Puerto Rico's permitting system: 17 recommendations for reforming it

The working group's final report proposes a new Permits Code, changes to OGPe, simplified zoning and more streamlined processes.

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What's happening? The Grupo de Trabajo para la Simplificación del Sistema de Permisos de Puerto Rico presented its final report in December, laying out a diagnosis of why the current permits system is inefficient and 17 recommendations for reforming it.

• Among the recommendations is the creation of a new Permits Code that would consolidate more than 40 permitting laws in Puerto Rico and eliminate redundancies, along with a review of the Land Use Plan, the adoption of a Joint Permits Regulation and changes to zoning and environmental permits.

• The report also presents a series of short-term measures to move the changes forward.

Why does it matter? Difficulties with the permits system are one of the main criticisms from various sectors when it comes to building or developing businesses in Puerto Rico, which is the primary reason the working group was created through Orden Ejecutiva 2025-002, which points out that the process for obtaining permits is "extremely slow, burdensome and inefficient."

What happens now? Based on the recommendations, the governor is expected to introduce one or more bills to formalize her permits reform, which began with 13 improvements within the Oficina de Gerencia y Presupuesto (OGPe) in July.

17 key recommendations for permits reform

To reform the permits system, the working group organized its recommendations into 17 topics.

1. Philosophical refocus: The permits system should have a "simplified and coherent regulatory framework" that facilitates economic development and provides effective oversight mechanisms.

1. Creation of the Permits Code of Puerto Rico: It would consolidate into a single regulatory body the 45 laws that currently delegate permitting functions to different agencies. All processes would be integrated into the Sistema Unificado de Información, or Single Business Portal (SBP).

1. Completion of the Joint Regulation Project: This would integrate all regulatory instruments (more than 40 at present) into a single document, standardizing evaluation criteria, required documents and information, as well as definitions, interagency procedures and conflict resolution. It would also consolidate zoning districts and allow for self-certifications. Currently, the government uses an emergency Joint Permits Regulation, as the Supreme Court struck down the last three approved documents (2019, 2020 and 2023).

1. Proper integration of permits system participants: Greater powers and participation would be given to authorized inspectors (IA) and authorized professionals (PA), created under the last permits reform (Ley 161-2009), but whose implementation has been limited. They would be allowed to issue certain permits without state intervention, though audits would be conducted.

1. Authorized Professionals with broader scope: In cases requiring technical review, an Authorized Professional would be automatically assigned from a registry of active PAs for the evaluation and adjudication of permits. This would free OGPe to focus on complex cases without altering substantive criteria or regulatory authority.

1. Simplified zoning: Through district equivalencies, permitted land uses would be expanded to encourage economic development.

1. Expansion of Permitted Uses in Zoning Districts: Through amendments to the Joint Regulation, the proposal is to redefine zoning districts to expand permitted uses. This could increase automatically approved permits from the current 29% to 67%.

1. Allow and encourage self-certification of permits: This would apply in cases that do not require specialized technical knowledge, particularly for Permisos Únicos. It would operate under oversight protocols such as random audits and penalties for noncompliance.

1. Transformation of the process for obtaining the Permiso de Construcción Consolidado (PCOC): The new workflow would consolidate all procedures under 13 specific parameters instead of fragmented processes, eliminating the need to submit multiple applications to the same agency. This would reduce the time to issue permits from months to seven days, and would place them in the hands of licensed engineers and architects.

1. Simplification of the Environmental Compliance Process: They propose updating the categorical exclusions at the DRNA so that more projects with no significant environmental impact receive a determination in two to 10 days, compared with the 234 days the full process averages. They also recommend reviewing the criteria for the Recomendación de Evaluación Ambiental (REA), the Determinación de Evaluación Ambiental (DEA) and the Declaración de Impacto Ambiental (DIA), and eliminating the concept of "proposing agency," so that applicants become the proponents, except in cases where federal regulations apply.

1. Optimization of the Permiso Único Incidental (PUI): These are permits for tree trimming and pruning, land grading and other aspects related to a project that could have an environmental or technical impact, even if they are not part of the project itself. The proposal is to allow PAs to issue PUIs together with construction permits, among other measures.

1. Strengthening oversight capacity with a new office: They would create the Oficina de Atención y Resolución de Querellas to uniformly evaluate all complaints that multiple agencies currently handle separately. A new position, the Inspector Autorizado de Fiscalización (IAF), would also be created to investigate complaints, and the project's Inspector de Obras would be required to intervene immediately in any claim, resolving many complaints within days before they escalate to formal proceedings.

1. Update of the Plan de Uso de Terrenos (PUT): It would be updated with a 10-year outlook and clear procedural mechanisms for dynamic, periodic adjustments when classifications result in regulatory taking. They also recommend simplifying and eliminating certain land classifications to speed up permitting and reclassifying land for new uses.

1. Transform and strengthen the OGPe: They recommend identifying funds to hire specialized professionals, reviewing salary scales and competitiveness, conducting retraining and restructuring the organization within the agency.

1. Creation of the Oficina de Revisiones Administrativas as an independent office with greater powers: It would be attached to the JP, unlike the administrative reviews division currently under the OGPe. It would have administrative judges who could evaluate cases de novo (without regard to prior decisions) and without having to return them to the OGPe or municipalities for final adjudication.

1. Comprehensive modernization of the Single Business Portal (SBP): Full integration of all agencies and municipalities, eliminating parallel platforms, with advanced technology such as geographic systems to automatically validate spatial criteria, artificial intelligence for predictive analysis and real-time connectivity between agencies. They also suggest the possibility of integrating geographic information systems (GIS) to validate zoning and environmental impact.

1. Additional ideas to promote agility and transparency:

• Expedited procedures for lower-complexity applications.

• Mandatory informal meetings before denying certain applications, to discuss the case and evaluate alternatives.

• In discretionary processes that typically involve public hearings: hold pre-conferences to define the issues in dispute; encourage the submission of written testimony; have neutral experts appointed by the agency for impartial analysis.

• Eliminate unnecessary requirements such as debt certifications from other agencies.

• Electronic notifications when classification or qualification changes occur in the CRIM.

• Review the provisions of the Plan and Reglamento del Área de Planificación Especial del Carso (PRAPEC) to bring them in line with current law.

• Allow virtual inspections where possible.

• Simplification of standing requirements for the submission of applications.

• Establish mandatory time limits for compliance with certain deadlines at each stage.

This content was translated with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI).