What are expedited permitting and review policies?

While permitting and review processes play an important role in ensuring new development meets safety, environmental, and other standards, a lengthy or complex approvals process also can lead to unnecessary delays and increased expenses that make it difficult to deliver affordable homes. Expedited permitting and review policies lift these barriers by streamlining the overall development approvals process for all homes, and/or by setting up special channels through which developers of affordable homes receive priority consideration for permit requests and other administrative processes.

What problems do these policies solve? Efforts to expedite permitting and review processes generally focus on remedying administrative inefficiencies that cause delay in the development process. These delays are often the product of a series of well-intentioned building, zoning, and environmental codes that have, in the aggregate, created a system in which it may take years to obtain the necessary approvals for development. When developers are required to submit multiple permit applications and secure approvals from an array of agencies -- each with its own timetable and set of organizational procedures -- before building can begin, the resulting delays can drive up the costs of new homes. Outdated requirements in the local zoning code and other policies that make the development process needlessly cumbersome cause further delays and introduce uncertainty into the development process. Expedited permitting and review policies address these obstacles by restructuring regulatory processes to emphasize efficiency, predictability, and cost savings for both the public and private sectors. Where are these policies most applicable? Nearly all communities require builders to get building permits and secure numerous other approvals when beginning construction on a new development. While all jurisdictions can benefit from policies that streamline the development process and facilitate the construction of new homes (including affordable homes), the most notable results of this streamlining process are likely to be seen in areas where demand for new housing is greatest and the combined burden of existing regulations the heaviest. Learn more about expedited permitting and review policies Go back to learn about other policies that help reduce red tape

Solutions in Action

Photo courtesy of City of Austin/Neighborhood Housing and Community Development The Villas on Sixth in Austin, Texas, was designed to be in compliance with Austin's S.M.A.R.T. Housing Initiative, a self-funded program that uses expedited review and fee waivers to stimulate the production of affordable homes. Residences built under this program are intended to be safe, mixed-income, accessible, reasonably priced, and transit-oriented (hence the S.M.A.R.T. acronym). Visit the Gallery to learn more about the Villas on Sixth and the S.M.A.R.T. Housing Initiative.

The Center for Housing Policy gratefully acknowledges the input and feedback provided for this policy section by reviewer Debra Bassert, National Association of Home Builders. Please note, however, that the views and opinions expressed on HousingPolicy.org are those of the Center for Housing Policy alone.