Phoenix Permits a Home in 6 Weeks. Seattle Takes 8 Months.
In Phoenix, a builder gets a housing permit in about six weeks. In Seattle, it takes about eight months. Economists who studied more than a million permits in 60 cities say delays like that explain up to 43% of the gap between the fastest- and slowest-building cities in the country.
The Competitive Enterprise Institute wants to put housing permits on a shot clock — a fixed deadline for the government to decide, with real consequences if it misses. Texas already auto-approves permits the city doesn't act on in time. California runs a 60-day clock. Even New York City's democratic socialist mayor is preapproving developers to cut years off the process. Charlie Harger on why Washington's current permit deadline has no teeth, and what a real shot clock could look like.
Listen to Seattle's Morning News w/ Charlie Harger and Manda Factor every weekday at 5am on KIRO Newsradio 97.3 FM or go to MyNorthwest.com to learn more!
