Committee forwards $Matrix Consulting study of building-permit processes funded by ARPA to full council

The Finance and Administration Council committee on Sept. 9, 2025, voted to forward Resolution 25,128 to the full City Council to accept a cost proposal and issue a purchase order to Matrix Consulting Group to conduct a building code review and permitting process assessment study, funded from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) revenue replacement restricted fund.

City staff described the study as a third-party review of internal processes for handling applications, permitting and inspections for commercial and residential buildings. Staff said the study will identify bottlenecks and may recommend administrative or technology changes to streamline permitting.

“We’ll invite architects and general contractors and home builders … to give us their input on where they're having issues with us in terms of getting permits or getting inspections,” a staff member said. Staff estimated the review would be completed in about three months and said the firm could recommend changes ranging from process tweaks to potential software changes; whether any recommended software changes would require additional funding would depend on the study’s findings.

The study scope described in the proposal also includes a customer survey and focus groups; a committee member asked whether the city would solicit input broadly, and staff confirmed the outreach would include industry stakeholders. Staff also said the study could examine accessibility and language access for the online permitting system, including Spanish-language access, if needed.

The committee recorded a motion and second to forward the resolution to the full council; no vote tally was recorded in the committee transcript.