Development Review and Permitting Process Mapping Services

The Vendor is required to provide to create, by means of research, stakeholder engagement, and detailed process mapping, a comprehensive analysis of the county’s development review and permitting processes to reveal inconsistencies, preventable congestion, and opportunities to increase efficiency, process flow and approval timelines.
- Requirement:
1. Project initiation and management
•    Conduct a project kick-off meeting with county leadership and key departmental stakeholders; 
•    Confirm project goals, scope, schedule, and communication protocols; and 
•    Develop and manage a detailed project work plan and timeline.
2. Existing conditions research
•    Review existing county ordinances pertaining to development, permitting, and zoning and land use; 
•    Review existing permitting software, procedures, workflows, and coordination tools; 
•    Evaluate coordinated departmental review from both internal and external perspectives; 
•    Evaluate departmental roles, responsibilities, and handoffs within the review process; and 
•    Analyze a diverse group of submittals less than 365 days old with a detailed process flow document for each of the following case types:
o    Preliminary plans
o    Final plats
o    Site plans of varying types and scales (early site preparations, industrial, commercial and institutional, and multi-family)
o    Third-party review preliminary plans
o    Third-party review site plans
o    Municipal projects
3. Stakeholder engagement
•    Conduct interviews and surveys with staff from all departments involved in the development review and permitting process; 
•    Conduct interviews and surveys with each member of county council and key executive personnel who oversee and are otherwise engaged in the county’s coordinated review processes; and 
•    Engage a representative sample of external users of the system, including developers, architects, engineers, contractors, business owners, and other frequent permit applicants.
4. Current-process mapping
•    Develop clear visual workflow diagrams of the existing coordinated development review and permitting processes; and 
•    Identify and analyze areas of duplication, delays, miscommunication, and other inefficiencies.
5. Final report and analysis
•    Propose streamlined and optimized process models that address key challenges as identified in current process mapping; 
•    Identify short, medium, and long-term improvement opportunities; and 
•    Provide modern, user-friendly process flow graphics for all major development activities, plan case types and county permitting processes.
6. Implementation support
•    Develop change management strategies to ensure smooth adoption of new processes, standards or technologies; 
•    Create training plans and materials for county staff; and 
•    Provide technical support or guidance for aligning permitting platforms or introducing process automation tools.