Cutting the Red Tape: Report Explores New Strategies for Improving Land Development Review and Approval

Home prices are again on the rise. While there are many approaches to improving housing affordability, the land development review and approval process is a key factor in the overall expense of new housing.
 
A new report, “Development Process Efficiency: Cutting through the Red Tape,” explores strategies used recently—primarily since the end of the recession—to improve the efficiency of the land development review and approval process. The research was conducted by Abt Associates for the National Association of Home Builders.
 
The report is a comprehensive resource for builders, communities, affordable housing advocates, and others looking for replicable strategies—and results of these strategies in other communities where they have been implemented.
 
The strategies were divided into seven different categories:

• Streamlining/consolidating the review process
• Increasing staff capacity for land development review and approval
• Creating a separate process for expedited review
• Implementing online permitting
• Creating accountability
• Making the process more user friendly
• State-level strategies

The report includes examples of locations using the strategy and related sources of information.  In addition, many of these strategies are further illustrated in case studies about how different locations have recently made efforts to improve the land development review and approval process.
 
Read the full report.