Construction Curiosities #116

Death by Bureaucracy: How Permits Kill Schedules & How to Fix It

Matt Graves

Apr 19, 2025

Hey! Happy Saturday! Matt here.

Its a fuzzy time in World Economics. But not as fuzzy as this dude.

Welcome to the Construction Curiosities newsletter!

This week we are jumping into the land of Regulations! I’ll try to make it more fun than it sounds….

Summary

This week we will look at:

One Musing: Death by Bureaucracy
One Article: Trump Brings Permitting Technology Into the 21st Century
Contech Corner: PermitFlow
One Meme: Super Mario: Permit Runner Edition

Death by Bureaucracy: How Permits Kill Schedules & How to Fix It

Let’s talk permits.

The thing every Owner assumes the GC is taking care of.

The thing every GC assumes the Architect already started.

The thing every Architect assumes the Owner is handling with their Uncle Fred in the city permitting office.

Spoiler alert: nobody has done anything.

Permit Delays Are a Bigger Problem Than You Think

According to the National Multifamily Housing Council, permitting delays cost developers an average of $10,500 per unit per month in lost rent or carrying costs. For a 300-unit project, that’s $3M per month. For literally... paperwork.

And the kicker?

40% of developers surveyed said they experienced delays of 6 months or more.
(Source: NMHC/Lawrence Group "Barriers to Apartment Construction" 2022)

Let that sink in.

We spend months refining project-specific wall sections and coordinating BIM models, but nobody mapped out how long it takes to get a stormwater permit through an understaffed city department still using fax machines.

The Real Reason Permits Take So Damn Long

Here’s what most people don’t understand:

Permitting isn’t just about checking boxes.

It’s a game of local politics, underfunded staff, outdated systems, vague code interpretations, and reviewers who change mid-project. And don’t forget the “neighborhood review process” where Chad from the HOA decides your parking garage is a little too “Soviet Union”.

You don’t just submit drawings… you enter a bureaucratic maze.

Here’s how it really goes:

You submit plans.
They reject it.
You resubmit with the changes they said they wanted.
A different reviewer gets it.
They reject it again. But for totally different reasons.

Permitting Isn’t Just Red Tape - It’s Strategy

A good PM treats permitting like procurement. Like a critical-path item with a lead time.

A great PM pre-meets with the reviewers, knows EXACTLY how they want things submitted, figures out what trips up other projects, and starts shaping the submittal before the drawings are 100%.

Want to spot a GC who’s been around the block?

They’re the ones who know which plan reviewer at the fire marshal’s office is on vacation next month.
(And they schedule around it.)

Why It Matters for Owners and Owner Reps

Permits are your first chance to look like a hero. Or a zero.

You can either:

✅ Start early, coordinate between design disciplines, push the architect to meet with AHJs, track submittals, and escalate delays…

Or:

❌ Assume the “team is handling it,” and get blindsided when the site sits idle for 10 weeks while waiting on a sediment control approval.

It’s not sexy. There’s no ribbon cutting. But it’s the difference between starting a project out strong or explaining change orders with a straight face.

Pro Tip from the Field:

“You don’t need to know the code as well as the reviewer. You need to know who actually approves the permit, and what makes them say yes.”
— Senior PM at a national GC who asked not to be named because his permitting strategy is a “trade secret”

So… What Can We Actually Do?

Here’s your high-level playbook:

Schedule permitting like a critical path activity. Add real durations and lead time buffers.
Host pre-submittal meetings with every AHJ. Make friends. Ask dumb questions before they become RFI rejections.
Assign a permit lead. This is a full-time job on complex projects. If everyone owns it, no one is doing it.
Use tech where it actually helps. Tools like PermitFlow (see more below) can help, but they won’t fix laziness or ignorance.

And ask this magic question:
👉 “What would cause this submittal to be rejected?”

Then fix those things before they happen.

Permitting isn’t paperwork. It’s politics, psychology, and project controls wrapped in bureaucracy.

Proactiveness goes a long, long way…

Here’s some more War Stories and Pro-tips from the Socials:

One Article

Fact Sheet: President Trump Brings Permitting Technology Into the 21st Century for Government Efficiency

This week, the Trump administration told federal agencies to quit partying like it's 1999 and bring permitting into the 21st century.

The plan? Use actual software. 😱

A new directive pushes agencies to modernize environmental reviews and permit tracking using digital tools.

They’re even creating a Permitting Innovation Center to help agencies adopt tech that actually works. The end goal is faster reviews, fewer bottlenecks, and a lot less finger-pointing when delays hit.

ConTech Corner

Speaking of Tech that actually works….

PermitFlow is a permitting platform built specifically for construction teams. They automate and streamline the permit process by handling submittals, tracking timelines, and even managing communication with jurisdictions. It's like having a project coordinator whose only job is dealing with the city, and they never go on vacation.

What I like most?

They don’t just give you a dashboard and wish you luck. They pair it with real support from people who’ve done this before. They know which cities require wet stamps, who accepts digital signatures, and how to avoid the “resubmit ping-pong” that wrecks your schedule.

A couple of permitting stats:

According to Dodge Data & Analytics, 71% of project delays on commercial jobs are tied to permitting or entitlement-related issues.
PermitFlow users report a 30–50% faster turnaround time on average vs traditional in-house tracking methods.

For busy GCs, developers, and even Owner’s Reps like me, this is a game-changer.

Construction Yeti and PermitFlow have partnered to make permitting fast, easy, and transparent. Get started today and experience a 60% faster time to permit with PermitFlow.

To learn more and schedule a demo, head here:

Construction Yeti x PermitFlow Demo Link

PS- Completing a demo through the above link helps support Construction Yeti and helps keep these Weekly Newsletters FREE! 😉