OLYMPIA, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – A new audit places Bellingham as middle-of-the-pack when it comes to performance in issuing permits for building, civil and land use.

The report released by the Washington State Auditor’s Office (SAO) checked Bellingham’s compliance with permit issuance against state regulations and other high-growth cities and counties from 2019-2022. The other five randomly selected locations were Richland, Vancouver, Shoreline and Snohomish and Kittitas Counties.

No audited city or county received 100% for any issuance rate checked, and Bellingham had room for improvement in all respects according to the report. Generally, Bellingham was found to comply with the state mandated 120-day turnaround for permit applications a majority – but not all – of the time.

The room for improvement was greatest in land use permits. For instance, Bellingham turned around land use permits within 120 days only 64% of the time. Snohomish County trailed at 24% for land use, but Bellingham still came in fifth. The city also took up to a year to issue these permits 20% of the time.

The SAO’s report found key factors for slow processing of land use permits included staffing shortages, project complexity and inefficient processes.

Bellingham was third in highest rate of issuing civil permits at 89%. The greatest percent of compliance was in building permits, with Bellingham and others reaching at least 91%.