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Chamber and staff outline permitting frustrations and a plan to streamline processes
Summary
The Chamber described persistent permitting barriers—unclear permit types, long review timelines, tenant improvement costs and landlord responsiveness—and city staff pledged process mapping, an updated development approval flow and an ERP rollout to modernize permit tracking and publish timelines within 15 months.
The Chamber of Commerce and staff described recurring permitting challenges that complicate business openings and expansions and offered next steps to streamline the process.
Carrie, the Chamber executive director, said businesses frequently struggle to identify which permits they need, face lengthy review timelines and incur costs that delay revenue. "When it becomes too expensive or too difficult to open, expand, or maintain a business in Davis, entrepreneurs choose to locate elsewhere," she said, urging collaboration between the city, the Chamber and the Davis Downtown Business Association.
Staff (Katie Yancey) summarized steps already underway: updating the draft development approval process posted on the city website, maintaining the DIRT (Design and Engineering Review Team), and committing to publish updated timelines, process flowcharts and guidance within 15 months. Staff noted an ERP (enterprise resource planning) rollout has begun and an ERP project manager is in place; the ERP will underpin cloud‑based permitting tools and streamline cross‑department workflows.
The Chamber offered to facilitate conversations with business owners and to distribute permitting information via its regular newsletters. Staff said the city would explore using CDBG funds ($75,000 allocated in 2025) for small business technical assistance with SBDC partners and invited business input on the technical advisory committee for the general plan.
