Palm Beach Working to Simplify Permit Process

Staff in the Palm Beach Planning, Zoning, and Building Department have been rolling out small changes to building permits since late last year, as first reported by the Palm Beach Daily News.

The department hopes to simplify the permitting process for renovations to make the affair less time-consuming for business owners and residents, according to town building official Wayne Bergman.

Keith Spina, chief executive officer of GliddenSpina+Partners, a West Palm Beach-based architecture firm, has been working on building in the town of Palm Beach for 30 years. Spina says that these changes have definitely sped up the permitting process. Recently, his firm received town permits for projects at the Bradley Park Hotel and the Sailfish Club.

“When there were issues coming up, they would send emails and even phone calls,” Spina said. “Everyone wants things quicker, and the town is trying to do everything they can to accommodate.”

Spina said that the town is in good hands with Bergman and Zoning Director Josh Martin heading the department.

“Those guys are providing some great leadership that will continue to keep Palm Beach at the top of its competition,” he said.

Palm Beach Working to Simplify Permit Process

One of the early changes the department made was consolidating the many permits required on a single construction project into one permit per project.

“This actually was a time-consuming project for staff as the current permitting software system was designed at set up to require a myriad of permits and sub-permits for any type of project,” said Bergman in an email.

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Before this change, a residential pool would have required seven permits. Now, one permit can capture the site plan, building, natural gas, electrical, plumbing, mechanical equipment and use of the right-of-way approvals.

“The goal is to simplify the process and to free up time for customers and staff,” said Bergman.