City and County Governments Authorize Permit Extensions for Active Development Projects

This post is authored by:  Clayton Graham & Thomas Goeltz

Landowners and developers in Washington state should be aware of a spate of recent legislation aimed at prolonging the life of active land development permits. Developers who request these extensions in a timely manner could effectively extend the life of their development approvals—including certain building permits, use permits, subdivision and other land use approvals—and may be able to save themselves the hassle and expense of having to restart the entitlement process for stalled development projects.

Financial difficulties faced by many developers in the state have prompted a number of cities and counties to adopt ordinances that authorize extensions to certain permit expiration dates. These ordinances apply to a variety of development approvals and permits, and a few of them implement automatic permit extensions.

Continue Reading...

How to Know What Permits Are Required for a Washington Land Development Project

If you have ever wondered what environmental and land use approvals and permits are required for a land development project located within the state of Washington, especially a complex project involving multiple agencies and permits, then you should know about the"Environmental Permit Handbook," a very useful website that neatly describes and organizes many federal, state, and local environmental and land use permits.

The link to the handbook is:  apps.ecy.wa.gov/permithandbook/allpermits.asp .

The handbook was prepared by the Washington State Governor's Office of Regulatory Assistance under its director Faith Lumsden, an experienced former land use planner and planning manager for several local planning agencies in Washington.

Tags: