DDES Pre-Submittal Service Will Reduce Permit Review Time

King County is taking the next step to reform customer service by improving the process of applying for mid-size permits at the Department of Development and Environmental Services – working up-front with customers who bring in permits too complex for over-the-counter service.

Starting April 25 customers with development permits too complex for over-the-counter service, but not complex enough to qualify for a pre-application meeting, will be entered into a new program called Pre-Submittal Services (PSS).

The PSS process will provide direct customer service to applicants before they submit the application by providing feedback to identify technical issues or red flags, and set expectations for the process ahead. This will allow staff at the Department of Development and Environmental Services (DDES) to immediately initiate or review the application as soon as it is submitted, rather than having to go back to the applicant to request clarity or more information.

“Our Department has been working purposefully and energetically over the last year to make permitting processes at King County less burdensome,” said DDES Director John Starbard. “I’m optimistic about this reform to our services. It should speed up review times, improve communication with our customers, and enable applicants to start their projects sooner.”

Incorrect and incomplete application submittals are a major factor that add to the cost and complexity of the permitting process.

PSS will assist with twelve types of mid-size permit applications:
􀂃New Dwellings
􀂃Additions/Remodels/Accessory Structures*
􀂃Agricultural Buildings
􀂃Signs*
􀂃Tenant Improvements*
􀂃Small Commercial Buildings
􀂃Site Plan Resubmittal
􀂃Residential Revision
􀂃Grading
􀂃Right-Of-Way-Use
􀂃Boundary Line Adjustments
􀂃Separate Lot/Lot Mergers

*Some of these permit types may be covered already in the easy over-the-counter permit process

Beginning April 25, applicants who have a PSS qualifying project will pay $357 up front, which will be credited to the cost of the application once the final paperwork is submitted. The total processing time is expected to drop significantly, and each applicant will work with DDES staff to help ensure their paperwork is right the first time, and they can prevent delays associated with the need to stop processing and contact the applicant for more information or clarity.
PSS will be conducted during business days from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm (with a lunch break between 12:00 to 1:00 pm).

The PSS process builds on a series of reforms at DDES under the guidance of King County Executive Dow Constantine, and DDES Director John Starbard. Reforms include the introduction of a fixed-fee model to provide cost certainty for building permits, permit integration with other county agencies, over-the-counter permits, a revised permit intake process, and enhanced relationships with cities and stakeholders.

For hours and location of DDES, visit www.kingcounty.gov/permits

King County to offer same-day building permits

While the type of permits that will qualify is fairly limited, it is definitely a step in the right direction and I applaud Executive Constantine for making it. Let’s see if we can get other permit review times down and bring more predictability to fees charged in reviewing them.




New “over-the-counter” permitting at DDES will enable walk-in, one-day service beginning Oct. 18

Front-line staff and supervisors redesign the process for simple permits to better serve customers and eliminate weeks-long wait time

The weeks-long wait for review of many environmental and building permits in King County will soon be a thing of the past. Beginning Monday, October 18, the county’s Department of Development and Environmental Services (DDES) will provide expedited, one-day or “over the counter” review processes for many permit types.

“It doesn’t make sense for someone who needs a quick oil change to have to wait in line behind someone who needs their engine rebuilt,” said King County Executive Dow Constantine. “This change brings that same logical approach to our permitting services, and will save our customers time, money, and aggravation.”

Under the guidance of the Executive’s reform agenda, a team of front-line employees and supervisors jointly designed the streamlined process by which customers who need a simple permit will be able to walk into DDES without an appointment, submit an application, and obtain their permit on the same day.

“It has been awkward to talk to people about our ‘over-the-counter’ permits when they have to wait weeks and weeks for an appointment just to get to the counter,” said DDES Director John Starbard. “This is part of the reforms we’re making at DDES to make our services easier, more accessible, and more predictably-priced.”

Permits that can be obtained “over-the-counter” beginning on Monday, October 18, will include small residential remodels, tenant improvements to commercial spaces, building additions, decks, seismic retrofits, and many others. Appointments will still be required for complex development proposals.

Customers who prefer to make an appointment in advance will still have that option.

