Hagåtña, Guam – In line with ongoing economic recovery initiatives, the Leon Guerrero-Tenorio Administration announces improvements to business licensing and permitting processes. During a virtual presentation on Wednesday, recommendations from the Task Force to Reform Government Permitting Procedures were reviewed and the adoption of the recommendations were detailed. The Task Force was established in February 2019 through Executive Order 2019-04. 

“Throughout the pandemic, our island’s permitting agencies have analyzed these recommendations, including digitizing the application process, assigning case managers to assist customers, and reducing conflicting interagency requirements,” said Governor Lou Leon Guerrero. “Nurturing a business-friendly environment that maximizes free enterprise and simplifies business startup or growth is essential in our efforts to expand Guam’s economy. By doing so, we foster economic growth that produces jobs for our people, opportunities for entrepreneurs, and increased incomes for working families.” 

“Our Business Licensing and Permitting team is also working to address building permit issues to expedite the processes to help contractors and developers bolster the housing inventory for the island, including establishing a concurrent review process, enabling more online capabilities, and increasing training and employee competency for responsive customer service,” said Lt. Governor Tenorio. “Understanding that affordable housing is critical with the limited land available, we want to expand and expedite the permitting processes so that families can build their dream home or purchase a newly constructed residence in this difficult market. We’ll continue to work with stakeholders in the housing sector to improve processes that may get residents into homes faster.”    

To provide residents with a public and central source of information containing current laws, regulations, permits, clearances and established guidelines for local development, the Leon Guerrero-Tenorio Administration has also released the 2022 Guidebook to Development Requirements on Guam.

The Guidebook is a powerful reference tool for: 

  1. outlines and summaries of application processes, procedures and requirements
  2. clearance policy breakdowns
  3. checklists for plan review and document submissions
  4. process flow charts
  5. References to Executive Orders, laws, rules and regulations, ag opinions, and other supplemental information. This includes hyperlinks to that information online in the digital version
  6. a permitting matrix 
  7. current forms
  8. fee structures and schedules
  9. license and permitting agency directories
  10. and links to tools, resources and manuals available online 

The guide was produced by the Bureau of Statistics and Plans’ Guam Coastal Management Program with input from the Task Force to Reform Government Permitting Procedures and collaboration from the permitting and licensing agencies. This resource is the most comprehensive source of information for development-related permitting on Guam but is not a completely exhaustive account of all potential requirements. 

The 2022 Guidebook to Development Requirements may be viewed at BSP.guam.gov/blpc.

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