secret shoppers.” Trying to locate answers to these questions from the perspective of an applicant — whether a large residential or commercial developer or a first-time do-it-yourself applicant — often reveals areas that warrant closer review.

Building a foundation for permitting process improvement

An end-to-end workflow assessment that involves staff from key departments, divisions and outside agencies is critical to achieving sustainable, process-wide improvements. These assessments can support:

• Shared operational goals and a common framework that clarify roles, responsibilities and expectations across planning, building, engineering, public works, fire, utilities and other development permitting functions.
• Greater alignment across departments around service goals, along with improved resolution of interdepartmental pain points through shared technology platforms, key performance indicators, interdepartmental operating agreements and clear procedures and standards for accountability and communication.

The ultimate goal: Strengthening development processes and service delivery

Assessing development permitting workflows is a strategic, low-risk initiative with tangible benefits. It provides a fact-based foundation for operational improvement, can strengthen cross-department alignment and communication, and equips leadership with the information needed to make informed decisions related to staffing, technology and service levels.

Successful development permitting relies on periodic assessment. Whether a city undertakes a comprehensive review or a targeted assessment of specific components, leaders should involve staff, listen to applicants and customers, consider applicable best practices and fund improvements thoughtfully. Once implementation begins, measuring progress and outcomes is critical to sustaining success.

Whether a city is exploring its first permitting assessment or refining an existing process, the most important step is simply getting started with a clear scope and shared goals. Baker Tilly has decades of experience helping local governments improve development review and permitting processes. Our professionals can tailor an approach to meet your organization’s needs and priorities.