DDES offered walk-in permit services in the past, but in the late 1990’s the department was compelled to move to an appointment system due to a surge in construction and other permitting activity. Starbard says the current lower volume of permit applications and a smaller customer base due to annexations and incorporations makes it possible to return to a walk-in system for many permit types.
Jarrod Lewis, DDES Assistant Supervisor for the Planning and Customer Services Section, said front-line employees leveraged their practical, daily experience in processing these kinds of permits to create a new, more streamlined, efficient and effective system.

“It has been very rewarding to see our staff come together and develop service improvements that enable us to work more efficiently while also truly benefitting our customers,” he said.

Starbard announced the redesigned permitting process at today’s meeting of the Metropolitan King County Council’s Committee of the Whole.

Quick Reference Sheet of Significant Changes in 2009 IRC

The 2009 International Residential Code (IRC) took effect last Thursday. The Master Builders Association has put together a good Quick Reference Sheet of Significant Changes to be aware of.

http://www.mbaks.com/library/issues/2009IRCSummaryMatrix_GH.pdf

Can you spare 70 hours for EPA?

Got an extra 70 hours to donate? Are you willing to disclose sensitive financial information? If so, you’re invited to take part in EPA’s upcoming survey?

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is asking for your input as it considers five new regulations. One of these regulations would require existing developments to retrofit inadequate storm water management controls and another that would require developers to create long-term controls designed to better manage storm water discharges well past the construction phase.

The EPA plans to distribute the survey to 2,400 builders and developers in July. Some people have objections to questions, which require respondents to detail sensitive financial information. The surveys are burdensome as well, with the longer version expected to take about 70 hours to complete, according to the EPA’s own estimates.

The agency is accepting comments from the development community through June 9. The draft is available at the EPA storm water Web site.

To submit comments to the docket — Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2009-0817 — click here or go to http://www.regulations.gov/search/Regs/home.html#home

Are you going to take the survey?

Lot Shortage

Even as foreclosures continue to flood some of the worst-hit housing markets in the country, economists are beginning to sound the warning that today’s extremely low levels of new residential production could lead to significant housing shortages, especially among market-rate rental apartments, as household formation rates return to normal.

The housing downturn and economic recession have kept household formation rates at below-normal levels for roughly three years, said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. As the economy moves to higher ground, the housing market will begin to feel the pressure from new households, he said, and there will be a surge of demand from echo boomers, who comprise an even larger group than their baby-boomer parents.

NAHB economists project that the industry will need to deliver 16 million homes over the next 10 years to keep pace with demand. As the excess inventory is worked off, which is likely by the end of 2012, the long-run demand for new housing — based on population growth, immigration and the replacement of losses from the housing stock — will average approximately 1.5 million single-family and 300,000 multifamily units annually, or about 1.8 to 1.9 million total starts.

Coming off extremely low levels of construction, starts last month were running at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 591,000, a level that is far below what will be needed.

When housing starts bottomed out in the first quarter of 2009, they were running at only 27% of average starts during the “normal” production period of 2000 to 2003, according to analysis by NAHB. This year, production is expected to rise to 45% of normal, with a further increase to 67% of normal next year.

The road back to normal levels of residential construction will be longer for some states than others. By the end of 2011, the top 20% of the states will see their production levels back to normal. Those states include Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, New Mexico, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

So, how long will it take to bring new Lots on-line in the Puget Sound to meet our coming demand? The average nunber of years (from plat application to recording) in King County for single family lots has been 4.75 years!

Average processing time (in years): (Source, New Home Trends)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
King County: 4.75 years
Other Cities in King County: 3.26
Pierce County: 5.44
Other Cities in Pierce County: 3.25
Snohomish County: 3.09
Other Cities in Snohomish: 3.09
Thurston County: 3.09
Other Cities in Thurston County: 2.85

Permit & Plat Extension Ordinance

The Economic Stimulus Tracker is a matrix of all the permit and plat extension ordinances and other economic stimulus measures being pursued by the King & Snohomish County Master Builder's Association. The matrix is broke down by jurisdiction and is a good tool to follow how cities and counties are working with builders during this down economy. http://www.mba-ks.com/library/issues/esp_matrix.pdf

Starbard picked to direct DDES

March 2, 2010
Daily Journal of Commerce
SEATTLE — King County Executive Dow Constantine appointed former Newcastle City Manager John Starbard as director of the Department of Development and Environmental Services.
The appointment must be confirmed by the King County Council.
DDES issues building and land use permits for properties in unincorporated King County. Constantine said in a press release that he wants to reduce the processing time for permit applications.
While at Newcastle, Starbard worked on upgrading Coal Creek Parkway and making downtown into a walkable urban village. He helped manage incorporation of Maple Valley, and was its first city manager. Starbard worked as a planner and senior management analyst for Bellevue.
Starbard will manage a budget of nearly $22 million and a staff of about 150.

