Approval deadline map

How the map reads a state

A review deadline, often called a shot clock, is the time a statute gives a local government to act on an application. The map shades a state when our research verified at least one such clock from the statute or an official text, and it lists every clock it holds for that state, each under the name of the application it covers. A state with several clocks lists each one, never a single figure for the state. Florida, for one, gives a city 120 days after an application is deemed complete, or 180 days if a quasi-judicial or public hearing is required ^[1], and a separate clock runs for building plan review: 30 business days for residential and listed trades under 7,500 sq ft, 60 business days for signs and certain nonresidential buildings, and 12 business days for a master-permit site-specific permit ^[2]. All of those rows sit under Florida on the map, side by side.

The title of each shaded state reads its decision periods, rule by rule, and the panel beside the map adds the rest of each row our research verified: what starts the clock, the kind of day counted and what follows a missed deadline. A state with no verified clock reads not verified in our research. The filter picks out the states whose verified clocks count calendar days, business days, or calendar days with holidays left out, so a reader can see at a glance which rules need a holiday calendar. Most clocks attach to a formal application, not a concept review, which is why the difference between a preliminary and a final site plan matters before the first filing.

Where each clock starts

Most of the clocks on the map start on a completeness determination, not on the filing date. Washington gives 65 days with no public notice, 100 days with public notice and 170 days with notice and a hearing, counted from the determination of completeness, and these tiers apply from Jan. 1, 2025 ^[3]. Oregon gives 120 days after an application is deemed complete, and 150 days for some county applications ^[4]; the shortest applicable period governs, so an affordable housing application or an expedited land division can have a shorter one, which the map does not show. Minnesota's 60 days run from receipt of a complete written request, including the fee ^[5]. A preliminary site plan that answers the checklist on the first submission reaches that start sooner.

A few clocks run from another event. A Texas plat is decided within 30 days of filing, and the governing body has a further 30 days when the city ordinance requires approval by both the planning commission and the governing body ^[6]. Virginia counts 40 days from official submission for the initial review of a site plan or plat on commercial or residential parcels, 30 days for a resubmission, and 20 days after all state agency approvals ^[7]. Pennsylvania counts 90 days from the next regular meeting after filing, and if that meeting is more than 30 days out, 90 days from the 30th day after filing; the written decision follows within 15 days ^[8]. The Texas and Pennsylvania state pages set the local approval path around these clocks.

Each clock counts the kind of day its statute names. Calendar days run straight through weekends and holidays, as in Virginia's 40 days ^[7]. Business days skip Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, as in North Carolina's 15 business days for the initial review of residential building plans ^[9]. Kansas counts weekends toward the 60 days for a single-family building permit, and federal or state holidays do not count ^[10]. Arizona leaves the time frames to each city: A.R.S. 9-835 makes the city set its substantive and overall time frames and publish them ^[11].

When a deadline is missed

The map shows each consequence as the statute words it, step by step. A Texas plat the city does not act on is deemed approved, and the city must issue a certificate on request ^[6]; a third-party review is available if there is no action by day 15 after the deadline ^[12]. Pennsylvania deems a plat or land development plan approved under section 508(3) ^[8], and Minnesota deems a zoning request approved ^[5]. California deems an ADU permit approved when a complete application is not decided within 60 days ^[13].

Other states give the applicant a remedy instead. In Virginia a missed initial review leads, after 10 days' written notice, to a petition in circuit court, while a missed resubmission deadline means the plan is deemed approved ^[7]. Oregon's remedy is mandamus to compel approval under ORS 227.179 ^[4]. North Carolina lets the applicant elect an independent third-party review of commercial and multifamily sealed plans when the 45 days are missed, and the local government must then act and refund or waive plan review and permit fees ^[14]. Who answers the deficiency letters that stop these clocks is covered in who prepares a site plan.

Fee refunds sit with the consequences. Florida refunds 100% of the application fee when a city decides 31 or more days after the deadline ^[1], and its building plan review fee is reduced 10% per business day late unless a timely written deficiency notice was sent ^[2]. Washington refunds 10% of the fee when the time from the deadline to the decision did not exceed 20 percent of the original time period, and 20% when it did, and a jurisdiction that adopts 3 measures under RCW 36.70B.160 owes no refund ^[3]. The Florida and Washington state pages carry these statutes into their site plan rules.