Plan review, inspections, and code work for Washington cities growing faster than their staff.
PNW Community Development Consultants steps in as an extension of a city's building department: reviewing plans, running inspections, auditing a permit process for bottlenecks, and covering planning work when there is more coming through the door than there is staff to handle it.
Four ways to add capacity without adding headcount.
A city does not need to hire its way out of a growth surge. It needs a firm that can pick up exactly the work that is backing up, on the timeline the code requires.
Plan review
Structural and non structural review for single family, multi family, and commercial permits, checked against the codes a city has adopted and returned with a clear comment letter when revisions are needed.
Building inspection
Certified inspectors available on an as needed basis for residential and commercial projects, in person or remote, coordinated directly with the applicant and the city.
Process audits
A structured look at where a permit process is actually losing time: routing, fee schedules, application forms, and code provisions, with a written correction plan a council can act on.
Planning support
Land use review, site plan review, and general planning guidance for cities that need part time capacity without a full time planner on staff.
Grounded in how a permit actually moves.
Built for growing cities
Sized for the small and mid sized Washington cities that feel a growth surge hardest: one annexation or one master planned district can double a permit workload overnight.
Grounded in the statute
Fee structures and process recommendations are built on RCW 36.70B and RCW 82.02.020, not general best practice guesses.
Run by a licensed inspector
Led by an ICC certified building inspector with direct experience administering a building department, not just consulting on one from the outside.
Have a permit backlog or a growth surge coming?
Tell us what is coming through the door and we will tell you what capacity looks like.
Building department services, scoped the way your code already requires.
Each service can run on its own or as part of a combined engagement, depending on what a city needs and for how long.
Plan review
PNW Community Development Consultants reviews submitted plans and permit applications for compliance with the currently adopted construction codes, conferring with the city's building official on anything that requires their sign off.
- Full or partial reviews, covering structural, non structural, accessibility, energy, and ventilation requirements
- Comment letters written directly to the applicant when corrections are needed
- Electronic review through PDF and standard file transfer methods, so a city does not need new infrastructure to get started
- Initial review turnaround scaled to project type: faster for single family, longer for commercial
Building inspection
Certified building inspectors, building officials, and electrical inspectors available for residential and commercial projects on an as needed, on call basis.
- Structural, energy code, fire and life safety, ADA, mechanical, plumbing, and electrical inspections
- In person or remote inspections, depending on what fits the project
- A guaranteed minimum block of inspection time on every day inspections are scheduled
- Records kept in the format a city already uses for its permit files
Process audits
A structured audit of a city's current permit process, aimed at finding the specific regulatory and procedural barriers slowing residential and commercial review down.
- Interviews with the building official, permit technician, public works, and fire marshal to map the real workflow
- Review of the fee schedule, application forms, routing checklists, and development code
- A written, prioritized correction plan a council can adopt, aligned with RCW 36.70B as amended
- Recommendations sized to what a city can actually implement, not a generic best practice list
Planning support
General planning capacity for cities that need help without adding a full time planner, typically twenty to thirty hours a month.
- Processing and coordinating land use and project permit applications
- Site plan review and guidance for applicants and staff
- Support for code and policy updates, including map exhibits
- Coordination with applicants and city staff throughout the review
Not sure which service fits?
Most engagements start as a conversation about what is actually backing up, not a fixed scope.
Led by someone who has stood on both sides of the counter.
Bradley Eisold
Principal, PNW Community Development Consultants
Bradley leads plan review, inspections, and process work for PNW Community Development Consultants' municipal clients. He has served as a building official under interlocal agreement, worked as a director of community development, and spent years managing residential and commercial construction as a general contractor.
Most permit friction is not a code problem. It is a routing problem, and you can only see that if you have moved a plan through both sides of the process.
Credentials
- ICC certified building inspector
- Certified Passive House builder, PHIUS
- Direct experience administering municipal permit review and inspection programs
- General contracting background in residential and commercial construction
Want to talk through your city's permit volume?
A short call is usually enough to tell whether PNW Community Development Consultants is a fit.
Tell us what is coming through the door.
A short description of your current volume, staffing, and timeline is enough to start.