2024-04-08-minutes-public-works-study-session

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Executive Summary State Auditor"s Conclusions G As a former county executive, I found this performance audit spoke directly to the complexities and challenges of processing development permits within the timelines established by the Growth Management Act. Local governments work hard to ensure each permit accounts for the important goals of the Act, including protecting sensitive lands and ensuring new buildings are safe. At the same time, timeliness and predictability in permitting are critical to ensuring Washington can keep pace with its rapid economic and population growth. As this report explains, audited local governments often met the statutory requirement to process permits within 120 days. However, actual processing times varied widely due to many factors. These can include the complexity of the development, waiting for applicants to submit corrected or missing information, and too few permitting staff. Of the report's recommendations to improve permitting timeliness, I would emphasize continuous improvement. By focusing on issues solidly within its control, such as mapping existing processes, accurately recording work time and analyzing performance, a government of any size can become more efficient. I like to call this type of improvement "straightening the pipes" The State Auditor's Office offers robust support to such efforts through our Center for Government Innovation. To date, we have helped 30 cities and eight counties improve their permitting through detailed process improvement programs. I encourage local governments to consider the lessons contained in this report and take advantage of the free continuous improvement webinar we will arrange in 2024. Background Land developers and builders must obtain permits from their local government before carrying out development or building activity. These permits include land use permits, which deal with dividing parcels of land or whether a proposed project can be built on the specified parcel, as well as civil permits, which deal with preparing land, and building permits, which deal with actual structures and focus on ensuring they meet building codes and safety standards. Local governments are required to issue a decision on permit applications within 120 days from when they determine the application is complete. If they cannot Local governments included in this audit • City of Bellingham • City of Richland • City of Shoreline • City of Vancouver • Kittitas County Snohomish County Growth Management Act - Executive Summary 1 3