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Administrative ProcessSimplificationPositive

Business Permit Processing Streamlining

City of Phoenix, Dept. of Planning and Development · Phoenix, AZ, United States · 2019

Summary

Phoenix's concurrent permit review pilot tested whether the sequential review process — in which zoning, building, and fire reviews happen one after another rather than simultaneously — was generating wait time without adding safety value. The pilot reduced processing from 45 to 12 days while first-submission approval rates improved (suggesting reviewers caught issues earlier) and post-issuance compliance was unchanged. The finding challenged the assumption that sequential review was a safety requirement rather than an administrative default. The city subsequently extended concurrent review and made the dedicated reviewer team permanent.

Research question

"Can consolidating permit review steps reduce processing time without reducing safety compliance?"

Methodology

Intervention

Three-step simultaneous review pilot (zoning, building code, fire) replacing sequential review for commercial permits under $500K; dedicated reviewer team

Assignment

Pilot with administrative comparison group (concurrent projects above threshold)

Sample size

1,200 permits in pilot; 800 comparison

Primary outcome

Processing days; first-submission approval rate; compliance violations post-issuance

Effect estimate

Processing time: 45 days → 12 days; first-submission approval: +18%; compliance violations unchanged

Decision

Program extended to all commercial permits under $2M; senior reviewer team made permanent

Result

Positive

Processing time: 45 days → 12 days; first-submission approval: +18%; compliance violations unchanged

Evidence strength

Limited

Observational or pre-post design; correlation not necessarily causal.

Replication status

Open for replication

Institution

City of Phoenix, Dept. of Planning and Development

Location

Phoenix, AZ, United States

Year

2019

Policy area

Administrative Process

Mechanism

Simplification

Other trials of this mechanism

Cite this entry

City of Phoenix, Dept. of Planning and Development. (2019). Business Permit Processing Streamlining. The Experiment Society Registry. Retrieved from https://www.experimentsociety.org/registry/permit-processing-phoenix (primary report: https://www.phoenix.gov/pdd)

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Open for replication

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