“Workshop” to Mitigate County’s Sluggish Permit Process

By Wendy Osher

Maui construction. File photo by Wendy Osher.

The County of Maui will host a technical workshop for building professionals that is designed to enable faster processing of county permits.

“Although we are looking at developing new industries, the construction industry is still a huge part of this county’s economy,” said Mayor Alan Arakawa. “This workshop is geared towards getting these construction projects flowing again by removing obstacles and common mistakes made when people apply for permits,” he said.

The Permitting for Professionals Workshop focuses on improving the process for submitting permit applications, reducing processing time, and avoiding common mistakes that often delay the approval of projects.

The workshop was organized by the Permit Process Improvement Team, a multi-departmental working group headed by Managing Director Keith Regan and Executive Assistant Randy Piltz.

“We believe this workshop will assist us in moving forward with our plans to improve the permitting system here at the county by taking a more comprehensive and pragmatic approach,” said Managing Director Regan. “We are focusing on both process improvement and education as keys to improving our permitting system overall,” he said.

“Having been in the private sector I can tell you that I know the frustration that’s out there,” said Randy Piltz. “But it doesn’t have to be that way and we’ve been working very hard to fix it.”

The workshop is for architects, contractors, engineers and other building professionals and is limited to the first 100 participants who sign up.   Although it is open to the public, county officials note that much of the information is technical and would best be absorbed by engineers, planners and other professionals.

The December 9th workshop will be held at Maui Economic Opportunity (MEO) in Wailuku. Cost is $25 and covers light refreshments and lunch.

Presenting departments will include the Department of Water Supply, Department of Public Works, Department of Fire and Public Safety, Department of Environmental Management, Department of Planning, Department of Housing and Human Concerns, and the State Office of Environmental Quality Control.

Reservations are due by November 25, 2011, and can be made by visiting the following weblink: http://mauicounty.gov/ppitworkshopreg.

“By working together we can get construction industry off the bench and back to work,” said Mayor Arakawa.