Dive Brief:
- Local government staffing shortages, turnover and retirements among city planners and attorneys threaten to slow down housing permitting processes, delay construction and drive up costs, panelists on an America’s Housing Comeback Advisory Group gathering in Orlando, Florida, said.
- Local government expertise is critical to providing guidance for housing developers and ensuring cities are following state and federal regulations, according to an April 9 National League of Cities summary of the February panel, which included representatives from the National Association of Home Builders and the American Planning Association.
- Nearly half of all local government employees are over 50, and close to 38% are expected to retire within the next five years, according to a BerryDunn study.
Dive Insight:
The U.S. faces a 1.2 million housing unit shortfall, according to NAHB estimates, and the residential construction workforce lost more than 41,000 jobs in 2025. NAHB forecasts a continued workforce slowdown, exacerbating high housing construction costs.
More than 70% of planning professionals surveyed by the International Code Council last year cited resource and staffing shortfalls as a barrier to operating under mandated permitting deadlines.
As cities address housing shortages, some have incorporated artificial intelligence into their permitting processes and bolstered their online systems in an effort to speed up timelines.
Representatives on the America’s Housing Comeback Advisory Group, which includes the National League of Cities, said collaboration among builders and local governments is key to mitigating housing planning and approval delays.
“Strengthening these public-private partnerships is key to improving efficiency and easing cost pressures for residents,” Hannah Olsen, NLC program manager of housing and community development, wrote in the panel summary.
