Meet Prince William: Q+A with Mandi Spina, Development Services Director

Welcome back to a Potomac Local News series, “Meet Prince William.”

We’ve started this series so Prince William County residents can get to know the important people working behind the scenes to make the county run smoothly and efficiently. This is an opportunity to learn from experts on the county. Potomac Local has asked each leader the same questions in bold, and their respective answers will be found below.

Today, get to know Mandi Spina, the director of the Department of Development Services for 1.5 years. Spina has been with Prince William County since 2013, and was acting director of the department for eight months before being appointed to the position.

How have your previous roles prepared you for your current role as Director of Development Services?

Having parents who raised me to focus on community and being a servant leader, working in local government came natural as a path for my professional life. I recently celebrated my 12th anniversary with Prince William County, 10.5 of those years being with the Department of Development Services.

Throughout my tenure in the Department, I have gained a deep understanding and appreciation for the collaborative approach Prince William County takes when making meaningful process improvements. As Director of Development Services, I have had the unique perspective of watching the department grow over the past 12 years, ensuring that we honor our core values and mission to serve the residents and businesses of Prince William County.

If there’s one thing you’d like the community to understand about the development process in Prince William County, what would it be?

Prince William County’s development process is a highly collaborative and interwoven process that involves multiple county departments and outside agencies, such as the Virginia Department of Transportation and Prince William Water. The Department of Development Services serves as the lead agency for development and plays a central role in coordinating how development projects move throughout the development process.

DDS ensures compliance with the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code by reviewing commercial and residential construction plans, issuing permits, inspecting structures and enforcing building code requirements. DDS also manages the site and subdivision plan review and permit issuance process and administers the posting and release of bonds and escrows, while also issuing zoning approvals.

What do you consider to be the most pressing development challenges facing Prince William County today, and how does your department plan to address them?

One of the most pressing challenges is the cost of development, not just in Prince William County, but nationally. As Prince William County continues to grow and expand its commercial development base, ensuring that we have streamlined processes is critical to ensuring timely and cost-effective services. The Department of Development Services plans to address this challenge by ensuring that we continue to identify and implement process improvements as well as continuing stakeholder engagement regarding our processes.

Ensuring that we are identifying and implementing process improvements is critical. We carefully monitor workload trends to ensure we are making the necessary staffing decisions. We also ensure the services we provide are beneficial to our ever-changing customer base who prefer options for both in-person and virtual services.

How do partnerships — with other county departments, developers, environmental groups and the broader community — support the goals of Development Services?

I’m often reminded of the quote by Helen Keller, “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.”

A true partnership approach is critical to a successful development process, not only with other county departments, but also with state agencies, developers, contractors and homeowners, as well. The more we work together, the better our processes become, as we are all working towards the same goal. Development Services is founded on partnership, serving as the Staff Liaison for the Commercial Development Committee, which is an industry-led advisory committee focused on streamlining commercial development processes.

One of the most meaningful parts of being the Director of Development Services is seeing the collaboration unfold in real-time. We truly live the county’s “Leadership at all Levels” value, ensuring that all voices and ideas are heard.

What improvements or innovations has your department introduced recently to enhance efficiency in permitting, inspections, or plan reviews?

Development Services launched key efficiencies over the last year, to include the initiatives below. You can also follow our public facing PWC Works platform, which features a Permitting Improvements Project encompassing the various projects within Development Services.

We are also currently underway with a review of recommended permitting process improvements provided by the Chamber of Commerce, showcasing our commitment to collaboration and a partnership approach.

• SolarApp+ – Launched in October 2024, SolarApp+ is a system designed to automate the residential solar permitting process to create a more efficient process and better experience for residents installing residential solar. SolarApp+ features an integrated web portal that allows approved contractors to submit their projects through the SolarApp+ system, which then checks for jurisdiction-required criteria and issues a same-day permit.
• ePortal Customer Document Upload – This process improvement allows customers to view all uploaded building development documents in real time.
• Inspection Timeframe Email – This process improvement allows customers to receive an automated email the morning of their scheduled building inspection, noting the two-hour timeframe their inspector will arrive. Customers will also have the ability to call the Inspections Office and check ePortal for their scheduled timeframe, as well.
• Owner Notification of Permits – This process improvement went live in May 2024, allowing property owners to voluntarily receive permit activity updates.
• Quality Control Improvements – This process improvement reduced quality control review times from 3-5 business days down to 1-2 business days, saving time in the permitting process.