Can obtaining building permits take years?

[Honey]

I was just reading on Reddit about a woman's experience living in North Seattle, Washington. She said that she had been waiting for two years for her land use permits to be approved.

It means you can acquire some permits quickly, but others, especially for large building projects or where complex assessment is required, may take years due to requirements from different departments.

 

[Eric]

I was just reading on Reddit about a woman's experience living in North Seattle, Washington. She said that she had been waiting for two years for her land use permits to be approved.

It means you can acquire some permits quickly, but others, especially for large building projects or where complex assessment is required, may take years due to requirements from different departments.

I think permitting timelines only generally drag out on the order of years when you're talking about new construction. If you're developing land you may have to obtain site permits (e.g., environmental permits, grading permits, etc.) in addition to your building permits. Plans need to be submitted and reviewed and there may be multiple rounds of comments/revisions that need to be addressed before you can move on to the next step. There are also case-specific issues that can crop up with new construction, like needing a zoning variance, which may require a public hearing. Not to mention, there can be case-specific particularities of the local building/planning department that can lead to protracted delays, like if the department is experiencing high workload or is especially encumbered with bureaucracy (e.g., San Francisco).

 

[W3 Planning and Research]

Yes, absolutely. In areas like Washington, especially if you are near the water or wetlands or heavily forested, permits can take years and have to go through local agencies, state officials and federal oversight. There can be hundred of thousands of dollars of reports necessary before you even turn the first shovel of dirt. Washington's regulations are a nightmare of the highest order and only getting worse.