In the near future, I plan to introduce legislation that creates clear-cut, finite, time frames for the review and approval of construction permits.

Under current law, construction plans for one and two-family dwellings must be approved or denied, in whole or in part, within 15 days of submission, or 5 days if the plans were prepared by a licensed design professional.  All other construction permits must be approved or denied, in whole or in part, within 30 days of submission.

At first glance, this sounds reasonable—5, 15, or 30 days.  However, that caveat of “in whole or in part” creates a wide range of scenarios in which an application ends up being delayed extensively.

My bill is simple—make the timelines black-and-white.  If an application does not meet the necessary construction code requirements, an enforcement officer can detail this in writing to the applicant, who can then revise their project plan if they still wish to pursue a permit.  However, we cannot continue allowing projects to be delayed because a portion of a plan has been approved by day 15 or 30, but the rest of a plan awaits review, and approval before the construction permit is issued.  This wastes time, money, and ultimately discourages developers of all sizes.

I realize that a construction permit is just one of a handful of other local and federal permits that need to be secured when building a home.  That does not negate or minimize how important of a first step this bill is in moving toward an easier, more affordable, home-building future here in Pennsylvania.  

Please consider joining me as a cosponsor of this legislation.