Report: Arizona’s permitting system delays projects

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(The Center Square) - Arizona’s permitting system is causing delays to finish residential projects, according to a new report.

Common Sense Institute Arizona released a report that showed, on average, the state’s localized permitting system adds an extra 23 days to residential project timelines.

Glenn Farley, the CSI’s policy and research director, told The Center Square that Arizona’s permitting system is “highly decentralized,” noting the state has 106 permitting jurisdictions that work independently of each other.

Arizona gives its local governments a “large amount of autonomy and authority on the things they regulate,” such as permitting, Farley said.

He noted these jurisdictions can “define terms and set processes,” which results in “very little consistency and a lot of uncertainty and time delays for homeowners.”

In the report, CSI analyzed nearly 3 million permit records across 29 permitting jurisdictions, representing almost 75% of the state’s population. It found that these jurisdictions issued permits at different rates.

The report said 50% of permits were issued within four days, while 10% took over a month. Furthermore, the slowest 1% of permits took over four months to get.

In total, project timelines ranged from under 40 days to over 107 days, depending on the jurisdiction's ability to issue permits.

James Ashley, the Home Builders Association of Central Arizona’s municipal affairs director, told The Center Square that Arizona’s permitting system is “inconsistent.”

Ashley said he would like to see more “consistency” in the permitting system with “quicker time frames.”

According to Ashley, one of the biggest complaints members of the HBACA have about the permitting system surrounds standard plan reviews, which are a jurisdiction’s location and design requirements for a home.

He said the association’s members have faced “significant challenges and inconsistency among municipalities.”

 “So many of the requirements are subjective,” he added.

He said home builders have “excessive back and forth” with municipalities regarding standard plan reviews.

Ashley called time delays “very costly.”  

“Builders want to start building, and there’s a home buyer waiting for that home,” he said. “Any delay in permit or certificate of occupancy issuance will leave buyers in limbo.”

An idea Ashley suggested was to set a fixed number of days for issuing a permit. If it is not issued within that timespan, the permit is automatically approved, according to Ashley's proposal.

On top of this, Farley said the state could standardize codes and definitions. He added that contractors often work across multiple jurisdictions and must stay up to date on various codes.

With so many jurisdictions, Farley said, it “makes it difficult for contractors and homeowners to know what the expectations are or to have a consistent experience.”

Farley said when Arizona jurisdictions have standardized select processes, it has led to “positive results.”

The report noted jurisdictions that used SolarAPP+, which allows contractor self-certification for rooftop solar systems, issued permits in six days, compared to 17 days for jurisdictions that didn’t use it.

Also, the report found that jurisdictions that allowed contractor self-certification reduced project timelines by 40 days.

Farley said affordability has been a topic for the last few years at the Capitol in Phoenix.

“From the veto of the bipartisan Starter Homes Act two years ago, to the failure of policymakers to move meaningful reform this year, the state continues to struggle to fix its housing rules,” he added.

The Starter Homes Act attempted to increase housing supply by limiting local governments' zoning control.