Consultants recommend 70+ changes to streamline City of Oshkosh development review

Aaron Bagherly, a consultant with Matrix Consulting Group, told the Oshkosh City Council that his firm’s development review study found strong service levels but identified about 70 recommendations to improve the city’s permitting and review process.

Bagherly said the final report (roughly 220 pages with appendices) highlights strengths — notably fast internal turnaround on individual review rounds — alongside gaps in technology use, standard operating procedures and cross‑discipline coordination that lengthen total permit timelines for applicants.

The report’s central recommendations include establishing an internal development leadership council to drive implementation; standardizing operating procedures and staff review timelines; increasing use of the city’s Evolv permitting system so data can be used for performance dashboards; tightening and clarifying the pre‑application process; conducting application completeness checks at intake and rejecting incomplete submissions; expanding online customer tools (a centralized development web page, application checklists and online meeting scheduling); and creating an appeals body such as a building code review board for disputed code interpretations.

“You do have very strong service levels,” Bagherly told council. He…