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City reports stronger multifamily permitting, 1,200 residential units in plan review as Accela replacement set for November
Summary
Development Services Center staff told the Urban Experience Committee that construction permit activity and multifamily permitting are up this year, that the city is now tracking certificates of occupancy, and that Accela — the legacy permitting system — will be replaced by “Llama” with testing in August and a November release.
Good afternoon. Development Services Center presenter Steve McDonald told the Urban Experience Committee in July that year-to-date construction permits are up about 9 percent and that multifamily permitting has been a particular driver of housing production in 2025. McDonald said the city has issued 417 total housing permits year to date (294 multifamily and 85 single-family units). He also reported that the city issued 471 certificates of occupancy, which the department has begun tracking more systematically this year. “We have 1,200 units of residential that are right now in plan review,” McDonald said, describing that total as the key indicator of the pipeline. Why it matters: plan-review and permit throughput are leading indicators of future housing supply and are a focus for council members worried about delivery timelines. The department is replacing the legacy Accela permitting system with a system called Llama to improve customer transparency and staff efficiency; McDonald said testing starts in August and the release is planned for November. The city also received a $375,000 grant from the Washington State Department of Commerce to help defray the software costs. Details from the report: McDonald said total year-to-date housing use units were 417 and highlighted a rise in multifamily (294 YTD). He noted that single-family permit counts and total residential units remain below the four-year average despite being roughly 20 percent higher than 2024. Valuations were in line with three of the last four years, and public-project valuations have trended downward in recent years while private-sector job valuations have held steadier. The department flagged two technical trends: median job values for permitted single-family homes have declined since 2023 while per-square-foot valuations increased, which staff said likely reflects smaller average house sizes. McDonald described a time lag between permit issuance and CFO requests, which explains why the number of CFOs can exceed permits in a short window. Department actions and next steps: staff said replacing Accela with Llama and adding positions funded by recent fee adjustments are the chief near-term steps to improve throughput. McDonald also described a planned development-code revision (to be led by separate staff) and additional staffing as ways to reduce review times. Quotes and context: “We have 1,200 units of residential that are right now in plan review,” Steve McDonald said. On the project management software he added, “Accela…is being replaced…with a system called Llama…testing starting in August and a release in November.” Ending: Council members pressed staff for measurable improvements tied to earlier fee increases and asked for regular updates on permit times. Staff said the software replacement, additional hires and an anticipated development-code rewrite are intended to reduce review times and improve customer service.
