Rebuilding a Reputation

James French rolls out a 6-foot length of butcher paper on a conference table, full of sticky notes and marked up in different colored pens.
It's the result of months of self-analysis by Collier County government staff. Each step that a builder or developer must take to get a building permit in Collier County is illustrated in painstaking detail.
Literally.
French says a builder used to take 258 footsteps to obtain a building permit, walking from one window to another. A spider chart of zigzag lines illustrates his point. French says that's now been cut to 60 steps. And pretty soon, builders will be able to get permits with zero steps by applying online.
A certified mechanic and Naples native who once ran Sears auto service centers, French has a title only a bureaucrat could love: Collier County's director of operations for the growth management division, planning and regulation department. That's a fancy way of saying he's the guy who gives the green or red light to build.
But if French has any bureaucratic bone in his body, he doesn't show it. He says he's determined to turn Collier County's building department into a model of efficiency and ease for builders. It's a radical departure from years past, when Collier County made every effort to stop new construction.
“I'm very pleased with what they're doing,” says Michael Rosen, chairman of the Collier Building Industry Association's developer council and a consultant to homebuilders and developers. The council has worked closely with county government to identify duplicative and unnecessary regulations.

“They're making great strides forward,” says Rosen, who credits County Manager Leo Ochs with setting the new pro-business tone. “Their attitude has changed, and that is really a key element in getting these things accomplished.”

Clearly, the economy has taken a toll on the public sector, too. “If we don't sell building permits, we're out of business,” says French, whose agency now counts 185 employees, down from 300 during the peak years.