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When it comes to wooing industrial companies to open a new location or relocate, the city of Gresham just took a giant step ahead of the competition in Oregon.

For years, Gresham followed state mandates when it came to reviewing applications for industrial projects, turning them around within 120 days of the initial filings. Earlier this month, though, the city changed its development code to guarantee that staff would issues decisions on industrial projects in 66 days or fewer.

The city already had in place a system, called 鈥渞apid response time,鈥� that was used for companies that wanted to expand existing facilities in the city. The fast-track approach brought together at the very beginning everyone in the city who would touch the expansion process, which allowed the city to reduce review times. That same approach has been put in place now to accelerate the review process for new industrial projects.

The decision to shorten the window for the industrial review process was the result of talking to developers and others who select sites for industrial companies, according to Shannon L. Stadey, Gresham’s acting economic development director.

鈥淟ike any city in the metro area, we’re competing for recruitment projects,鈥� she said. 鈥淚f a project dies or if (an industrial company) decides to go (somewhere) else, we ask for feedback.鈥�

There were two main factors that city officials repeatedly heard company leaders say affected their decisions about settling in a certain location: speed and certainty.

鈥淭ime is money, and if we can provide certainty about how long the process takes, that eliminates risk for companies,鈥� Stadey said.

While the changes in the code have been in effect only since Aug. 15, Stadey said word already has gotten around Oregon and the region. She’s been receiving what she calls 鈥渁necdotal kudos鈥� from the real estate community, developers and others in the building industry.

There’s even a chance that word already has spread among private companies.

鈥淥ften, (companies) use site selectors,鈥� Stadey said. 鈥淢uch of the work is being done online, before they even reach out to a community. Having (the 66-day guarantee) in our code and on our website, that’s a benefit.鈥