County planning and development staff detail rising permit volume, staffing strain and digital-permitting rollout

Community development leaders told the Board of Supervisors that permit and plan-review volume has risen markedly and that staffing shortages have constrained review and inspection capacity, prompting an accelerated effort to recruit staff and implement a cloud permitting system.

Staff said the department processed 3,032 chargeable items in the latest fiscal year (up from 2,541) and that the total valuation of permits under review or issued increased substantially year over year (examples cited in the presentation: FY24 permit valuations around $87 million versus FY25 valuations exceeding $187 million for some categories). Staff reported thousands of inspections per year (5,500 inspections cited in fiscal work) while working with a limited number of building inspectors for much of the period.

Supervisors heard that the department has been operating short-staffed since the pandemic, has been performing many re-reviews for incomplete submissions and that recurring rework consumes substantial staff time. Staff said that process changes and a fee‑schedule update are intended partly to discourage low-quality submissions and recover more of the department’s costs. Cloud-permit implementation is underway but incomplete; staff estimated roughly 30% of the cloud implementation tasks complete and asked for continued resources to finish the transition.

Staff also showcased several projects and tools: Let’s Go Boco, an in‑house digital map for parks, trails and boat launches that officials had presented at a state conference and that has received positive local usage; a local preconstruction and review workflow that facilitated several large projects; and ongoing work on code amendments (e.g., food trucks and floodplain items) and the comprehensive plan update. Staff singled out individual employees and contractors who performed heavy workloads — e.g., a part-time plans reviewer doing more than 1,200 reviews in a year and staff members who covered multiple roles while vacancies remained open.

Why it matters: The county’s ability to process development applications quickly affects business recruitment, home construction timelines and building-safety functions. Staff said that timely recruitment and completing the cloud-permit implementation would improve service, reduce customer frustration and help the department comply with continuing education and certification requirements.

Ending: The board and staff agreed to continue recruitment efforts, finalize cloud-permitting rollout and address backlog through temporary measures and fee/quality changes already under study.