Benchmarking Development Approvals Processes Across the U.S.

Originally published on February 3, 2021, by Brielle Scott for .

Many municipal approval processes tend to be opaque and provide developers with limited information.

To help address these issues, the NAIOP Research Foundation commissioned Distinguished Fellow C. Kat Grimsley, Ph.D. cantab, director of the Masters in Real Estate Development Program at George Mason University, to create a Development Approvals Index to evaluate the transparency, consistency and accountability of municipal permitting and inspection processes.

In a session at the 2021 Chapter Leadership and Legislative Retreat, Grimsley shared her experience developing the tool, an overview of its structure and variables, and her goals for its use as it continues to be refined. The Index consists of an Excel spreadsheet that end-users can complete based on available information for the permitting and inspection processes. It can be used for all product types.

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