Builders in Jacksonville, Florida, who don't mind paying extra have a new option for moving developments through City Hall faster.
This week, the city launched its Express Lane Permitting service that enables developers to pay an additional fee when submitting projects to receive a speedier review process. A fee schedule for the service was unavailable in time for this story.
Jacksonville piloted the program with a proposed fast-food restaurant, according to a press release. The business received its civil permit in 15 days and building permit in 18 days. It was unclear if these processes were concurrent.
The average turnaround time for the first review of commercial plans had been 30 days, according to the release. The city said the civil plan review and permitting process also covers "the horizontal elements of construction projects" such as stormwater drainage, roadways and landscaping involved in the development of subdivisions.
"As we all know, time is money, and a faster, more efficient permitting process means more money in the pockets of everyone along the chain,” said Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan in a prepared statement.
The Express Lane is part of an eight-point action plan Mayor Deegan announced in May to streamline the permitting process. Other steps that have been ongoing include moving the Development Services Division into the Public Works Department, using AI tools and digitizing a comprehensive process for permitting, inspections and compliance.
Jacksonville has a significant inventory of homes for sale, with the market comprising roughly 0.7% of all homes for sale in the U.S., according to data from Homes.com.
Lisa McNatt, director of market analytics for Homes.com, said that the city's growth is keeping housing demand strong.
"Jacksonville has a fast-growing housing market that added roughly 32,000 new residents through in-migration in 2024," she said. "Though that number is expected to decline to closer to 21,000 in 2026 according to Oxford Economics, total population growth is expected to occur at an annual average of 1.9% from 2025 to 2029."
McNatt added that there are some signs of a potential slowdown ahead.
"Many of the market's recent job gains, however, have been in the leisure and hospitality sector, and it has been losing higher-paying finance jobs. That, coupled with an upward projected trend in home prices in the next year, could yield fewer potential buyers for the homes now under construction."