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Building and Code Enforcement seeks new staff, software and a dashboard to cut permit review times
Summary
Director Lord Young told commissioners the county's building plan review is slower than targets on several permit types; staff proposed hiring a plans examiner and an assistant building official, an office manager, and evaluating/possibly replacing permit software (estimated $100k–$200k) plus building a public dashboard to improve predictability.
Spokane County’s director of Building and Code Enforcement told commissioners Oct. 20 that permit review timelines remain higher than targets and that the department will seek a small set of staffing changes plus a new permitting system to speed reviews.
Lord Young, the department director, said current building‑code review timelines (a snapshot taken last Wednesday) were about 26 calendar days for single‑family plans, roughly 40 days for commercial reviews and about 29 days for tenant improvements. He said the department’s goal is to reduce single‑family review to roughly three weeks or less and to shorten other permit timelines by about a week to 10 days.
Why it matters: Permitting timelines affect housing starts, commercial renovations and developers’ scheduling. Builders and municipal partners told commissioners they want predictable turnarounds;…
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