Clinton Rubin News

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Online permit filing, paying for developers is on the way

Philadelphia Business Journal - by Natalie Kostelni
nkostelni@bizjournals.com | 215-238-5139

An online system that will allow developers to electronically file and pay for permits is expected to be implemented in phases beginning this spring as part of a comprehensive overhaul of Philadelphia’s cumbersome and time-consuming development process.

The electronic filing system is part of an effort the city undertook to improve the development permitting process, which can take anywhere between 156 to 571 days to upwards of 1,000 days for a development that needs variances. While improving the permitting system is a key component to making the development process more predictable and more streamlined, the city is also working on reforming the zoning code. That code has been amended but not comprehensively updated in 45 years and is a key component to changing the ways development is done in the city and fulfilling a campaign promise made by Mayor Michael Nutter. City voters approved a referendum in 2007 to update the zoning code and development process.

Nutter authorized in 2008 a study of the current permitting process. The William Penn Foundation gave the city a $225,000 grant to help fund the study and Clinton Rubin, a management consulting company in Trevose, was hired to help evaluate the process. The $550,000 study is phase one of three to reform the permitting process.

The city released a report last month detailing how it handles the permitting process and how the process can be made more efficient. The city’s conclusion was not surprising to developers like Sam Sherman, immediate past president of the Building Industry Association and a developer who runs Sam Sherman Associates. The study found the city’s development process is a “major barrier” for those wanting to invest in Philadelphia and the “difficult” development process and permitting delays have a significant impact on the cost of development.

“Given the current economic climate, Philadelphia can no longer afford to allow an inefficient process to stifle reinvestment and growth,” the report said.

Reform will bring clarity, transparency and predictability, Sherman said, adding that it will also boost investment and development in the city.

“What I’m impressed with overall is going down to the [Licenses and Inspections] counter,” Sherman said. “It’s more efficient. When I first went down to L&I five to six years ago, I’d wait there all day. Now the longest visit I’ve had is an hour and a half at most.”

Departments, such as streets, water, licenses and inspections, historical commission and others have started to work in tandem on projects where they had worked independently and sometimes conflicted with each other. A task force was formed to shepherd large projects through the permitting process and meets weekly to review proposals.

“What that does is give the developer marching orders before he submits for final review,” Sherman said. “That takes 30 days off the approval process. It reduces the uncertainty and time it takes to obtain a permit, set the ground rules and a level playing field. You save money, time and energy and can manage your project. All of this is an economic development issue more than anything else.”

The second phase will be taking a closer look at the process from a customer’s point of view and reviewing recommendations made in the study, said Brian Flanagan of the Deputy Mayor’s Office of Planning and Economic Development. The final phase will be to construct the technology for the electronic filing system and roll it out beginning in June. How much that will cost hasn’t been determined

Other News:

• Clinton Rubin expands capabilities into government sector through
  acquisition of McConnell International, a consulting firm specializing in
  US federal government procurement.

 

 

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