Personnel issues exacerbate St. Pete’s permit backlog

St. Petersburg’s development boom led to a construction permit backlog that an unprecedented hurricane season has since compounded.

While officials believe a new platform will help hasten the process, persistent personnel issues remain an ongoing concern. An independent study released in 2024 echoed recent comments from local developers: The understaffed permitting department needs more people.

Elizabeth “Liz” Abernethy, planning and development services director, provided an update on her department’s progress to city council members at a committee meeting Thursday. She noted that “recruiting and filling positions has always been a challenge – and remains a challenge – particularly now after the storm season.”

“We had six private provider companies on contract before the storms, none of which were able to provide any additional support staff after the storms,” Abernethy said. “We found the one we brought to you in early February, and those folks, the six additional plans examiners, will start training next week.”

Don Tyre, building official, said St. Petersburg now offers “very competitive” permitting and planning salaries. The city also pays for additional licenses – a concern listed in Matrix Consulting Group’s evaluation.

Tyre said the planning industry’s demand for qualified personnel surpasses its supply. Many city employees now hold senior roles after decades on the job.

Tyre expects an “already somewhat understaffed” department to undergo a “huge transition” as people retire in the next few years. He said the construction services team has about 90 people and 12 open positions.

“It’s tough right now because we’re competing not just with other jurisdictions but also private provider companies and the private sector,” Tyre explained. “Everyone’s after the same group of qualified people.

“Right now, we’re taking in more plans than we’re reviewing each day for the post-disaster emergency permits.”

He plans to put five new contractors on residential permits and one on commercial applications. Tyre believes that will help mitigate the storm-related queue.

Matrix recommended 36 actions, encompassing everything from establishing a management training program (ongoing) to monitoring workload fluctuations. Nine are “on hold for post-storm recovery,” including the latter initiative. Administrators have completed three, and most are underway.

The evaluation found that the department has quality data management solutions and credited staff for their work ethic and customer service. However, Matrix wrote that training “is limited,” and many managers and supervisors lack ideal degrees and certifications related to their leadership positions.

The firm recommended hiring 20 full-time inspectors and four chief inspectors. The city has filled the latter positions while the former are part of an ongoing process.

Administrators reassessed operations and divided the three divisions Abernethy leads into two separate departments. “I think we’re up to about 120 people,” she said. “So, that is kind of a lot for one department director to manage.”

Councilmember Lisset Hanewicz noted that Abernethy has excelled despite those challenges. The American Planning Association of Florida named Abernethy its Outstanding Local Public Official of the Year in September 2024.

From left: Mayor Ken Welch, Liz Abernethy, planning and development services administrator, and James Corbett, city development administrator, at the American Planning Association of Florida’s annual conference in September 2024. Abernethy received the organization’s Outstanding Local Public Official of the Year award. Photo: City of St. Petersburg.

At a Feb 20 meeting, Carlos Yepes, founder of Belleair Development Group, called Abernethy an “amazing leader” who needs additional employees. He said St. Petersburg’s permitting system “is broken,” as it can take several months to complete a convoluted process.

The problem is not new. Abernethy addressed the issue in December 2023 at a St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership meeting.

She told development stakeholders that a technologically advanced new system would replace antiquated software and mitigate an increasing lag in permit processing. Attendees applauded Abernethy for acknowledging the issue and working collaboratively to ascertain solutions.

City Administrator Rob Gerdes said Thursday that the evaluation study was helpful for a “very forward-facing” department. He noted Abernethy’s team issues about 30,000 permits annually, and “you’re going to have discrepancies.”

“I just want to thank you for giving us the opportunity to show that, overall, Liz (Abernethy) and her team are doing really good work,” Gerdes told the committee. “We can always improve, but I think it was a very positive report.”

The new permitting platform, dubbed Tyler, will launch sometime this year. Abernethy said it would address many of the evaluation’s recommendations.