Cincinnati's Permits and Inspections Streamlining Initiative
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The document outlines the re-organization of the Buildings & Inspections Department aimed at streamlining the city's development process and enhancing customer satisfaction. Key highlights include the establishment of a modernized permit center, the hiring of critical staff, and initiatives to improve permit approval timelines significantly. Ongoing efforts are focused on ensuring clear communication and feedback among departments to reduce application revisions and improve overall efficiency.
Cincinnati's Permits and Inspections Streamlining Initiative
- 1. Buildings & Inspections Department Re-Organization and Permit Streamlining
- 2. Goal • Streamline the City’s development process to make it easier to do business with the City Goal 2
- 3. Comprehensive, Customer Oriented Approach 1. Re-organized and created the Department of Buildings & Inspections 2. Re-designed a modernized Permit Center and are on track to relocate to Centennial II 3. Conducted Focus Groups and two Innovation Lab sessions for detailed process improvement 4. Launched bi-weekly PermitStat management sessions to ensure continued customer orientation 5. Initiated a building permit fee study for customer focused enhancements 3
- 5. Building Permit Functions - Previous Structure Trade & Development Planning & Buildings Property Maintenance Code Enforcement Housing HUD/Grants Monitoring Economic Development Downtown Parking Fiscal & Operations BuildingsPlanning City Planning Historic Conservation Board Staffing Plans Examinations Board of Housing Appeals Staffing Planning Commission Staffing Permit Inspections Board of Building Appeals Staffing Customer Service & Intake Zoning Board of Appeals Staffing Law Deputy City Solicitor – Economic & Community Development Land Use & Planning 5
- 6. Rationalized the Permitting Functions Across the Enterprise Law Historic Conservation Board Staffing Board of Housing Appeals Staffing Board of Building Appeals Staffing Zoning Board of Appeals Staffing Deputy City Solicitor – Economic & Community Development Land Use & Planning Community & Economic Development Housing HUD/Grants Monitoring Economic Development Downtown Parking Fiscal & Operations Buildings & InspectionsPlanning City Planning Plans Examinations Planning Commission Staffing Inspections Customer Service & Permit App Intake Property Maintenance Code Enforcement Zoning Administration Permits & Inspections 6
- 7. Department Re-Organization Highlights • Reconstituted the Department of Buildings & Inspections and hired critical staff positions • Recruited and hired Department Director • Established a Zoning Administration section. Recruited and hired Zoning Administrator • Consolidated staffing of disparate permit related boards under the Law Department for greater consistency 7
- 8. Permit Center Re-Design and Re-Location to Centennial II 805 Central Avenue 8
- 9. Permit Center facility built around customer • Brand new, easily-accessible facility at a central location • Dedicated parking for customers • Close proximity to other departments 9
- 10. Dedicated Customer Parking on Central Ave. Permit Center customers from 7:00 am to 5:00 pm 10
- 11. Employee Parking • Free parking at the Cutter Street Parking Lot and Town Center Garage for all inspectors that use a personal vehicle for work-related duties • All other city employees that report to the permit center will be responsible for securing parking for a monthly fee. Options available include the city owned Town Center Garage. 11
- 12. Co-Located representatives from Fire, Water, MSD, DOTE, Law, and Health • Efficient co-ordination and smoother customer interactions • Ensuring all appropriate agencies receive and review plans early in the process 12
- 13. Communications • Oct. 19 – Nov 2 • Outreach through website, social media, & presentations • Stakeholders in City database receiving e-mail and letters • Stuffers in all outgoing mail • Signage and pamphlets at Permit Center • Engage with media to raise awareness • Internally, communicating with staff in writing and meetings • Nov 2. – Website, city forms & signage updated with new address. 13
- 14. Move Timeline • Communications – Oct. 19 – Nov 2 • Parking Lanes Striped – October 23rd • Construction Finished – October 30th • Re-location – November 2nd 14
- 15. 15
