Alliance Tools

The materials on this CD are arranged in the following categories: January Task Force Meeting, AIA/NCSBCS Survey, Convention Seminar, Streamlining Reports, and Alliance Tools. Each of the categories is described more fully as you scroll through this page. To access information, either use the navigation elements on the left hand panel or click on any of the underlined text on this page. You will directly link to the related topic or document. To return to this page at anytime click on "how to use this CD-ROM" which is located near the top of the left-hand scroll menu.

In January 2004, AIA Government Affairs brought together representatives of 10 major cities to discuss ways to streamline the construction permitting process. Building officials and architects from Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. convened at AIA headquarters in Washington, D.C., to examine the negative impacts of permitting problems, particularly delays, in the United States. They reviewed cities' attempts to improve the permitting process, challenges they continue to face, and ways the AIA could help them improve their systems.

This section provides you with: the full transcript of the Task Force meeting that was held in January 2004 at the National Headquarters of the AIA, a 16 page narrative that provides an overview of the discussion that occurred during the meeting, and contact information for the meetings participants.

As a result of discussion that occurred during the January 2004 Task Force meeting, the AIA identified a need to assess current usage of of technology in the permit submission and review process. To that end, the AIA commissioned the Alliance for Building Regulatory Reform in the Digital Age, through its secretariat, the National Conference of States on Building Codes and Standards (NCSBCS), to survey state and local governments as to their acceptance and use of plans submitted over the Internet or on CD-ROM.

NCSBCS conducted the survey in May 2004, and compiled input from state and local governments on the issue. One hundred and twenty state and local building regulatory agencies in 33 states completed the survey. The surveyed jurisdictions included the regulatory agencies of 17 different state governments and 26 major cities. This CD contains a report that summarizes the survey results, the complete results of the survey, and a spreadsheet listing all of the survey respondents.

During this year's AIA National Convention, a continuing education seminar on permit streamlining best practices and innovations occurred. The panel featured building officials who had successfully implemented permit improvements on the state, county, and local levels. Henry Green, head building official for the State of Michigan and an ICC Board member discussed his experiences with ongoing MiTap streamlining effort in his state. The viewpoint of the county or regional approach was represented on the panel by Jim Bartl, AIA, the head building official for Mecklenburg County (Charlotte) North Carolina. The final panel member Andrew Adelman, PE, head of building officials for the city of Los Angeles discussed his efforts to improve the permitting process in his city.

Each of the seminar panelists shared their experiences, provided insight, and made recommendations on successfully employing reforms to greatly improve the building review and permitting processes. The seminar allowed participants to learn first hand of some of the innovative practices that are already in use to streamline the building regulatory process and allow construction projects to be completed faster, better, safer and at less cost. Convention related permitting resources and materials are all available at the following link: 2004 AIA Convention Permitting Seminar

Over 44,000 jurisdictions adopt and enforce building codes and oversee the building permitting process in their respective communities. In the United States codes protect over 95% of our population and serve to regulate our nation's $1.1 trillion domestic building construction industry. Unfortunately onerous permit review systems can cause unnecessary and costly delays. To address this problem, many communities have examined their permitting processes in an attempt to identify areas where streamlining efforts could occur. AIA National has acquired reports conducted by a number of communities, jurisdictions, and departments. To view available reports follow this link: Streamlining Reports Compendium.

The work products provided in this section were developed by the Alliance for Building Regulatory Reform in the Digital Age with funding support from the federal government. These resources are designed to address specific barriers to regulatory streamlining as identified by state and local building officials, the construction industry, and the information technology community. A complete listing of tools as well a descriptions of how the item can be used is available here: Allaniance Tools Resource Page