Despite major growth, water department cuts permit review time by 75%

Permits from Tampa's water department are coming much faster in the past two years as staff is added to address growing demand.

By Louis Llovio
| 4:15 p.m. March 23, 2023
| 0 Free Articles Remaining!

Tampa's water department has cut its permit review time by 75% after a peak slowdown during the pandemic.

Tampa Bay-Lakeland

Tampa’s water department says it has cut the length of time for the permit review process by 75% in the past couple years.

According to a statement issued by the city, the cut has come in response to skyrocketing demand from developers, builders and residents. The department says the number of permit applications it received from commercial businesses jumped more than 25% between October 2015 and October 2022, eventually doubling the time for the review process.

The department says the worst time was during the pandemic in fiscal year 2020, when it took on average 112 days for a review to get done.