Q & A's on the Homebuyer tax credit

January 26, 2010
Sorting through the homebuyer tax credit
By CAROLE FELDMAN
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON — If you bought a home in 2009, you could be eligible for a tax credit. Figuring out which one can be confusing.
There's one credit for first-time homebuyers and another that primarily benefits homebuyers who owned a home before. But don't mix it up with the first-time homebuyer credit in 2008, which actually was a long-term loan.
There are maximum income levels and maximum sales prices. And vacation homes or rental property don't qualify.

“If you want to spend two hours reading the instructions and translating them and finding out whether you qualify, yes, it's relatively simple,” said Jeff Schnepper, an MSN Money tax expert and author of “How to Pay Zero Taxes.”

Some questions and answers about the homebuyers tax credit:

Q. What's the purpose of the credit?
A. Congress passed the tax credits in an effort to boost the struggling housing industry and fight recession. Indications are that it's had an impact. The National Association of Realtors reported that November sales of existing homes were up 44 percent from a year earlier. Although new home sales dropped in November, figures from the Commerce Department show that they're up 8 percent from the low in January 2009.

Q. How many people are claiming the credit?
A. “In all, 4.4 million households are expected to claim the tax credit before it expires,” Lawrence Yun, the Realtors' chief economist, said.

Q. How many versions are there?
A. There are actually three.
The first credit, for first-time homebuyers, was really a long-term, interest-free loan that has to be paid back over 15 years. The maximum credit was $7,500 for a principal residence purchased between April 9, 2008, and June 30, 2009.
The second iteration made the first-time homebuyers credit a true credit — it doesn't have to be paid back — and raised the amount to a maximum $8,000. It applied to homes purchased between Jan. 1, 2009, and Nov. 30, 2009.
The third change extended the eligibility dates to homes purchased through April 30, 2010. It also added a credit for long-time homeowners who purchased a new residence between Nov. 7, 2009, and April 30, 2010, but at a reduced value — up to $6,500.

Q. Do I automatically qualify if I purchased a house during those periods?
A. No. To qualify, the house has to be used as a primary residence. If purchased after Nov. 6, 2009, it cannot have cost more than $800,000. If you're a long-time homeowner, you had to have lived in the same house consecutively for five out of the last eight years, though you need not have lived in or owned that house at the time you buy your new home.
For homes purchased after Nov. 6, 2009, the credit also begins phasing out for individuals with modified adjusted gross incomes above $125,000, and for married couples filing jointly with incomes above $225,000.

Q. How does the Internal Revenue Service define a principal residence?
A. “Your main home is the one you live in most of the time,” the agency said. “It can be a house, houseboat, mobile home, cooperative apartment or condominium.”

Q. How do I claim the credit?
A. There's a form, 5405, to fill out. You'll also have to submit a copy of your settlement statement, usually Form HUD-1, with the names and signatures of all parties, the property address, the sales price and date of purchase.
To avoid refund delays, the IRS recommends that long-time homeowners who purchase a new home also provide documents to show they meet the requirement for consecutive years lived in their old house. These can include mortgage interest statements, or property tax or homeowner's insurance records.

Q. Do I have to wait until I file my 2010 taxes to claim the credit for a home purchased before the deadline in 2010?
A. No. “You can choose to claim the credit on your 2009 return for a home you bought in 2010 that qualifies for the credit,” the IRS said.

Q. I purchased my home in 2008 and filed for a credit on my tax returns. Do I still have to pay it back?
A. Yes. When Congress did away with the repayment requirement, it did not do so retroactively.

Q. What if I want to keep my original house and use it as a rental property?
A. If you qualify for the credit as a long-time homeowner, nothing in the law requires you to sell the original house. However, you must make the new one your primary residence.

Q. What if I decide to sell the house I got the credit for or convert it to a rental property?
A. You will have to pay back the credit if you don't keep the purchased house as your permanent residence for three years.