August 4, 2025
A new state-sanctioned report confirms what builders have long known: Many local governments are failing to process permits within legally defined timeframes.
The report stems from Senate Bill 5290, a measure supported by BIAW and passed during the 2023 legislative session which reduced the timelines for permit approval for five permit categories, specifically for multifamily. It also included mechanisms for the Department of Commerce and the state to enforce the new permit durations. In 2024, all fully planning jurisdictions were required to submit a Commerce-provided form that collected data and calculated statistics, demonstrating which jurisdictions were processing their permits within the new statutory timeline, and if they were not, which permit categories were running long and by how much. Monitoring permitting progress, by permit category and by jurisdiction, allows the state and others to identify trends, analyze them and improve.
Key takeaways
- The report published by the Department of Commerce highlights the inability of jurisdictional staff to follow directions. Some data collection forms were altered, while others were not filled out correctly or completely, resulting in incomplete data being submitted.
- Comparing all jurisdictions in the report, construction permits took 81% longer than allowed by law, while subdivision permits saw delays of nearly 200%.
- Binding site plan permits were processed 46% faster, showing it is possible to improve efficiency by using previously underutilized tools.
- Nearly half of all permits were processed more than 90 days late, with an average delay of 143 days (almost 5 months!) and $157,300 in unexpected project expenses.
- The worst offenders for delays exceeding 400 days include King County (1,557), Kitsap County (985), City of Bellevue (616), City of Issaquah (412), City of Mercer Island (404), and City of Kirkland (401).
- King County's jaw-dropping 1,557-day delay (almost 52 months!) burns more than $243,000 in carrying costs per housing project.
- Delays, regardless of the reason, undermine any efforts to increase the supply of accessible housing because delays guarantee higher rent premiums and home purchase prices.
- Local governments were authorized to adopt self-imposed timelines before January 1, 2025. Almost half the jurisdictions opted for longer timelines than the minimums listed in law, which range from 30 to 170 days.
- The City of Kirkland has provided itself with 730 days to approve a construction permit, whereas the City of Edmonds has granted itself 540 days.
- The City of Bainbridge Island is proving its disdain for multi-family housing, as self-imposed deadlines for these permit types ranged from 275-315 days, about double the review time authorized by statute.
- The City of Marysville was the only jurisdiction that did not submit the required report to Commerce.
The report is clear: Many local governments that claim to care about improving housing affordability are not aligning their actions to their words. Citizens can demand action from their local elected officials and hold them accountable when they fail to deliver on promises.
Links to ranked charts
