ABOUT THIS TOOL

Jurisdictions of all sizes and regions within the nation that have successfully improved the quality of their codes administration and enforcement programs share in common the above two factors – they identified and addressed regulatory barriers within their community and they did so with the aid and support of an active body of stakeholder groups representing the construction industry, community organizations and elected officials. This tool identifies several resources both on the Alliance website and in state and local governments that your community can access to understand how best to identify whether or not your program needs streamlining and how to identify and assemble the key stakeholder groups to help you improve your codes administration and enforcement processes.

BENEFITS OF USING

The horror stories of jurisdictions whose building codes administration and enforcement programs became an impediment to both economic competitiveness and public safety are replete with examples of the inability of a jurisdiction to identify areas in need of improvement and then assemble and marshal the active support of key stakeholder groups for such change. Successful efforts have: kept or attracted new employers; reduced the regulatory portion of housing costs and assured that buildings in that community are more resistant to damage associated with both man-made and natural disasters.

SAVINGS TO GOVERNMENT

Identifying and then assembling and empowering key stakeholders to take actions that improve the effectiveness and efficiency of building codes administration and enforcement processes have enabled communities to reduce the regulatory portion of construction costs by between 40 – 60 percent. Those efforts also have strengthened public support for effective enforcement of up-to-date building codes, including the levying of surcharges on construction permits to cover the costs of acquiring and maintaining information technology.

SAVINGS TO PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTORS

The elimination of regulatory barriers and enhancing of effective codes enforcement have saved jobs and lives within countless communities improved business continuity in the wake of a disaster and helped make housing more affordable.

BACKGROUND ON THIS TOOL

The Alliance has assembled in its Guides, conferences, website contact information lists, a broad range of useful tools that give communities access to actions that they can take to both identify and remove regulatory impediments to effective codes administration and enforcement.

Four Alliance tools (two of which are described in greater detail in this Toolkit) in particular are useful to State and local government identification of regulatory barriers and assembling and empowering stakeholders. The 83page HUD “Guide to More Effective and Efficient Building Regulatory Processes Through Information Technology” contains in Chapters 1 & 2 detailed descriptions of how to identify whether or not you have regulatory barriers in your community that impede both public safety and economic competitiveness. Chapter 3 of that same publication identifies who key stakeholders in your community are likely to be and actions that your community can take to effectively gain their active participation and support for undertaking regulatory streamlining.

The Alliance’s PowerPoint presentation file contains presentations by representatives from key stakeholder groups identifying ways in which their community reached out to them to involve them in identifying and removing barriers to more effective and efficient enforcement. In particular presentations that were given at the Alliance’s February 15-16, 2007 National Streamlining Conference held in Washington, D.C. provide examples drawn from jurisdictions and stakeholders as diverse as Louisiana and Intel.

EXAMPLES OF APPLICATION AND JURISDICTION CONTACTS

Wilmington, Delaware in early 2002 was faced with growing pressure from its citizens to increase the availability of affordable housing and speed up the building permit application, plan approval and inspection processes. The City surveyed its key stakeholders on the areas in need of streamlining and from that survey assembled a stakeholder’s advisory group to support regulatory streamlining and the later acquisition and use of information technology. Contact: Jeffery Starkey, Director Planning and Permits; Phone: 302-576-3059; E-mail address: jstarkey@ci.wilmington.de.us

BACKGROUND ON THIS TOOL

Working with community groups, the construction and business community, elected officials and building department personnel communities are successfully turning around regulatory systems that became ineffective and inefficient. Alliance tools covered in this sheet provide guidance on how to access success stories and gain advice for undertaking successful effort in your jurisdiction.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE ALLIANCE AND A COPY OF THIS TOOL: Visit the Alliance’s website at: www.natlpartnerstreamline.org and click on “Toolkit.” On the “Toolkit” page, click on Identifying Barriers and Assembling Stakeholders.