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San Jose staff outline permitting system, digital upgrades and steps to speed housing approvals
Summary
City staff told a City Council study session they are expanding ministerial paths, digital tools and coordinated review to make permitting faster and more predictable; officials pointed to recent successes on affordable housing timelines while acknowledging persistent staffing and coordination challenges.
San Jose — City staff laid out how the city's permitting system works and the steps they plan to take to reduce permit timelines during a City Council study session.
Chris Burton, director of Planning, Building and Code Enforcement, said the presentation aimed to set a shared understanding of the development continuum and where the city can act. "If an applicant submits the project right the first time, we'll approve it the first time," Burton said, summarizing staff emphasis on improved front-end application quality and clearer review checklists.
Why it matters: permitting timelines affect project feasibility, financing and how quickly housing, infrastructure and community benefits are delivered. Staff noted the city issues roughly 36,000 permits a year and that city processing typically represents a fraction — roughly 20% or less — of a project's total timeline.
What staff described: department leaders explained the four core review partners (planning, building, public works and fire) and how different service pathways apply to different project types. Staff highlighted recent successes on time-sensitive affordable housing projects using a coordinated "streamlined pathway," citing Gateway Tower as an example where technical reviews met a state funding deadline.
Digital and operational changes: Alex Powell, chief of staff for PBCE, reviewed the city's technology stack — the legacy Amanda permitting system, the SJPermits public portal and the SJ Plans submittal system — and said dashboards and a new fee estimator and application wizard are being rolled out. Powell said the city is upgrading its portal, improving inspection modules, and piloting AI-assisted prescreening for intake (but noted AI-assisted full reviews are not yet feasible).
Staff cautioned that accelerating permitting is a balance of trade-offs. Lisa Joyner, deputy director for the Building Division, said specialized expedited paths can be resource-intensive and risk delaying other projects if too many are prioritized simultaneously.
Next steps: city leaders said they have launched a development services delivery, optimization and realignment effort to improve intake quality, standardize comments and expand development facilitation officers. The city manager has initiated that realignment work and staff said more actionable proposals will be advanced through upcoming committee and budget processes.
The study session ended with council questions on expanding ministerial approvals, improving comment consistency and addressing staffing and fee models. Staff committed to continuing the work and returning with more specific proposals and timelines.
