Best Practice 3 Resiliency Strategies

Develop and expand online permit portal

Create a centralized location on the community website for key development review information, forms, and other resources.
Utilize online scheduling tools to set up meetings. Offer online consultations.
Ensure all staff contact information and roles are clearly identified on the community website
Provide transparency regarding any delays or reduced capacity due to the current emergency and recovery efforts, and how your community is working to address the problem.

Review and adapt temporary use process to expedite special event permits and temporary use permits

Adopt criteria for administrative approval of special event permits and temporary use permits. Allow for unrestricted and convenient permit extensions with a small fee for staff inspection and processing.
Develop a process for approval of a multi-business Social Zone Permit.
Have step-by-step guides available online showing the updated process for special event permits and temporary use permits.
Establish a work group to assess the community’s resiliency plans around development review.
Request feedback from applicants to continually assess the strengths and challenges of the development review process.

Expedite temporary use permits for outdoor space activation.

Relax parking standards to enable repurposing surface and structured parking. Provide exceptions to ordinances that require parking replacement.
Allow businesses to winterize covered spaces in parking areas.

Expedite temporary use permits to repurpose underutilized indoor spaces

Temporarily ease building codes while still enforcing state-mandated occupancy limits
Activate vacant storefronts in retail areas. Use windows to promote the district or municipal services. Locate city service like hand-washing stations to vacant storefronts.
De-densify homeless shelters for new a temporary homeless in hotels. FEMA will reimburse up to 75 percent of eligible costs for providing housing at hotels, motels, or other facilities.

Best Practice 3: Development Review