“Yes, we’re getting faster at the ones we’re approving, but there’s still a lot that aren’t even approved,” he said. Mahmood said that the report’s timeline is based on about 740 permits approved in that time, but there’s a backlog of more than 1,300 applications that haven’t yet been issued.
Some of those pending applications have been in the pipeline since 2017 — as of Oct. 29, the average number of days that those permits had been awaiting approval was 1,489 days, or more than four years.
The city also needs to allow for more than 80,000 new housing units by 2031, in line with the state’s mandate.
According to the report, five city departments are involved in approving a permit application, with no single point of contact that oversees applications all the way from filing to permit issuance.
In some cases, one or more departments start their review process later than others, the report said, causing delays.
Mahmood said it can also be complicated for developers to communicate with the many departments and fulfill requests of each of their reviews.
One of the ways he’s proposed to ease these problems is by consolidating the number of departments involved in the process. In January, Lurie announced plans to merge the Planning Department, the Department of Building Inspection and Permit Center, an effort he said would “mean better coordination, time and cost savings.”
But to achieve that goal, Mahmood said, voters would need to approve reforms to the city’s charter.
Right now, the charter outlines each department’s responsibilities. Mahmood said the ballot measure he’s considering would move those department responsibilities into the city’s administrative code, giving the Mayor and Board of Supervisors flexibility to restructure the departments.
“That will help to fully realize that vision that the Mayor’s already announced,” he told KQED. Lurie and Board of Supervisors President Rafael Mandelman also launched plans in December to reform the city’s charter.
If he chooses to do so, Mahmood will have until June to submit a proposed ordinance, with the support of at least four members of the Board of Supervisors or the Mayor’s office, in time for the November election.
