News

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Date ArticleType
5/31/2022 Member News

HBA Works with Washington County Staff and Builder-Members to Address Permitting Delays


Over the past months, HBA has been working with Washington County staff and members to address permitting delays through regular meetings and over the last few months has been tackling the issue head-on through a permitting efficiency pilot project.

With the help of members with projects in the early stages of development, county staff are testing new workflows and processes. The project is designed to address permitting delays through two avenues; finding and correcting problems inherent in current processes and testing new processes which will allow for earlier permit submission and concurrent review.

The intent of reviewing current processes is to identify and correct barriers or hurdles to submission, timely review and workflow with the intent of speeding up the process, better allocating resources and creating better outcomes for all permittees. Early submission and concurrent review work is intended to better align the current processes with the original intent of HB 2306. This change could have significant impacts, allowing subdivision projects to move from one phase to the next without costly delays in between.

Staff are currently looking for a few more “pilot” projects to test. If you are building in Washington County contact Ryan Makinster, ryanm@hbapdx.org to get more information and see if your project would qualify.