HomeMy WebLinkAboutWS 2024-03-04 COMPLETE AGENDA PACKETTukwila City Council Agenda
❖WORK SESSION ❖
Councilmembers: ❖ De’Sean Quinn ❖ Tosh Sharp
❖Armen Papyan ❖ Jovita McConnell
Thomas McLeod, Mayor
Marty Wine, Interim City Administrator
Mohamed Abdi, Council President ❖Dennis Martinez ❖ Hannah Hedrick ❖Zak Idan
ON-SITE PRESENCE:
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Monday, March 4, 2024; 5:30 PM
This agenda is available at www.tukwilawa.gov, and in alternate formats with advance notice for those with disabilities.
Remote Tukwila Council meetings are audio/video taped, and available at www.tukwilawa.gov)
1.CALL TO ORDER
2.BUSINESS ITEMS Permitting update from Department of Community Development.
Nora Gierloff, Community Development Director
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3.ADJOURNMENT
If you are in need of translation or interpretation services at a Council meeting,
please contact us at 206-433-1800 by 12:00 p.m. on the meeting date.
INFORMATIONAL MEMO
TO: City Council
FROM: Nora Gierloff, DCD Director
BY: Max Baker, Planning Supervisor
Rachelle Sagen, Permit Supervisor
CC: Mayor McLeod
DATE: March 4, 2024
SUBJECT: 2023 Permitting Process and Status Update
ISSUE
The Permit Center is providing an annual summary of the status of process improvements,
staffing, review timelines, and permit volumes and revenues in 2023.
BACKGROUND
The Department of Community Development is responsible for overseeing the issuance of
permits for various activities within the city limits. This process includes the following:
Assist Residents and Applicants - Provide information and guidance to the public
regarding permit requirements, procedures, and regulations.
Process Permit Applications - Receive and review permit applications for activities
including new construction, tenant improvements, variances, subdivisions, signage, etc.
Ensure Compliance - Ensure that proposed and ongoing activities comply with local laws,
building codes, zoning regulations, and other applicable regulations.
Collect Fees - The permitting office collects and manages fees and bonds associated with
permit applications, the former of which help cover processing and management costs.
Inspect Work - Required inspections are performed to ensure that work authorized by
permits is carried out in compliance with approved plans and regulations.
Enforce Regulations - If necessary, take action against violations such as unpermitted
work or non-compliance with permit conditions.
Most permits are reviewed by a collection of reviewers which can include in-house staff
(Building, Engineering, Planning), Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority, and contracted
consultants. Review is provided by consultants on the following elements when necessary:
- Structural Review – Reid Middleton, Inc.
- Additional Construction Permit Review – BHC Consultants
- Critical Areas Peer Review – DCG/Watershed
- Geotechnical Peer Review – HWA Geosciences
DCD staff continuously look for ways to enhance the permitting experience, especially during a
time of constrained staffing and capacity. A major component of this has been the transition to
online permit applications and reviews, which has eliminated a significant amount of paperwork
and enabled faster communication between applicants and reviewers. To aid in this effort, staff
have improved upon permit checklists and provided greater online resources for residents and 1
INFORMATIONAL MEMO
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applicants. Increased standardization across all permit types, along with increased coordination
between divisions and reviewers, has also helped to reduce permit review times significantly.
DISCUSSION
Process Improvements
In 2019 the City worked with the Seattle Southside Chamber of Commerce to conduct outreach
to evaluate customer satisfaction with the permitting process and seek ideas/input on potential
areas for improvement. After listening to our customers and staff we developed and
implemented a series of process improvements in 2022 and 2023 that built on the findings and
recommendations in that report, see Attachment A. Staff continue to build upon these areas and
implement new improvements.
More Accessible Assistance
The Permit Center served persons seeking permits or having other development-related
questions well in 2023. Many permit-related processes have been streamlined and the
vast majority of applicants continue to appreciate the time-saving convenience of virtual
services. In 2023 the permit counter received an estimated 1007 walk-in customers with
the majority being for permit application assistance (41%) followed by inquiries for
planning/zoning (17%), building (7.4%), rental housing (6.5%), and engineering/public
works (6.2%). Without these virtual service improvements, an estimated 5,650 walk-in
visits would have been required for the level of activity in the DCD office.
