KOFI JONES
Director of Communications & External Affairs
(617) 788-3652 (voice)
(617) 721-2231 (cell)
Kofi.jones@state.ma.us

DARRELL LeMAR
Deputy Director of Communications
(617) 788-3655 (voice)
(617) 686-6908 (cell)
Darrell.LeMar@state.ma.us

DEVAL L. PATRICK

Governor

TIMOTHY P. MURRAY

Lieutenant Governor

GREGORY BIALECKI

Secretary

“The Municipal Permit Tracking System will be a key resource for cities and towns all across the Commonwealth,” said Permitting Ombudsman April Anderson Lamoureux. “As a result, opportunities for economic development and job creation will be on a faster track since each community will now have the tools necessary to efficiently plan for and communicate their efforts to expedite permitting of local parcels, making them more attractive to developers.”

In 2007, the Massachusetts Association for Regional Planning Agencies (MARPA), a statewide organization of 13 regional planning agencies, released a “Best Practices Guide to Streamlined Local Permitting” that highlighted electronic permit tracking systems as a key resource for improving local permitting performance. The Guide recommended that communities utilize tracking systems to facilitate interagency communications and help meet the 180-day turnaround required by Chapter 43D, the Commonwealth’s opt-in expedited permitting program launched in the same year.

The new permit tracking system provides clarity and efficiency among the numerous permitting boards within local governent” said Buzz Constable, President of MARPA.  “Through its policies and its Chapter 43D program, MPRO has greatly supported our efforts to assist municipal permit streaming across the Commonwealth, saving time and money for cities and towns as well as applicants and advocates.”

To help municipalities to implement this best practice and improve efficiency, the Massachusetts Permit Regulatory Office partnered with the Town of Grafton to develop an affordable permit tracking system.  The result was an application and users guide that can be easily adapted for use in other communities.

“Grafton was delighted to work with MPRO to develop and pilot the new Municipal Permit Tracking System (MPTS),” said Grafton’s Town Planner Steve Bishop.  “We are happy to be able to share our successful implementation of this new tool with other municipalities across the state to meet the growing needs of the statewide program.”

The Municipal Permit Tracking System contains 11 main template database tables for tracking the following department permits: Building Department – Building Permits; Conservation Department – Wetlands, RDAs; Department of Public Works- Driveways, Road Openings, Tree Removal, Trench Permits; Health Department – Septic, Wells; Planning – Permitting, Project Information. 

MPTS is available online at www.mass.gov/mpro and communities may chose to customize the applications and link the program to their GIS services at their own cost.

Since its launch in 2007, 72 communities have adopted the Chapter 43D Program and identified 115 Priority Development Sites across the state. To view an inventory of Chapter 43D Priority Development Sites offering six-month local permitting, and A Best Practices Guide to Streamlined Local Permitting, please visit www.mass.gov/mpro.

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The Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development is one of eight Secretariats that make up the Governor’s Cabinet. Under the leadership of Secretary Gregory Bialecki, the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development oversees the following undersecretariats:  the Departments of Business Development, Housing and Community Development, and Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation.