Monroe accelerates permit review and rolls out multi‑year resurfacing plan

Monroe — City staff told the Monroe City Council during its Sept. 16 strategic planning retreat that a retooled permit review process has cut average turnaround times to well below the targets set in 2024, and officials unveiled a multi‑year street resurfacing plan that will start with a 9.7‑mile contract expected to be awarded next month.

The permit review overhaul, led by staff member Jeff, set formal goals of five business days for residential plan reviews and ten days for commercial reviews. ‘‘In 2025’s first quarter we had 2,696 total reviews with a 3.42 average day to review,’’ Jeff said. He reported the CityView software expansion, fillable electronic forms and clearer submittal requirements helped achieve the improvement and cited department‑by‑department averages that in many cases were well under the goal (planning and zoning: 2.51 days; building code: 0.86 days; fire code: 2.74 days). ‘‘We are running really good on these numbers,’’ Jeff said.

City Manager Watts told council the faster reviews make Monroe more attractive to builders and developers. ‘‘They appreciate it—folks would rather come to Monroe and deal with a one‑stop shop,’’ he said at the retreat.

Why it matters: Faster plan review reduces time and uncertainty for homeowners and developers, and it is a selling point in economic development pitches. At the same time, city staff said public communication and an online Power BI dashboard now under development will give council and the public sortable, near‑real‑time permit metrics to preserve the improvements.

Street resurfacing plan: funding, scope and schedule

Public works staff presented a connected pavement preservation and resurfacing program…