Friday, April 16, 2021
Bill King Blog
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About Bill
  • Policy Discussion
  • Categories
  • Tune in
  • Home
  • About Bill
  • Policy Discussion
  • Categories
  • Tune in
No Result
View All Result
Bill King Blog
No Result
View All Result
Home Ethics

A Plan for Fixing City Permitting

by Bill King
October 9, 2019
in Ethics
0
Quote of the Week – Will Rogers on the Democratic Party
Share this article
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  

I have consistently heard complaints from Houstonians about the difficulty in getting building permits from the City. The complaints mostly centered on exceedingly long delays. Many reported waiting as long as nine months to get a permit approved. The process is so time-consuming and complicated that many applicants hire “expediters” to shepherd their applications through the process.

The process has been particularly challenging for homeowners attempting to rebuild after Harvey, many of whom are new to the process. The rollout of the new City of Houston rule requiring slab elevations to be raised to two feet above the 500-year Base Flood Elevation has been especially problematic.

Design professionals and developers who work in jurisdictions surrounding Houston and in other cities in Texas have told me the process at the City takes much longer and is much more difficult than other jurisdictions. Several real estate brokers have told me they are actively steering clients away from building in the City because of the added costs, uncertainty, and delays in getting permits.

Obviously, we must ensure that any new construction complies with our building codes, but this dysfunction is unacceptable. Based on the input I have received from many who are regularly involved in this process, I believe there are some concrete steps that can be taken to significantly improve the process.

  • The “one-stop” procedure needs to be expanded and “codified.” Specifically, the City should allow self-certification, abbreviated certifications, and conditional approval for applicants in which there are relatively few life/safety concerns. Specific guidelines should be adopted so that it is clear to the customers which applications qualify for the less stringent review.
  • There should be greater specialization within the permitting process. For starters, single-family residential permitting should be a completely separate group from those who work on commercial applications. And even within those areas, there should be specialization: For example, there should be different paths for professional builders versus homeowners doing minor repairs or renovations.
  • The same reviewer should stay with the application from filing to completion.
  • All permit requirements should be reviewed periodically to evaluate whether they are necessary or overlap other requirements.
  • “Packages” of all required permit applications should be assembled for business types routinely requesting permits to begin operations – e.g., gas stations, convenience stores, restaurants.
  • The City should have an outsourcing option to expand its capacity especially when there are spikes in permit applications – e.g. after floods. Also, a study should be conducted to determine whether any classes of permit applications could be effectively outsourced to an independent review group.
  • Managers responsible for customer service should have all employees that affect customer service in the same command chain. Some applications require review by other City departments (referred to as “outside” review). Those reviewing the application in other departments do not report to those in the permitting center who are responsible for getting the application processed, effectively taking control of the process out of their hands.
ShareTweet

Bill King

Related Posts

mother scolding child (2)
COVID-19

Quote of the Week – “Better Safe than Sorry”

April 9, 2020
Quote of the Week – Will Rogers on the Democratic Party
Ethics

The Day 126 Kelsey-Seybold Clinic Doctors and Executives Contributed Nearly $90,000 to Turner’s Campaign

September 12, 2019
Quote of the Week – Will Rogers on the Democratic Party
City Of Houston Finances

City’s Sweetheart Deal with Strip Clubs is Not So Sweet for Victims of Human Trafficking

June 16, 2019
Quote of the Week – Will Rogers on the Democratic Party
City Of Houston Finances

Bill King’s Seven-Point Ethics Reform and Transparency Plan

June 10, 2019
Quote of the Week – Will Rogers on the Democratic Party
City Of Houston Finances

Turner Accepts $50,000 in Campaign Contributions from Strip Clubs While Human Trafficking Flourishes in Houston

May 2, 2019
Quote of the Week – Will Rogers on the Democratic Party
City Of Houston Finances

The First Pay-to-Play Endorsement Is In

April 3, 2019
Load More
Next Post
Book Review: Factualness

Book Review: Factualness

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

By Categories

  • Book Review
  • City Of Houston Finances
  • Climate Change
  • COVID-19
  • Crime
  • Demographics
  • Economics
  • Election Reform
  • Environment
  • Ethics
  • Faith
  • Federal Government Finances
  • Flooding
  • Harris County
  • Harvey Recovery
  • homeblog
  • Human Trafficking
  • Hurricane Preparation
  • Ike Dike
  • Immigration
  • Kingwood
  • Management Districts
  • Media
  • Mobility
  • Montrose Management District
  • National Economy
  • National Economy
  • National Politics
  • Pensions
  • Police Polices & Procedures
  • Police Policies & Procedures
  • Political Parties
  • Property Taxes
  • Public Health
  • Quote of the Week
  • Race
  • Rebuild Houston
  • Rebuild Houston – Drainage Fee
  • Social Security
  • State of Texas
  • State of Texas Finances
  • TIRZ
  • Uncategorized
  • Uptown
  • Utility Grid
Bill King Blog

Posts range from local to national issues and focus on fact-based analysis, avoiding hyperbole and partisanship. The site is intended to be an open, respectful discussion of the critical issues of our day. Contact Bill directly and let him know what matters to you - weking@weking.net

Recent News

  • US COVID Data Update –Fatalities Continue to Fall while Other Metrics Plateau
  • Update on Texas COVID Stats – No Surge in Sight

Our Social Media

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About Bill
  • Policy Discussion
  • Categories
  • Tune in