House Passes Permitting Reform Bill

"This is a step in the right direction to change how business is done in this state," David Begelfer, chief executive officer of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties, which helped draft the measure, tells GlobeSt.com. Begelfer says NAIOP officials plan to meet with the Senate next week to discuss the measure in the hope that the bill will be passed by June.

The legislation will, among other things, streamline the appeals process by removing a backlog of environmental appeals and requiring decisions to be issued within 90 days. It also calls for the creation of a Massachusetts Permit Regulatory Office to serve as the primary contact to new and expanding businesses. It also changes the Expedited Permitting Act to encouraging more communities to opt-in to a 180 day, site specific expedited permitting process by rewarding participating communities with technical assistance. In addition, the bill also creates enforceable regulations for expediting the curb cut process, creates a new division of the Trial Courts for land use issues and changes the requirements for groups that oppose development projects for environmental reasons.

"This bill could not come at a better time," Begelfer says. "With the sluggish economy and the serious loss of talent to other states, we must change the way we do business. It will bring fairness, timeliness and transparency to what has historically been a very uncertain permitting process."