The accessibility and capabilities of the website information are being continually
improved, with the majority of applicants choosing to contact staff via email, telephone, or
virtual meetings. As a result, visits to DCD pages continue to increase; the Construction
Permit Portal page recorded 23,381 views in 2023, up from 4,097 in 2022 (a 570%
increase), and the Land Use Permit Portal page recorded 3,996 views in 2023, up from
685 in 2022 (a 583% increase).
Permit Center Website and Checklist Improvements
The Permit Center website contains checklists for Building, Public Works, Planning, and
Fire permits. The 20+ land use permit checklists were each updated in 2023 to include
relevant code citations, anticipated timelines for review, and workflows to help applicants
understand the permitting process. This greatly increased the amount of information
readily available to applicants, allowing them to more easily research and understand the
various permitting processes before applying.
Pre-Application Meetings
DCD continues to offer applicants an opportunity to discuss a potential project with
representatives from all reviewing divisions. These meetings are an hour long and happen
every Tuesday. We require applicants to apply online 2 weeks prior to the meeting and
provide us with the scope of the proposed project and schematic plans. In 2023 we
conducted 34 pre-app meetings with a revenue of $20,462. The projects ranged in scale
from subdividing one lot into two to replacing the 42nd Ave S Bridge.
Virtual Intake Appointments
We offer appointments with our permitting staff to help applicants navigate the online
permit submittal process. This helps reduce frustration for new applicants and increases
the accuracy of their information. This has helped reduce the number of incomplete
applications submitted and allows us to inform applicants about next steps after submittal,
such as the need to go back into the system to pay for the permit after it has been
accepted. These appointments have saved staff time and improved permit speeds. Staff
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from Rental Housing, Code Enforcement, and Permitting can be scheduled as well as Pre-
Construction meetings.
Pre-Cons Prior to Issuance
Contractors are often required to hold a pre-construction meeting with City inspectors prior
to starting construction to discuss traffic control, erosion control, tree protection, utility
locates etc. Unfortunately, many contractors were skipping this step leading to violations,
stop work orders, and damage to the environment. Staff revised this approach to require
the pre-con be held as the last step prior to permit issuance, when necessary, to make
sure that contractors have all the information they need to work safely in the City before
breaking ground.
Checklist for Project Finals
Often developers have a specific “grand opening” date in mind for a project but do not
allow enough time for all of the various inspections to be completed or outstanding
submittals to be reviewed. About a month prior to the desired project “final” the Permit
Center provides the applicant via email with a list of outstanding inspections and open
permits to aid them in their scheduling. This helps avoid a last-minute rush of inspections
that we cannot accommodate without delaying other applicants. It also prevents requests
for temporary certificates of occupancy to allow them to open to the public before work is
complete. The projects that this process was used for and streamlined very well in 2023
were:
o Brixx and Tukwila Storage – New construction of 103K SF self-storage facility
o Prologis – Bldg 2 – New construction of 167K SF concrete tilt up building
o Centerpoint Properties – New construction of 414K SF concrete tilt up building
o (2) Tiny House Village Projects
Update to TMC 11.08 Right-of-Way Permits
Development review staff collaborated with the City Attorney on a complete rewrite of the
right of way permit section of the code, reducing the number of different permit types and
increasing usability.
The intent of this update was to improve permitting procedures and provide additional
clarity and direction needed to facilitate a successful permit experience for the applicant
and the assigned reviewer. Engineering and industry practices are constantly evolving and
these revisions sought to align with and improve upon current industry standards. Updates
included permit subtype consolidation into two permit types from the existing seven and
capturing permit fees for Franchise Utilities operating under an existing Right of Way Use
Agreement. These permit fees have not been historically collected within Tukwila for
franchise holders. The codified updates aim to increase the amount of permit fees being
collected and reduce inconsistencies between applicants and city staff.
We have incorporated these changes into the permit tracking system and have produced
new informational bulletins for the public.
Interlocal Agreement with Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority (PSRFA)
Fire Development Services transitioned from Tukwila Fire to PSRFA on January 1, 2023.
This included reviewing construction drawings, completing inspections, attending onsite or
virtual meetings and general customer service calls and emails. The transition went very
smoothly between Tukwila and PSRFA. Operational permits fully transitioned to PSRFA
while addressing has remained with the Permit Center in Tukwila. Some staff employed
with Tukwila Fire moved over to PSRFA which made things much smoother with any
issues that needed to be addressed.
