Yavapai County reports faster permit reviews, new instant-permit pilot and growth in ‘Home of My Own’ program

Yavapai County Development Services reported improvements in permitting speed and a set of operational pilots to supervisors during a joint Planning & Zoning and Board of Supervisors session March 27.

Director Jeremy Dye told the board that average first-review turnaround across permit types is now roughly three weeks and that several operational changes — including staffing, process streamlining and a remote-inspection program — helped cut a backlog of septic reviews that at one point stretched to six months down to about one week.

“We’ve got them down to three weeks for all of our permit types,” Dye said. He added that remote video inspections and other process changes were intended to “look for ways to really improve our processes and make things easier for the public.”

Nut graf: The update outlined both near-term pilots and longer projects that affect property owners and contractors across unincorporated Yavapai County: an “instant” online permit option for simple work, expanded video inspections to reduce long rural drive times, ongoing adoption of updated state building codes and a county housing program that supplies pre-approved house plans at reduced cost.

What changed and why it matters

- Permit timing and inspection: Dye said first-review times have fallen to about three weeks after process changes and new management in the environmental/septic unit. Assistant Director Mark Muson described the county’s remote video-inspection rollout, which began in February and allows an inspector to review many routine items — slabs, gas and water lines, HVAC and septic inspections — via live video or an offline photo upload. Inspectors currently schedule live inspections in morning windows (staff noted 8 a.m.–noon is typical) to coordinate field workloads. Muson said the program has removed nearly 4,000 truck miles from inspection workloads to date and is saving substantial staff time and applicant travel.

- Instant permits: Dye described an “instant permit” pilot through the county online portal for low-complexity work such as small gas- or water-line replacements that need little or no engineering or plan review. Staff said they are identifying which permit types can safely be issued immediately and will consult industry stakeholders before wider rollout.

- Building codes and ISO rating: Dye told the board the department is preparing to present fee updates and adoption of current building codes; he said adopting modern codes improves the county’s ISO building-safety rating (the county’s most recent round produced an overall Class 3 score) and—indirectly—homeowner insurance outcomes.

- Home of My Own program: Muson and Dye reported the county’s workforce/affordable-house plan program has expanded from three to six pre‑approved, low-cost plan sets and that the county has reduced plan-review fees and waived review fees for use of these standard plans. Muson supplied updated program metrics: 15 applications have been submitted under the program, the county has issued 68 permits and 31 certificates of occupancy have been recorded for those plans. Muson said the county has approved intergovernmental agreements allowing Prescott Valley, Pinal County and the Town of Clarkdale to use Yavapai County’s standard plans; other municipalities are pending.

What staff cautioned

Staff and supervisors noted limits and dependencies: instant permits are being scoped so they won’t be offered where plot plans or engineering are needed, and video inspections still depend on applicants having usable cellular or Wi-Fi service (staff said the vendor app allows offline capture that will upload when the device regains a signal). Dye and Muson also said adoption of newer codes will include a transition/grace period coordinated with municipalities; an exact effective date has not been finalized.

Quotes

"We have about 72 full-time staff in development services," Dye said, "and we're really focused on ways to say yes—finding the solutions rather than putting up obstacles." Mark Muson said the remote inspections "allow the customer to schedule a virtual inspection on their time" and then save those videos and photos automatically into the county's permit database.

Ending: next steps and public impact

Staff said they will continue stakeholder outreach on instant permits, finalize the proposed fee and code package for formal hearings, and track the remote-inspection pilot as it scales. The changes affect homeowners, contractors and rural residents who often face long travel times for in-person inspections and long permit processing waits.