Delaware launches its JobsFirst Permitting Accelerator.
The new Permitting Accelerator under Gov. Matt Meyer’s JobsFirst initiative is designed to cut red tape to speed upcritical projects.
Gov. Meyer’s policy director John Kane says there’s a focus on certain priority projects.
"That identified priority projects in the areas of housing, energy, broadband, water and sewer,” said Kane. “And it created a parallel review process, an ombudsman position to help navigate through the permitting process, and it permits a first target of 120 business days on state decisions. In addition to that, it creates some transparency requirements that we are building out on right now."
Kane notes the faster process will not compromise environmental protections or public input.
"The goal here is to try to take that sequential process, and to the degree possible move things in parallel structures and coordinate and share information actively as the project is being worked on," said Kane.
He adds the hope is by June a new public dashboard will be up and running allowing Delawareans to track project progress in real time with the goal of ensuring transparency and accountability at every step.
Applications for JobsFirst Priority Project designation are available at de.gov/jobsfirst.
