While I like the idea of a modernized system, and appreciate the acceptance of some of the problems in permitting….After speaking to people that work in several departments involved in the permit approval process, there should be a human that reviews these permits first to determine which other departments need to review said plans to possibly avoid something simple needing to be looked at by departments that it doesn’t involve….this would streamline it so smaller things didn’t need to follow larger more complex permits to all departments.
Hi Kurt, I received the following response from Calvin Goings in regard to your comment:
Yes, it is important to always have regular staff reviews of pending applications. The Development Services Team comprised of staff from Community and Economic Development (CED), Public Works and Utilities (PWU), and the Fire Marshalls Office (FMO) will continue to meet weekly to review and collaborate on all pending applications and permit requests.
I wholeheartedly agree. Senate Bill 5290 is forcing all municipalities to become more efficient. The City also set out KPIs in 2017 for measuring progress in permitting, but never followed up on it. Is the SB 5290 timeline requirement of 65 days for a permit that doesn't require public notice (and 100 days for those requiring notice) really happening? I pray the City starts a real-time "dashboard" with all of the new KPIs constantly updated. At a minimum, City Council should commit to share quarterly updates on our progress.
I Steven, I received the following reply from Calvin Goings to your comment:
Yes, the consolidated and streamlined permit timelines required by Senate Bill 5290 have been implemented by the City of Port Angeles. As of the end of Q1 2025, the City has achieved 100% compliance with these enhanced permitting thresholds. Additionally, once the City’s new electronic permitting system is implemented later this year, the City will publish real-time KPI data for all permit applications.
I already made a note in my calendar to ask City Council in July for the second quarter KPI results. I would also like it to be an opportunity for dialog. For example, building permit and lodging tax data comes out monthly, yet no one ever does an analysis on the growth month over month, year over year, year to date, benchmarked to Sequim, Clallam County, etc. I suspect no one wants to stick their neck out so they just ignore it. This is what I mean by setting true measurable goals, and then being transparent and accountable. I have to believe you are very aware of this kind of data for your company. Why don't the citizens ever get the same for the community they are deeply invested in?
I do know that Calvin has expressed that the KPI’s will be a part of staff evaluations. I was glad to hear that they will be responsible (and accountable) to hit the metrics they’ve created. I agree that greater reporting would be a big step forward.
While I like the idea of a modernized system, and appreciate the acceptance of some of the problems in permitting….After speaking to people that work in several departments involved in the permit approval process, there should be a human that reviews these permits first to determine which other departments need to review said plans to possibly avoid something simple needing to be looked at by departments that it doesn’t involve….this would streamline it so smaller things didn’t need to follow larger more complex permits to all departments.
Hi Kurt, I received the following response from Calvin Goings in regard to your comment:
Yes, it is important to always have regular staff reviews of pending applications. The Development Services Team comprised of staff from Community and Economic Development (CED), Public Works and Utilities (PWU), and the Fire Marshalls Office (FMO) will continue to meet weekly to review and collaborate on all pending applications and permit requests.
Thanks for the feedback Kurt! I’ll follow up with Calvin Goings and see if we can’t get a response.
I wholeheartedly agree. Senate Bill 5290 is forcing all municipalities to become more efficient. The City also set out KPIs in 2017 for measuring progress in permitting, but never followed up on it. Is the SB 5290 timeline requirement of 65 days for a permit that doesn't require public notice (and 100 days for those requiring notice) really happening? I pray the City starts a real-time "dashboard" with all of the new KPIs constantly updated. At a minimum, City Council should commit to share quarterly updates on our progress.
I Steven, I received the following reply from Calvin Goings to your comment:
Yes, the consolidated and streamlined permit timelines required by Senate Bill 5290 have been implemented by the City of Port Angeles. As of the end of Q1 2025, the City has achieved 100% compliance with these enhanced permitting thresholds. Additionally, once the City’s new electronic permitting system is implemented later this year, the City will publish real-time KPI data for all permit applications.
Thanks Steven, I’ll follow up with Calvin and share any results.
I already made a note in my calendar to ask City Council in July for the second quarter KPI results. I would also like it to be an opportunity for dialog. For example, building permit and lodging tax data comes out monthly, yet no one ever does an analysis on the growth month over month, year over year, year to date, benchmarked to Sequim, Clallam County, etc. I suspect no one wants to stick their neck out so they just ignore it. This is what I mean by setting true measurable goals, and then being transparent and accountable. I have to believe you are very aware of this kind of data for your company. Why don't the citizens ever get the same for the community they are deeply invested in?
I do know that Calvin has expressed that the KPI’s will be a part of staff evaluations. I was glad to hear that they will be responsible (and accountable) to hit the metrics they’ve created. I agree that greater reporting would be a big step forward.