State Looks To Ease Permitting Process
It’s no secret the state’s permitting process can be cumbersome and complex.
But the state is hoping a new program to streamline the permitting process will help ease the process for developers.
The Permit Regulatory Office launched a new “permitting collaborative” to bring applicants together with representatives from the state agencies they are seeking a permit from to informally discuss a proposed project.
The idea is that the earlier a dialogue can begin in the development process, the better.
“Nobody likes surprises, especially developers,” said Douglas Landry, managing director of land development for Vanasse Hanger Brustlin Inc., a planning design and engineering firm with offices in Worcester.
The state’s permitting collaborative was created upon the recommendation of a permitting task force that evaluated how stimulus money could most efficiently be spent.
April Anderson Lamoureux, the state’s permit ombudsman and director of the permit regulatory office, chaired the task force and developed the new collaborative.
“We’re trying to make state government work at the speed of business,” Anderson Lamoureux said.
The collaboration is aimed at contractors, engineers, designers or anyone else that would be applying for more than one permit at a time from the state before July 2010. Contractors and engineers commonly apply for permits from the state Department of Environmental Protection, MassHighway, and the Department of Public Safety, for example.
The Permit Regulatory Office would arrange an informal meeting between the applicant and representatives of the permit-issuing offices. The state agency representatives would then provide feedback about guidelines for the application and make recommendations.
The collaborative is voluntary and does not cost the applicant any money.
David Graves, president of Worcester-based Graves Engineering Inc., said he’s happy to see any attempt by the state to make the permit process easier.
But, there is a potential that the process could waste the time of developers and state officials, unless the real issues that could pose a problem during the application process are identified early.
“As long as they’re able to identify what the real issues will be, it should be good,” Graves said.
Anderson Lamoureux said the collaborative has launched, but no businesses have taken advantage of the program yet. The Permit Regulatory Office has a project template that applicants can fill out to take part in the collaborative available on its web site, www.mass.gov/mpro.
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