Pittsburgh expanding program for accelerated permits

Pittsburgh’s Department of Permits, Licenses and Inspections is expanding its new accelerated review program to include commercial mechanical and electrical permits.

The city launched a pilot program about a year ago to speed up the process for people applying for fire alarm and fire suppression permits. People pay an additional fee for an expedited, five-day plan review, which is five times faster than PLI’s standard review time.

This week, the department announced the program will now include commercial mechanical and electrical permits that don’t require a zoning development review application.

“We want to ensure that applicants can smoothly complete their projects in a timely manner,” PLI Director Sarah Kinter said.

Department staff performs accelerated reviews during overtime hours.

When running for office, Mayor Ed Gainey had said he wanted to revamp the PLI after hearing complaints that some of the department’s procedures were inefficient or outdated.