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Planning staff present 2025 annual report: applications and permitting trends
Summary
Planning staff told the commission the body met 23 times in 2025, reviewed 227 applications with a 95% approval recommendation rate, issued over 11,000 building permits and noted a surge in short-term rental conditional-use permit workload.
Planning staff presented the 2025 Planning Commission annual report, summarizing meeting activity, application volumes and permitting metrics.
The presenter reported the commission met 23 times, held 12 public hearings, reviewed 227 planning and zoning applications and recommended approval of roughly 95% of those applications. Conditional use permits were the largest category of reviewed items; staff said there were 198 CUP applications in 2025 and that short-term rentals have become a prominent share of CUP work (57 STR CUPs in 2025, many renewals).
Staff also summarized permitting and construction data: over 11,000 building permits were issued and roughly 24,000 inspections completed last year. New single-family dwelling permits were low in 2025 (125 new single-family dwellings, the lowest in over a decade). Staff acknowledged some large-apartment permit tallies in earlier years are permits that have not yet translated into constructed units and that a gap remains between permits issued and projects that break ground.
On process metrics, staff said they track internal plan-review turnaround targets and aim for a 10-working-day review for residential plan reviews; staffing increases and procedural changes have helped bring reviews closer to that target. Commissioners urged clearer public reporting on total elapsed time from initial submission to permit completion, including time held by applicants; staff said they will pursue better metrics and public outreach about improvements.
The presenter noted the draft annual report will be available in the department's Dropbox and on Granicus and that adoption will be scheduled at a February public hearing.
