Those building new housing projects now have access to the Planning Department’s “Fast Housing” tool online to quickly find areas of town that qualify for expedited permits without additional fees.
The Planning Department provides an optional, fee-based program called “FasTrax” — $1,000 minimum — to accelerate the plan review process and ensure completion by specific dates. With the new housing program, those fees are waived.
“The new Fast Housing tool will help people quickly and easily identify addresses that qualify for expedited approval,” said Alan Varela, the Planning Department Director. “It is possible that applicants who submit complete and accurate applications can receive their site plan approval and building permit within days instead of weeks or months.”
In April the City Council passed Resolution 24-22 to establish a two-year policy for prioritizing site plan approvals and construction permitting of certain development projects, particularly those that establish permanent housing close to Metropolitan Redevelopment Areas, Downtown, multiple city centers, and corridors.
The process for site plan approvals and construction permits has been a “first come, first served” model. The department says factors such as workload and staffing can affect the wait times.
According to the “Fast Housing” tool, the locations marked as a priority permitting area “include areas within a quarter mile of Downtown, Urban Centers, Employment Centers, Activity Centers, Premium Transit Corridors, Main Street Corridors, Major Transit Corridors, Multi-modal Corridors, and the city’s Metropolitan Redevelopment Areas.”
Varela says the department is committed to building new houses around the city.
“We are going to continue doing everything we can to help spur development that will increase Albuquerque’s housing stock,” Varela said.
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