PORT TOWNSEND — The Jefferson County Department of Community Development has streamlined its permitting system for new residential construction to the point that officials expect some permits to be issued the day of application.
“This will speed up the process and eliminate a lot of waste,” said Associate Planner David Wayne Johnson of the new Upfront Review Team.
“Ever since I began working at the county, I’ve been hearing how we need to issue permits more quickly, and it has taken us some time to find an acceptable solution,” he said.
Under the old system, a permit request was presented to county planning staff for review and distribution to such other agencies as county Public Health and Public Works.
Under the new system, staff from all applicable agencies look at the permit at the same time so there is immediate review and, in some cases, immediate approval of a residential building permit.
“This drastically reduces the time, confusion and frustration that used to be common with the old way of doing things,” Johnson said.
“It’s conceivable that an applicant could get their permit the same day they submitted their application.”
Johnson said the new process is currently in place only for single-family residential permits but could extend to other categories depending on the complexity of the request.
Walk-in help is available for some topics and is free for the first 15 minutes but charged at a $78 hourly rate thereafter.
Johnson said the new system won’t need any more staff time but will require more organization and coordination.
Under the new permitting process, an applicant is given a checklist upon scheduling an appointment to submit a building permit.
This allows applicants to make sure they have everything needed to review their applications once they are submitted.
The Upfront Review Team is then alerted to the appointment and starts reviewing the application as it is submitted.
“This eliminates the delays caused by routing the application to different departments and the chance that the applicant will get a letter weeks, sometimes months, later telling them they need to submit more information,” Johnson said.
“The review team can talk directly to the applicant and explain any issues that may come up, and if they need more information, the applicant will leave the appointment knowing exactly what they need to submit to get their permit.”
Johnson said applicants need to be more aware of what is required to make the new program work.
Currently, about 52 percent of applications are incomplete in some way.
To view the checklist, go to http://tinyurl.com/PDN-Permits.
The department is at 621 Sheridan St., Port Townsend.
Hours are from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays. It is closed Fridays.
For more information, phone Johnson or Sally Ellis at 360-379-4450.
________
Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
