Significant economic development projects may be selected for accelerated permit review using the criteria established by Florida's Expedited Permitting Process. There are no specific criteria for determining high-priority projects per se. Factors that have been considered for certain projects in the past include retention or expansion of existing businesses, new jobs created, diversification of the economic base, and enhancement of basic infrastructure such as adequate telecommunications, electric power, public utilities, etc.
Bay County encourages pre-application meetings for all proposed development projects.
Bay County has worked to eliminate duplicative approval and permitting requirements within its jurisdiction. For instance, the Development Services Department handles approval for residential docks for the Department of Environmental Protection, residential development review and approval for several of the municipalities within the County, and performs fire safety plan reviews and inspections for specific municipalities and the unincorporated County. Time tables for processing development approvals are governed by the County's Land Use Code which specifies the review period for development projects. Bay County has established an Inter Agency Permit Coordination Task Force for purposes of expediting permit review of important development projects. The focus of the task force is to bring all permitting agencies to the table at one time and to further assign permit review to an individual with each agency to serve as a point of contact for the developer.