You're good for it, and the project's good for it,''' the building department official says. Sounds like a tale from the Austin, Texas, region in the early 1990s, when its local governments' red carpet treatment helped convince several Silicon Valley companies to build plants there. Never have I experienced that kind of cooperation from any city,''' says Rick Arnesen, senior project manager for Hathaway. While not all local jurisdictions provide such a high level of service, Hathaway's experience is an example of the remarkable improvement in relations between local permit officials and industry executives. That change is one reason for Silicon Valley's current economic boom.
Permits are no trivial matter to high-tech companies.
They're required for minor changes, such as relocating electrical outlets or putting up a wall, as well as for major construction jobs. In the early '90s, inefficient processes and lack of trust between local government and business made obtaining permits slow and frustrating. That's one reason Silicon Valley companies, which must get their products to market fast, built plants elsewhere. Today, the time needed to get permits in Silicon Valley is no longer an issue for companies like Adaptec, Komag, Lockheed Martin, Silicon Graphics and Solectron, says Bob Kraiss, director of corporate facilities and real estate for Adaptec. And if business and government can successfully carry out their plans to create a system of electronic permitting, local permitting processes will give Silicon Valley '''a significant edge''' over other communities, Kraiss says.