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INFORMATIONAL MEMO
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Staffing
In the 2023-2024 budget 1.5 permit review FTEs were still frozen, one was a full-time building
plans examiner position that we have had difficulty filling and the other a half time planner
position. We are maintaining building permit review times by sending larger overflow projects to
a consultant firm for review. Because each jurisdiction’s Zoning Code is unique, it is not cost
effective to send planning reviews to a consultant. Therefore, when permit volumes increase,
planning review times tend to increase as well. In the past, we have shifted staff between
current and long-range planning to follow the workload but with the Comp Plan update
underway we cannot pull any staff away from long-range work.
The Building Department also utilizes other agencies for inspections to cover staff illness or
vacations due to only being one deep with inspectors. We have an interlocal agreement with
City of Sea-Tac for electrical as well as building inspections between the two cities. We also
have a contract with BHC Consultants for any additional inspection needs that may arise for the
building department.
This winter the Permit Center had two staff members that were out on extended medical leave
at the same time. We were able to bring in an employee from a temporary staffing agency as
well as temporarily increase one of our current staff from ¾ time to full time to provide coverage.
Review Timelines
Over the past year the permit backlog has been fully eliminated and processing times have
decreased even as permit volumes have risen. Staff have consistently managed to keep review
times within the 120-day review period required by RCW 36.70B.080 and have managed to hit
DCD’s internal goal of a 4-6 week review turnaround in most cases. Achieving this level of
service has been a significant accomplishment by staff that should be recognized.
September 2021 February 2022 February 2023 February 2024
Fire Reviews 28 – 0 Overdue 41 - 1 Overdue
48 – 0 Overdue 23 – 0 Overdue
Building
Reviews
47 – 9 Overdue 11 - 4 Overdue 3 – 0 Overdue 19 – 0 Overdue
Planning
Reviews
128 – 95 Overdue 31 - 8 Overdue 38 – 13 Overdue 51 – 0 Overdue
Engineering
Reviews
178 – 78 Overdue 60 - 8 Overdue 61 – 8 Overdue 65 – 0 Overdue
(First number are permits actively Under Review which includes those that are overdue.)
2024 Required Permitting Updates
The 2023 state legislative session was a busy one, with a number of permitting and planning
related bills passed that the City will be required to comply with.
SB 5290
SB 5290 amends the Local Project Review Act, Chapter 36.70B RCW, with the intent to
increase the timeliness and predictability of local project review. Amendments to Chapter
36.70B include updated local permit review timelines, clarifications regarding the determination
of completeness process, a new exemption from site plan review for certain interior projects that
contain no exterior alterations, updated annual reporting requirements related to permit
issuance, and provisions requiring partial permit fee refunds for failure to timely process permit
applications, among other things.
The new permit review timelines will be as follows:
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For projects that do not require public notice under RCW 36.70B.110, the final decision
must be issued within 65 days of the determination of completeness under RCW
36.70B.070.
For projects that do require public notice under RCW 36.70B.110, the final decision must
be issued within 100 days of the determination of completeness under RCW
36.70B.070.
For project permits which require both notice under RCW 36.70B.110 and a public
hearing, the final decision must be issued within 170 days of the determination of
completeness under RCW 36.70B.070.
Permitting staff have been analyzing this bill and working to set up procedures ahead of time
that will set the City up for success once these required code revisions are adopted.
Permit Volumes and Revenues
During 2023, permit numbers increased over the preceding years for all divisions.
Permit Statistics, 2023 vs. 2022
Building
Permits – Increase of 23%
Value – Decrease of 1%
Revenue – Decrease of 11%
Fire
Permits – Increase of 17%
Value – Increase of 279%
Revenue – Increase of 140%
Public Works
Permits – Increase of 4%
Value – Increase of 19%
Revenue – Decrease of 64%
Land Use
Projects – Increase of 17%
Revenue – Increase of 12%
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Information only.
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INFORMATIONAL MEMO
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RECOMMENDATION
Information Only.
ATTACHMENT
A. Executive Summary from 2019 Southside Permit Process Report
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Tukwila Permit Process
Project Report
December 20, 2019
Seattle Southside Chamber of Commerce
A Voice for Business, A Leader in the Community
14220 Interurban Ave S #134, Tukwila, WA 98168
(206) 575-1633
www.SeattleSouthsideChamber.com
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Executive Summary
1. Summary of the Evaluation Process
Mayor Ekberg and City Administrator Cline approached the Seattle Southside Chamber
of Commerce (SSCC) to assist with an evaluation of the City's current development
permitting and inspection services. The City has been implementing a series of
incremental changes in recent years while moving towards a one-stop permit system. A
variety of organizational and staffing changes has now provided an opportunity to
advance the evolution of the entire system forward at this time.
