• City now to offer "Same Day” permit approval for most residential & small commercial building improvements
• City also plans pre-approved designs that significantly cut costs and time for new single family home construction in Detroit
• Mayor also formally announces reappointment of BSEED Director David Bell 

The City of Detroit will implement sweeping changes that will significantly speed up the processes of renovating existing homes in the city and constructing infill housing, Mayor Mary Sheffield announced today. The Mayor joined with Director of the Building Safety, Engineering & Environmental Department (BSEED) David Bell to announce a three-point plan that also includes efforts to ensure the safety of existing housing and for improving the overall customer experience at BSEED.  

The changes come amid Mayor Sheffield’s efforts to make city government easier to navigate and drive more investment into neighborhoods, including a goal to build 1,000 new houses in the next four years.  

Highlights of the three-point plan include:  

• Same Day permitting for home and business renovations, shortening existing timelines by up to 30 days. 
• Pre-approved design options to speed up construction of new single-family homes to quickly put vacant residential lots back to use.
• Technology investments to improve the day-to-day experience of BSEED customers navigating the Department’s electronic systems. 

Mayor Mary Sheffield announces new fast track plan for BSEED. Photos: Cyrus Tetteh

 “As Detroit’s population continues to grow, we need to speed up the rate of new single family home construction and expedite the renovations to our older housing stock to prevent displacement, but City bureaucracy has a way of slowing things down,” said Mayor Sheffield. “These changes help keep a promise I made during my campaign to make city government work better for people and to drive more investment into our neighborhoods.”

The changes announced today build on a series of improvements recently implemented at BSEED that include moving entirely to digital construction plans and eliminating redundant or unnecessary permitting and inspection processes for many small businesses.  

Mayor Sheffield also took the opportunity to formally announce the reappoint of Dave Bell as director of BSEED, which coincided with the anniversary of Bell’s 28th year with the City. “Director Bell has shown great leadership over the years and in the development of this plan. I’m proud to have him continuing to lead this important work,” Mayor Sheffield said.

Bell said that the new changes support the Mayor’s objectives to strengthen neighborhoods, support economic opportunity through clear, consistent and modern regulatory services grounded in transparency, accountability, and public trust. 

Here are details of the three-point plan:

1. Same Day Renovation Permitting: Currently, it can take up to 30 days for a homeowner, small commercial building owner or contractor to get through the permitting process to make important improvements, such as new windows, roofs and siding, as well as interior alterations.  This can lead to frustration and motivate people to complete work without pulling the necessary permits to ensure the work is done properly.  To shorten this timeframe and increase compliance, Bell has authorized inspectors to review and permits from the field during an inspection, eliminating time consuming steps during the permitting process.  This change has been given immediate effect.

“By allowing inspectors to review permits in the field, we’re eliminating unnecessary steps and giving residents a faster, more reliable permitting experience,” said Bell.

“We appreciate the City’s efforts to improve the permitting process,” said Kalaya Long, CEO of Blue Horizons, which does a large amount of home renovation in Detroit. “Faster approvals will allow contractors like us to begin work sooner and complete more critical home repairs for Detroit residents.”  

2. Pre-approved New Home Designs: To support Mayor Sheffield’s bold effort build 1,000 new single family in the city during her four-year term as mayor, Bell says that by late this year, BSEED will offer a new option that could revolutionize how new, single-family homes in Detroit are constructed.  Instead of having to hire their own architect to design a home specifically for their lot, the city will offer a menu of pre-approved home designs that fit the character of Detroit neighborhoods, and the lot targeted for construction. Having pre-approved design plans will reduce the lot owner’s upfront costs for building the home and significantly shorten the time needed to start construction.  

"The potential of this one change can’t be overstated,” said Mayor Sheffield. “We see through initiatives like Down Payment Assistance that there is a real demand for homeownership in our city. But developers have had to navigate endless red tape to meet that demand. Now, providing a simple pathway to building a new home in a Detroit will unlock a new era of home construction in our city.”

“We’ve got to build more homes in Detroit.  We’ve just got to make it easier,” said Matt Tempkin  of Greatwater Opportunity Capital, which has built and sold more than 40 new homes in Detroit.  “It’s so exciting to hear the City has a plan to do just that.”  

3. Improved Customer Experience: Upgrade and integrate the three existing technology platforms to provide a seamless customer experience and simplify the process of conducting business with BSEED:  

• Open Counter - project scoping, zoning, fees 
• Accela - applications, permitting, licensing, certificates, payments 
• Avolve - building permit and site plan review 

“By creating a single point of entry, we’re eliminating the 'fragmentation tax' customers used to pay in lost time.  Instead of jumping across three separate accounts, users now have one streamlined path that we expect will cut 30% of the administrative back-and-forth,” said Bell. “This could potentially save commercial projects thousands of dollars in carrying costs and get our local businesses open weeks ahead of schedule.”

“While this plan focuses on immediate improvements, BSEED will lay the groundwork for long-term structural changes to remove complexity by working with City Council to streamline antiquated regulations and modernizing our code to unlock neighborhood investment,” said the City’s Chief Operating Officer, Winnie Liao. “Our goal is to create a department that works at the speed of our city’s growth. By addressing near-term pain points and reimagining our entire process through the lens of human-centered design, we will move from a reactive model to a proactive-service oriented one.”