Goochland County Cuts Residential Permit Review Time to 15 Business Days

Homebuilders and contractors filing residential permits in Goochland County spent five fewer business days waiting for approval between September 2025 and February 2026, as the county's Department of Building Inspection trimmed its review turnaround from 20 business days to 15.

The five-day reduction amounts to a 25 percent improvement in processing speed, a meaningful gain for builders managing tight construction schedules and for homeowners whose projects hinge on permit clearance before ground can be broken.

The efficiency push in the Building Inspection department coincides with a broader administrative shift: Goochland County Community Development began requiring electronic submissions for major development permits on January 1, 2026, retaining only a single paper plan set for county records. County leaders expect the move to a single online workflow to streamline internal review, reduce paper handling, and improve tracking of application status.

The department itself has been undergoing personnel changes alongside the process improvements. Goochland County named Casey Littlefield as its new Building Official, succeeding Gary Fisher, who retired at the end of January after 15 years of service to the county. Littlefield, who joined Goochland in 2018 as a Senior Combination Commercial Inspector and served as lead on projects including the Residence Inn hotel, Sheltering Arms Hospital, and Benedictine College Preparatory school, became the county's first Deputy Building Official in 2020 before ascending to the top role.

With Littlefield's elevation to Building Official on February 1, 2026, the county named Mike Eutsey as Deputy Building Official; Eutsey joined Goochland in September of 2025 as a Special Projects Plans Examiner/Inspector, having previously worked in Hanover, King and Queen, and Chesterfield counties.

The Department of Building Inspection is charged with protecting the health, safety, and welfare of the public by ensuring all buildings and structures meet the minimum requirements of the Uniform Statewide Building Code. The department handles permit applications at its offices at 1800 Sandy Hook Road and can be reached at 804-556-5815.

For builders and homeowners, the 15-business-day benchmark represents a concrete commitment from the county at a moment when Goochland's development activity continues to grow, and every week shaved from administrative timelines translates directly into earlier construction starts.