Contracted Services. SSCC was asked to conduct an outreach process to evaluate
customer satisfaction with the current system and to seek ideas/input on potential areas
for improvement. The SSCC is not a direct user of the City's system, though many of its
members interact with the City's system regularly. In this evaluation process, SSCC
served as a mirror while conducting a series of interviews and outreach methods;
asking focused questions, listening for trends, patterns, and key messages. The SSCC
utilized a two-pronged outreach approach by interviewing both customer/users of the
City's permitting and inspection system as well as separately interviewing involved City
staff in order to identify areas of success and potential improvement.
Customer Input Survey and Results Summary. The customer survey was deployed
through an email invitation to participate and a postcard invitation if we did not have
email contact information. The survey was also encouraged through social channels in
an effort to capture as much data as possible. Customers and contact information were
based on contacts provided by the City.
We wanted to assure those participating, many of which had active projects under
review or consideration, that their responses could be anonymous and confidential.
Doing so helped to ensure unfiltered feedback.
All information was captured as a way to help ensure the Chamber was collecting data
from a varied pool that included large projects and representatives, as well as small and
private projects. The information was also kept confidential, as requested by most of the
respondents. Additionally, responses were combined with those of many others and
then summarized in a report to further protect anonymity.
As you will see in the corresponding reports, anonymizing responses is an effective way
to ensure responses cannot be linked to any one project, individual, or customer before
incorporating it in the data.
Some customers participated in the survey only over the phone and with the greatest
care to preserve both anonymity and confidentiality. The confidential surveys collected
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included no personally identifiable information. Those responses were also combined
with those of many others and summarized in the report to further protect anonymity.
The survey was deployed over email to 1005 people whose contact email was
available. For those without an email contact, SSCC sent a mailed postcard. A follow-up
reminder email was also sent. These methods were used to ensure the maximum
engagement and awareness of the survey and to encourage wide participation. More
than 200 individuals responded through the survey, focus groups, and interviews. Not
all respondents answered every question as some did not apply to their particular
situation or experience.
In addition, focus groups and individual interviews were conducted to dig deeper into
the survey questions and answers. Each was completed by the party or parties that
completed the initial survey. The focus groups and interviews provided more time to
understand the “why” of the results generated and to also get a sense of the emotional
foundation.
Staff Input and Results Summary. City staff members have key perspectives on the
delivery of services to the public. Not only do they provide direct services to the
customer, but they also are in the best position to determine the strengths and
weaknesses of the current development permitting and inspection system.
Two methods were utilized to gather the staff members’ input: standard questions and
individual interviews. The forty-four staff members were each provided standard
questions and asked to provide written responses to the SSCC team. The individual
interviews were open format, providing each staff member an opportunity to ask
questions about the evaluation process, further expound upon their written answers,
and to provide any additional input not addressed in the standard questions. The
purpose of the interview methods was to identify trends, patterns, consistencies , and
inconsistencies through dialogue and open discussion.
The SSCC team presented the initial report information at a staff briefing to both r eflect
the results of the question and interview process and to seek, through a group exercise
process, any additional/clarifying messages listed below.
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2. Summary of Key Findings and Requests
The Customer Survey, Focus Groups, and Interviews resulted in the following findings
and requests:
• There is a clear trend of wants/desires from the customer perspective to:
o Streamline systems
o Clearly communicate processes,
o Have processes and systems available online
• There is a clear pattern with customers either being very satisfied with the
process or with being highly dissatisfied
o Customers indicated that setting out expectations and clearly communicating the
process would help increase customer satisfaction and experience
• Key messages that were commonly repeatedly were:
o Desire to streamline
o Desire for consistency
o Desire for more online tools
• Potential areas of improvement mentioned included:
o Providing online tools and systems for processing
o Greater consistency in communication and decision-making
o Providing clear expectations and communicating them to the customer
o FAQs and similar information online
The staff question, interview, and group feedback process resulted in the following key
findings:
• It “works” because of the staff
o High quality of services delivered to the public is due to the dedication and
professional qualities of the City staff, not because of the system • Governance and operating procedures
o No common understanding (nor formal document) setting the make-up,
expectations, reporting lines, governance, and operation of the City’s one-stop
system • Cohesion and Communication
o Individual departments have implemented their view or understanding of the one-
stop concept, resulting in competing interests, budget and staffing imbalances,
and conflicting methodologies • Experience and Knowledge
o Retirements and other departures of staff are resulting in loss of institutional
memory. Many of the departing staff have been “making it work” in the absence
of a clearly defined system • One-deep staffing is crippling
o Positions providing direct service to the customers must be officially backed up.
