State officials gathered yesterday on the fourth anniversary of establishing streamlined permitting programs and celebrated the 80 communities that now have expedited permitting programs in place, including Worcester, which was the first to adopt the measures.
Officials said the reforms have reduced the amount of time permits take to get approved by 20 percent and 97 percent of approved permits since October 2007 took less than 180 days of review.
Along with the state creating the Chapter 43D expedited permitting program, the Massachusetts Permit Regulatory Office was also created, which helps walk businesses through the permit application process.
