The When We Fix It Coalition

In 2004, the Building Industry Association released the report "If We Fix It, They Will Come". A variety of citywide organizations endorsed the report and formed a coalition to reform the development review system. Today the When We Fix It Coalition, led by the Building Industry Association Government Affairs Committee, gathers each month to implement their extensive agenda to reform the city's outdated zoning and cumbersome development review system.  To see this report that has made extraordinary changes to the city’s development review and zoning process, click here.  The report called upon Mayor Street and his administration to update the zoning and development review process so that they were fair and consistent, so that they protect neighborhoods while welcoming new investment, people and jobs. 

There were so many outdated practices and slow processes that it was not unusual for a homeowner to go to L&I for a simple permit to complete renovation work on their home and have to wait hours. 

In a more complex example, the Federal government had mandated that the city regulate stormwater for the first time because rainwater and snow melt were overwhelming the city’s combined sewer system and sending untreated waste into the river.  Yet the initial city regulatory policy gave the Planning Commission primary authority to regulate stormwater management under the Zoning Code, L&I the authority to inspect the systems based on the Plumbing Code and the Water Department with the authority to ensure the actual stormwater structures worked properly based on their regulations.  Having to meet three different standards was unfair and inconsistent and thanks to the work of the Coalition and the city, the Water Department has the sole authority to review stormwater management although L&I continues to inspect these systems.