AI can speed up permitting, but messy zoning data holds it back

A Holy Grail of streamlined local permitting and housing approvals has recently shifted from a pipe dream to a real-world, real-time solution as U.S. states and municipalities adopt a growing array of AI-powered tools. A Bipartisan Policy Center session this week, titled “Housing Innovators: Building Better with AI,” explored how the latest technology can accelerate approval processes and pathways, but perhaps more importantly, where chokepoints remain.AI has already proven that it can reduce review times. For example, Honolulu cut its permit review times in half using AI. However, while AI can speed up reviews, its effectiveness hinges on accurate, consistent and understandable zoning and building code data to guide its decisions.The session’s panelists noted that, because those rules and data are often outdated, contradictory or riddled with exceptions, AI can tend to introduce errors in judgment, which, in turn, require even more human review and additional rounds of corrections. For homebuilders, these constraints are more than a minor technical problem. They can add time to an already lengthy approval process, where even small administrative hurdles can compound into weeks or ...