- 16. Focus Groups Held for Feedback • Problems with timeliness of approvals • Confusion about the process and frustrating experiences with inter-departmental coordination • Consistency of review standards 16
- 17. Day 1 Training – Lean Concept and Lean Thinking 17
- 18. Day 2– Map Current State 18
- 20. Day 3– Map Future State 20
- 21. Current State vs. Future State: Reducing City approval time in half from 10.5 weeks down to 3-5 weeks 21
- 22. Day 4– Gap Analysis 22
- 23. Action Plan Highlights 1. Ensure “Quality at the Source” - Application pre-screening to catch common errors 2. Enhanced Pre-Development meetings 3. Ensure All Appropriate Departments Receive Plans early in the process 4. Provide Consolidated Plan Feedback from All Departments 5. Design and Implement Electronic Application, Plan Submittal & Plan Review 23
- 24. PERMITSTAT 24
- 25. • Make the process as clear and transparent as possible • Reduce volume of applications needing revisions • Ensure all departments receive plans requiring review as early as possible Ensure Quality at the Source: Pre- Screening 25
- 26. The importance of focusing on “Quality at the Source”: 53 to 80 years of delay time in one calendar year 26
- 27. CY2014 Project Revisions by Project Type Commercial Total Apps # of Applications 1+ Revisions Total Revisions Total Revisions to Applications Ratio Alterations 785 328 550 70% Plumbing Permits 776 0 - 0% Fire Protection Systems 615 113 123 20% HVAC 418 30 37 9% Repair 273 15 19 7% Signs 223 68 74 33% Misc. Structures 219 27 38 17% Elevator Permit 122 0 - 0% Wrecking 88 0 - 0% New Building 51 38 80 157% Addition 43 35 68 158% Excavation/Fill 21 11 17 81% Parking Lots 13 9 12 92% Residential Total Apps # of Applications 1+ Revisions Total Revisions Total Revisions to Applications Ratio HVAC 1605 3 5 0% Plumbing Permits 1503 0 - 0% Alterations 494 137 167 34% Wrecking 255 0 - 0% Repair 251 9 10 4% Misc. Structures 131 20 22 17% New Building 120 75 118 98% Addition 81 37 51 63% Parking Lots 6 2 4 67% Excavation/Fill 5 1 1 20% Signs 1 1 1 100% Commercial Alteration projects driving the total revisions 27
- 28. Reviewed & Coded 1000+ Revision Comments to Identify Most Common Rejection ReasonsOBC DESCRIPTION Count % of Total Reference Construction documents. 380 27% Chapter 01-Section 06 Doors, gates and turnstiles. 135 9% Chapter 10-Section 08 Occupant Load. 59 4% Chapter 10-Section 04 Means of egress illumination. 42 3% Chapter 10-Section 06 special insoections. 41 3% Chapter 17-Section 04 exit enclosures. 36 3% Chapter 05-Section 08 Municipal DESCRIPTION Count % of Total Reference Permits. 31 15% Title 11-Chapter 01-Section 17 Application for permits. 25 12% Title 11-Chapter 01-Section 19 Off Street parking and loading requirements.21 10% Title 14-Chapter 25-Section 19 Parties Entitled to seek variances, special Exceptions and Conditional uses. 9 4% Title 14-Chapter 45-Section 09 Specific to transect zones. 7 3% Title 17-Chapter 03-Section 02 Zoning hearing examiner. 7 3% Title 14-Chapter 39-Section 07 Mechanical DESCRIPTION Count % of Total Reference Mechanical Ventillation. 112 51% Chapter 04-Section 03 Commercial Kitchen hood ventillation system ducts and exhaust equipment. 20 9% Chapter 05-Section 06 Commercial kitchen hoods. 17 8% Chapter 05-Section 07 clothes dryer exhaust. 17 8% Chapter 05-Section 04 Smoke detections system control. 14 6% Chapter 06-Section 0628
- 29. Focused Innovation Lab on Establishing Pre- Screening Process to significantly reduce revisions 29
- 31. 2015 09/18/2015 09/24/2015 09/23/2015 09/30/2015 Pre-Screening Summary # Accepted - No issues 33 49 # Corrected - Accepted 15 19 # Denied 3 0 Total # Checklist 51 68 Corrected Work description incomplete 2 4 Current and proposed building use not specific 14 14 Existing and proposed building use groups not specific 6 11 Excavation and/or fill - cubic yards,borrow site and/or disposal site address not provided 1 1 31
- 32. Next Steps • Permit Center re-opens at Centennial II – Communicating to stakeholders - Oct. 19 – Nov 2 – Parking Lanes Striped – October 23rd – Construction Finished – October 30th – Re-location and Launch – November 2nd • New Buildings Director starts – November 2nd • Continue to improve intake process and Permit Center customer flow (ongoing) • Ensure the City provides complete, clear, and consolidated feedback from departments on applications (ongoing) 32
- 33. Buildings & Inspections Department Re-Organization and Permit Streamlining
Editor's Notes
- #3: NOTE – need to decide if we lead with this