County officials have devised a plan to improve the permitting process in response to a report from the Economic Development Corp. of San Benito County outlining areas in need of change.
Assistant County Administrator Rich Inman presented four categories in which permitting agencies can improve at the outset - "accountability," "clear understanding of processes," "coordination and consistency" and "bottle-necks."
Inman said the goal of the changes would be to make the permitting agencies "more user friendly" to developers.
Some of the ideas contained in the update given to supervisors at their meeting Tuesday included the following:
- a tracking system that identifies the precise status of each project
- development of educational tools for users such as graphics or flow charts
- ongoing workshops
- creation of a development review committee that would bring together all permitting agencies
- communication with a "pool" of contract professionals who act as the "arm" of permitting agencies
Inman said he identified the areas as those the county can address immediately.
"I think these will make an important difference in how we do business," Inman said.
Following two workshops in September, EDC President Nancy Martin submitted a chart with recommendations on how the county could enhance its permitting and become more suited to attract builders and businesses. Martin could not be reached immediately before publication.
For the full story, see the Free Lance on Tuesday.
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