Politics & Government
Malibu Launches Website Measuring Customer Service In Permit Process
The city knows it can be a slog getting permits approved for building projects. It's trying to make the process more efficient.
MALIBU, CA — When it comes to rebuilding, building, repairing and renovating homes and commercial buildings in Malibu, ongoing staff shortages have meant longer-than-normal wait times for the permitting process.
The city recently announced that as part of its effort to improve customer service in the Planning Department, it has launched a new website meant to aid in making for smoother, faster permitting, according to the city.
The dashboard measures nine metrics updated biweekly, including the following:
Find out what's happening in Malibufor free with the latest updates from Patch.
- Applications that receive an initial response from the city within 30 days (goal: 75 percent, actual: 91 percent)
- Applications that receive a second response within 30 days of the first revised submission (goal: 50 percent, actual: 50 percent)
- Solar permit applications requiring no department reviews that receive a decision within a day (goal: 50 percent, actual: 69 percent)
- Outdoor lighting review applications that receive a decision within seven days (goal: 50 percent, actual: 0 percent)
- Over the counter level-one applications, which do not require review, that receive a decision within two days (goal: 75 percent, actual: 56 percent)
Under each metric is detailed information about the statistics. For example, the city notes that while neither of the two outdoor lighting applications received a decision within a week, staff issued corrections to the applications within seven days.
The dashboard also details the Planning Department's performance from last year and plenty of other details.
Find out what's happening in Malibufor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The city is also hiring additional contract planners to help process applications in a timely manner. "The Metrics webpage is meant to ensure that the use of contract planners is improving performance, and is an important part of providing transparency and accountability," the city's website reads.
The metrics dashboard was launched as a pilot program that will initially track performance between January and June.
You can view the dashboard on the city's website.
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