Dive Brief:
- Prince William County, Virginia, aims to streamline residential and commercial development by tweaking its conditional approval process, allowing projects to move forward with administrative tasks while awaiting legal signoff.
- Previously, developers faced a “waiting period” while the county attorney reviewed deeds, plans and agreements before they could move forward with other administrative steps or reviews, according to the county.
- “Our goal is to eliminate downtime,” Ricky O’Connor, acting director for the county’s Department of Development Services, said in a Sept. 2 news release. “By providing a stamped final plan earlier in the process, we are empowering customers to coordinate with external agencies and prepare for construction while the final legal ‘i’s’ are dotted and ‘t’s’ are crossed.”
Dive Insight:
As cities and counties around the country face a housing crunch, many are reviewing longstanding permitting processes for ways to streamline development.
Prince William County lies alongside the Potomac River in Northern Virginia and is home to over 500,000 residents. An estimated 27.7% of all households in the county experience a cost burden, and 11.1% experience severe cost burdens. Between 2017 and 2023, limited housing options pushed rents in the county up 34%, according to The Pew Charitable Trusts.
The changes in Prince William allow developers awaiting legal approval to distribute hard copy final plans to inspection agencies and obtain permits for the Virginia Erosion and Stormwater Management program, as well as permits from the Virginia Department of Transportation, Prince William Water and “other external agencies that require a County stamped final Plan,” according to the county.
Developers must first receive a conditional approval letter from the county before proceeding, and receive prior approval from all relevant county agencies. After final plans and pending legal documents are uploaded to the county’s online portal, the Land Development Division Project Manager aims to provide a digital stamp and conditional approval letter within seven days.
Final site permits will be issued once hard copy legal documents are fully approved, processed and recorded by the county.
In addition to its conditional approval process changes, the county’s Development Services’ Land Development Division announced earlier this month it has digitized its zoning guides in an effort to simplify the zoning application process.
“We have reduced service delivery complexity and established a modern benchmark for inclusive, accessible, and community-centered local governance,” O’Connor stated. “This milestone ensures that every homeowner, contractor, and business owner can seamlessly navigate local zoning approval regulations.”
The Prince William Board of County Supervisors last year adopted an Affordable Dwelling Unit Ordinance to establish a voluntary incentive program to offer density bonuses to developers that incorporate affordable housing in their projects.
