During an event on Thursday, the County stated that reviews of standard building permits now take one-third to one-half the time they did in 2024.

The County Executive Steuart Pittman also used the announcement to urge the County Council to pass the zoning rewrite on Monday.

At the showcase, the DOIP reported that reviews of new single-family homes and new single-family attached homes in subdivisions are now taking 4.1 business days (down from 6.2 in 2024). Decks, fences, sheds, and small interior renovations are taking 2.4 days (down from 4.7), tenant improvement permits are taking 3.8 days (down from 7), and roof-mounted solar is taking 1.2 days (down from 2.4).

The County also noted that online filing has increased from 70% of applications to nearly 94% while the number of applications has remained flat.

"If the County Council passes our zoning code update on Monday night the twenty year backlog of bottlenecks caused by code inconsistencies and obscurities will finally be cleared," said Pittman in the release. "That will in turn allow the next administration to process permits even more efficiently."

Inspections and Permits Director Mark Wedemeyer supported the move online, citing it as a way to 'increase transparency, remove the unnecessary bottlenecks and provide a faster, more predictable process for contractors and homeowners'.

The release does not comment as to whether the figures are averages or medians, how they are calculated, or how long permits actually take from application to approval (including the time taken for resubmissions and inspections). The figures have not been independently verified.