Addressing a longtime sore point for some developers, the city of Spokane says it's launching an improved commercial permit process that's designed to provide customers with more timely and predictable service.

In a press release announcing the improvements, Mayor David Condon said, "Our job at the city is to create an atmosphere that allows our economy to grow and create jobs. We must remove impediments to growth."

Streamlining the permit process was one of the items included in Condon's 100-day action plan. Employees in the city's business and developer services division considered customers' concerns and input provided through surveys while crafting the improvements, the news release said. They also used process-improvement strategies to identify steps that could be eliminated, it said.

Changes include the following:

•Pre-development conferences. These early meetings will be formatted to the applicant's needs, the city says, with the goal of identifying and addressing any concerns early in the process.

•Permit management. The city will assign a permit manager, as a single point of contact for a developer, on each project that requires a "full-route" commercial permit. An initial review of an application will be provided within 48 hours.

•Enhanced "intake" meeting. The meeting is being revised to provide a high-level review of issues and application deficiencies.

•Improved plan review. The city has improved distribution of plans to reviewing agencies, and the permit manager will monitor and track required approvals.

Other changes are intended to limit frustration, the city says. For example, it says it has cut in half the number of copies of plans that are required and will accept smaller-sized plans as long as they show sufficient detail.

—Kim Crompton