How long does it actually take to get a building permit approved?

Greetings.

Back in 2015, I planned to upgrade and finish a residential building. Current status: one floor, unfinished (just a flat concrete slab). The structure dates back to 1979 and was legalized exactly as it stands. It has been sitting like that since the 80s.

06/ 2015. - A designer drafted the main project in compliance with the Department of Planning and Zoning, including all attachments, and submitted it to the local building department (project: adding a low attic to the structure).

12/ 2015. - Still no response from the office, nor any requests for additional documentation. I heard unofficially that they are currently drafting a new Department of Planning and Zoning plan.

02/2016 - The head of the office tells my designer that they are in the middle of creating a new Department of Planning and Zoning plan, suggesting some regulations will be easier and advising us to wait for the new plan to be finalized.

-WE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR OVER A YEAR, despite numerous inquiries.

07/2017 - We finally receive the first official response from the relevant office—a denial. They are demanding a revision of the main project to comply with the new Department of Planning and Zoning regulations. (The total height of the building no longer meets the newly imposed limits). Based on these new rules, I can now only add a roof to the ground floor, not an extra level, because I only have 1 meter of clearance left before hitting the limit. There is no room. The notice claims there is no right to appeal.

I lost my mind. I immediately sent a formal letter explaining that I submitted the application for a building permit under the old Department of Planning and Zoning rules back in 2015, yet the response arrives in 2017 based on the new zoning. (For context, this is a small cottage on a sloped lot where the new Department of Planning and Zoning has capped the height. Even within the neighborhood, my building is the lowest; all neighboring properties are finished with two stories. It is absurd regarding the neighborhood context, and my unfinished structure just looks like an eyesore.)

08/2017 - The head of the office sends me a Gmail stating I would receive a new decision in September. To this day, nothing.

WHAT SHOULD BE DONE? Can an office really go two years without responding to a building permit request? What does Zog say?

Zog isn't saying anything; just take a look at the transitional provisions in the new Department of Planning and Zoning regulations. They clearly outline how applications submitted under the previous guidelines are to be handled.
An application is supposed to be resolved within a 30 to 60-day window. I am not quite sure what you—or rather, your designer—were waiting for, given that no appeal was filed regarding the agency's silence with the Department. If your designer didn't suggest filing an appeal for administrative inaction, you might want to find a more competent professional.
As a rule, all written communication is considered official, whether it arrives via hard copy or Gmail. Personally, if I were in a rush, I would have filed an appeal for nonfeasance after six months had passed. That way, the Department could mandate that they resolve the matter within a strict 30-day period.

The Zoning Law states (Section 122, Subsection 4):

(4) An implementation act for a spatial plan shall be issued in accordance with the spatial plan in effect on the date the application for its issuance is submitted, or in accordance with the spatial plan in effect on the date the implementation act is actually issued, should the applicant request such terms.

The Supreme Court says the exact same thing in their rulings, so there's no ambiguity here.

Since this whole process is dragging on forever, I’m about ready to file an appeal based on administrative inaction and let the Department deal with the mess.

Does anyone have a rough idea of how long the wait is for a building permit in Washington, D.C., once you’ve actually submitted the application along with the main project?
It's just a permit for some reconstruction and repurposing of an attic space—basically converting a crawl space/sloped ceiling area (about 4 feet) into usable room.

William Diaz14 said:Does anyone have a rough idea of how long the wait is for a building permit in Washington, D.C., once you’ve actually submitted the application along with the main project?
It's just a permit for some reconstruction and repurposing of an attic space—basically converting a crawl space/sloped ceiling area (about 4 feet) into usable room.

According to the IRS, the deadline for issuing a decision and notifying the applicant is 60 days from the date a properly filed application is received.

Thanks for getting back to me.
I was mostly just wondering about how long this kind of thing actually takes in practice... you know, the real-world timeline.

It could be 15 days, or it could be 1,500. Honestly, it just depends on which clerk happens to pull your file from the stack.