Cross-training is essential and must be ongoing. There are currently one-deep
and zero-deep staffing scenarios • Technology
o Underutilizing current technology. Need established user and technical support
base (super users and user groups). Many individual “workarounds” exist as a
result
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• Written Procedures
o Written materials and procedures for staff to support their position and their work
duties are limited and inconsistent. Many had developed their own, especially as
“workarounds” • Training
o Noted absence of organized training for new employees and ongoing refresher
training, especially in the technology areas • Public education, access, and services
o Website could be a more dynamic source of development information and direct
services for the public (e.g., online permit applications, approval of routine
permits, etc.) • Fees and revenues
o Concern that the City has not been pursuing available fees and other revenue
sources for development permitting and inspection services
3. Summary of Common Themes and Expectations
The Customer and Staff input processes approached the same broad issues from very
different perspectives. However, when combined they yielded the following common
themes and expectations:
• A clearly defined Permitting and Inspection system is needed
• The City should commit a higher priority to development-related processes
• The system should ensure predictability and timeliness
• The system should be the source of consistent and reliable information
• Staff and financial resources, adequate to meet the goals and performance
standards of the system, should be provided
4. Summary of Priorities and Opportunities for Improvement
The Key Findings and Common Themes from customers and staff provide the basis for
a series of improvements. All should be undertaken in a timely manner (one or two at a
time) and integrated into the ongoing operations of the City's permitting and inspection
system.
• Define the City's one-stop permitting and inspection system
o Identify and charter the team who must participate in this discussion and
decision. The outcome should be the definition, operational configuration,
governance, initial budget, and staff assignments (positions, not personnel) to
implement the system • Establish/enact the sequence & timing of implementation
o Once an agreement is approved, establish/enact the sequence and timing of
implementation. Address obstacles and needed changes • Fill vacant positions (current or as redefined) immediately
o Also, formalize and conduct training and cross-training on operating procedures
of all staff assigned to the one-stop system • Designate super users and charter initial user group(s)
o Establish super users (2+) and initial user group(s) for the permitting system, and
the various software packages
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• Conduct refresher training for all assigned/involved staff
o Training required for all assigned (and involved parent department staff) in the
current automated systems • Identify/prioritize the operational processes and procedures that need to be
developed and/or updated
o Conduct process to identify and prioritize the operational processes and
procedures that need to be developed and/or updated to address the current
concerns and gaps • Review and update the website, handout materials and other public information
o Establish a team to review the website, handout materials and other public
information. Develop new and/or update promptly • Promptly address any additional issues that arise
o Encourage continuous staff engagement, and implement the continuous
improvements
5. Next Steps
The Final Report and Executive Summary have been submitted to the Mayor and
City Administrator. Following review, they will be able to determine the City’s next
actions, sequence and timing. Once the direction is established, the City can
undertake the implementation of the decision(s).
Main Report
1. Evaluation Process
Mayor Ekberg and City Administrator Cline approached the Seattle Southside Chamber
of Commerce (SSCC) to assist with an evaluation of the City's current development
permitting and inspection services. The City has been implementing a series of
incremental changes in recent years while moving towards a one-stop permit system. A
variety of organizational and staffing changes has now provided an opportunity to
advance the evolution of the entire system forward at this time.
Contracted Services. SSCC was asked to conduct an outreach process to evaluate
customer satisfaction with the current system and to seek ideas/input on potential areas
for improvement. The SSCC is not a direct user of the City's system, though many of its
members interact with the City's system regularly. In this evaluation process, SSCC
served as a mirror while conducting a series of interviews and outreach methods;
asking focused questions, listening for trends, patterns, and key messages. Through
this report, SSCC presents the compiled input gathered in a meaningful and organized
manner. The SSCC utilized a two-pronged outreach approach, described in more
detailed below, by interviewing both customer/users of the City's permitting and
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