plan reviews

Mar 5, 2026

Study compares project review times of Milwaukee communities

Wauwatosa has fastest project review and Brookfield has the slowest, according to a Wisconsin Policy Forum study.

Jan 17, 2024

Senate approves bills to shorten commercial building reviews

The Wisconsin State Senate approved several bills to shorten the commercial review process.

Jul 28, 2022

Panel taking new look at ways to speed up commercial-plan approvals

Despite recent rounds of reform, complaints linger over how long it takes state officials to turn around reviews of commercial-building projects. Now a new legislative committee composed of lawmakers and representatives of the design and construction industries is taking a fresh look at the matter.

Sep 29, 2021

Assembly committee advances bill to exempt projects from DSPS plan review

A state Assembly committee voted on Wednesday to advance a bill that would exempt certain construction projects from state plan-review requirements in hopes of preventing a backlog of reviews that surfaced in 2019 from returning.

Feb 23, 2021

Lawmakers weigh further changes to state’s plan reviews

A bill circulating in the state Legislature aims to keep a months-long backlog in commercial plan reviews from reemerging by reviving changes to the review process that lawmakers had proposed last year.

Nov 20, 2020

As plan-review changes move toward permanency, some worry of uncertainty

To speed up commercial-plan approvals, state regulators are planning to make permanent a policy change that would no longer allow contractors and architects to schedule specific dates for plan reviews.

Jul 10, 2020

DSPS takes down public calendar used to track plan review backlog

Even as the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services remains under pressure to speed its processing of commercial-building plans, it has removed from its website a public calendar showing the extent of its review backlog.

Jul 9, 2020

OPINION: Big government delaying building projects, economic growth

As contractors know, in Wisconsin most commercial building plans must be reviewed by the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Standards, or to a delegated local unit of government.

Feb 19, 2020

NO CONSENSUS: Industry disagrees on best remedy for plan-review delays

A bill meant to reduce a backlog of commercial-plan reviews drew a mixed response from construction officials at a public hearing in the state Capitol on Wednesday.

Feb 12, 2020

Bill advancing to break logjam of plan reviews

Lawmakers are moving quickly to advance a bill meant to ease a backlog of requests for reviews commercial-construction plans before this year's short legislative session runs out.

Feb 6, 2020

Top DSPS official proposes more changes to speed up plan reviews

Responding to recent complaints about delays in plan reviews, a top state official is calling for changes to standards determining when project plans have to receive official approval.

Jan 31, 2020

Amid plan-review delays, state struggles to keep staff

As the Department of Safety and Professional Services continues to struggle to work its way through a persistent backlog of request for commercial-plan reviews, new attention has been called to staffing at the regulatory agency.