Time is Money

LWREC research from early 2010 examined the ways in which time delays in building permit processing affect overall project costs in several KC area communities. Links here and here provide some coverage of the report by local media. Given the slowdown in new projects, city planning departments may now be able to take pause to evaluate development approval policies in search of improved means of creating the best built environment possible while avoiding unintended consequences in the form of undesirable costs. Research like that by the LWREC is a great place to start to understand the issues. Economists Edward Glaeser of Harvard and Joseph Gyourko of Wharton, among others, have been on the forefront of similar research in recent years.