Mark Thomas, director of field studies for the BYU Marriott School of Management, stands behind the study's numbers, saying the data were double-checked. Thomas added that some cities were consistent in the numbers they cited to the researchers, while others changed the bids they gave.

"It often took several visits to several departments, and often phone calls weren't very useful," Thomas said. "The process is fairly opaque right now. You don't know what you're getting."

Herriman, Salt Lake City, Riverton and Bluffdale showed the longest times in issuing commercial permits, based on the study's scenario. In Salt Lake City, it took 24.8 months to obtain a permit. Salt Lake County issued permits in 13.4 months, and South Salt Lake showed the fastest turnaround, at 4.6 months.

"The difference between a 15-month process and a 25-month process at an interest rate carry on the land is a lot of money," said Bill Martin, managing partner of Commerce CRG. "Time is as important as money."

Martin added that the cities' impact fees were "all over the map."

"Individuals who come in here, especially from out of state, need to have some consistency," Martin said. "The state provides incentives for companies to come here, but the incentives may be taken away in the timing process."

Murray Mayor Dan Snarr said impact fees are always a sensitive topic among developers.

"You can't have new development essentially being subsidized by people that are already there and have paid fees in the past," Snarr said. "We're a self-contained city. We have our own sewer department and our own water department. We're the only municipality in Salt Lake County that has its own power department." Snarr said those reasons contribute to Murray's No. 3 ranking among highest office permit and development fees.

When it came to industrial properties, South Jordan also ranked as the most expensive city in permit and development fees, at $271,904. Midvale was the least expensive, at $30,116.

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E-mail: danderton@desnews.com