BUSINESSES PRAISE BEAVERTON'S IMPROVED PERMITTING PROCESS
Posted: July 12th, 2011 2:54 PM
- Mayor Denny Doyle committed to making Beaverton 'open for business' -
The City of Beaverton's Community Development Department (CDD), committed to honing its customer service, continues to meet with frequent users regarding land use, planning, permit applications and building code to determine where the City could improve.
"We must always engage with our customers so that we are aware of their changing needs and how we can improve our level of service," said Mayor Denny Doyle.
Trudy Cooper, of Trudy Cooper & Associates LLC, was hired to survey customers about the quality of Beaverton's permitting processes. Cooper led a focus group, where developers discussed the importance of several key issues including:
* Good coordination for project close-out
* Timely responses to plan submittals
* Building relationships within the community (regarding new projects)
* Holding a 'stay in touch' meeting every six months to communicate what is working and what is not
CDD also engaged with customers to evaluate the changes and improvements made over the past few years to determine if they are working.
In the past, businesses reported that CDD was not willing to work with them on issues, and that Beaverton's CDD department required more criteria for processes than other jurisdictions.
"No one put the City of Beaverton first as a place to do business, and we realized that needed to change," said Mayor Denny Doyle.
According to the report, customers are now saying they prefer Beaverton's level of service and outreach to that of other jurisdictions.
"We are currently working on several development projects within the City of Beaverton," said John O'Neil, vice president of Metropolitan Land Group LLC. "City staff has sought our input on code updates, promptly responded to our requests for guidance on many land use issues and worked with us to quickly identify and respond to any City and neighbor concerns related to our projects. We are confident that our experience with the City will continue to meet our expectations through the remainder of our projects."
The report shows that customers recognize the improved communications and believe that CDD staff are now staying in better touch. The report also showed positive feedback regarding reduced fees for permits and giving customers notice when their permits are about to expire or when fees are about to be raised.
Praise was expressed by customers for CDD staff and their efforts to regularly engage customers in discussions on service improvements. No customers expressed serious service or relationship problems with the department.
"With Beaverton at the table as a member of the team, collectively we were able to get the job done," said Jerry Baysinger, co-founder and president of Baysinger Partners. "As an architect, that is the exact kind of partnership we need. There have been a number of occasions where I've called staff to get together and figure something out. Folks at Beaverton come to the table with an open mind and their sleeves rolled up, ready to work."
A second focus group is being planned for September with a different group of interested community members, which could include developers, contractors, architects and design professionals or others working in similar fields.
ABOUT CDD
CDD's mission is to help provide a livable and vibrant community for today's citizens as well as for future generations. The Planning Division of CDD delivers a wide variety of "long-range planning" and "current planning" services to residents, property owners and developers in Beaverton. The Building Division provides building inspection, plan review and structure-related permits. For more information, please visit www.BeavertonOregon.gov/CDD.
ABOUT BEAVERTON
Beaverton enjoys one of the most diverse populations among Oregon cities. It was one of just four cities of its size recently recognized as a "Smarter City" energy leader by the Natural Resources Defense Council and one of the 100 Best Places to Live in America by Money magazine. In addition, Beaverton has been named one of the safest cities in the Pacific Northwest for three consecutive years, as one of the best places to raise kids by BusinessWeek magazine, an All-America City finalist, one of the 100 Best Walking Cities in America by Prevention magazine, the Recycler of the Year from the Association of Oregon Recyclers, a Tree City USA by the Arbor Day Foundation, a Bronze Award Bicycle Friendly Community designation by the League of American Bicyclists and as one of the Environmental Protection Agency's Green Power Communities. Most recently, the Beaverton Community Vision program was named Public Involvement Project of the Year-Best Planning Project by the International
Association of Public Participation (IAP2) Cascade Chapter. For more information, please visit www.beavertonoregon.gov.
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