by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
The “world–class” permitting system envisioned by the City is a user–friendly model with the capability to turn its customers’ comments into action; a streamlined, more flexible process better able to respond to the changing demands of the area’s booming housing market.
To build that model, the City needs a blueprint, and now the mayor’s Improve the Permitting Process! committee has identified several cities and counties whose own processes could lead to the City’s final product.
“We want one seamless, world–class permitting process for the entire City of Jacksonville,” said John Becker, a City quality improvement officer charged with identifying problems and recommending changes. “Our customers should be able to travel through the process without tripping over us along the way.”
The committee will examine Seattle’s high tech–friendly structure, Hillsborough County’s cohesion and Charlotte’s progressive fees, among others, to determine whether similar approaches could work in Jacksonville. The committee will first examine the candidates’ compatibility before choosing a select few to work with. Permitting is not a one–size–fits–all endeavor, said Becker, and success in Tampa may not carry relevance for Jacksonville.
Once identified, Becker said the City would work closely with its municipal partners. Becker said the committee would likely schedule site visits in April or May.
“The site visits will be crucial to our success,” said Becker. “It will give these other cities and counties a sense of how serious we are about, and it will allow us to build relationships for the long haul.
“We want this to be a two–way street. We want to learn together from our mistakes and our successes.”
Seattle was targeted, said Becker, because of its purported accessibility to high tech firms. The City committed in 2001 to structuring its permitting process to accommodate expansion in the rapid–fire sector. The companies told the City through interviews that they wanted a process that took no longer than five months and that understood the sector’s infrastructure needs like high–speed phone lines.
Hillsborough County has recently emerged from a permitting overhaul of its own, and Becker said his committee was interested in the improved internal communications that seem to have resulted.
During a series of meetings following Mayor John Peyton’s election, builders of all descriptions complained that Jacksonville’s process often required repetitive reviews that sometimes resulted in conflicting instructions.
Some sets of plans require numerous reviews from City, State and federal inspectors. Greg Matovina, incoming president of the Northeast Florida Builders Association, told Becker’s committee that an approval from the U.S. Corps of Engineers warrants a celebration in his development firm’s office.
“When we get a Corps of Engineers’ permit, we go out and buy a six-pack of beer and have a party,” he said. “And I’m not kidding you.”
Not all delays rest on the shoulders of inspectors or bureaucracy. Becker said builders sometimes change plans mid–project, forcing another round of reviews.
To mitigate this, the committee is examining a progressive fee structure practiced in Charlotte. The structure calls for escalating prices for continued inspections.
“If you come in and get your permit within two reviews, you get the base price,” said Becker. “But if it takes two, three, four, five, six reviews because you keep changing plans, then the fees climb. It makes sense because you are requiring more handling.”
The City will also consider concentrating the entire permitting process under one person’s control. Like the other possible changes, Becker said the committee would examine centralization closely.
“We want to make sure we understand all the processes that would be involved in implementation,” said Becker. “We want to know if there could be unanticipated consequences that could come back and bite us.”