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The Pittsburgh Business Times has this story on The Process.

A 16-year-old transportation company relocates from East Liberty to Uptown to occupy the better part of a city block, rips down a row of decrepit buildings and erects a sleek $2 million two-story facility employing 82 people and counting.

Transportation Solutions Inc.'s move into a blighted neighborhood is the sort of small business tale any city would love to cite as a triumph.

But look beneath the surface, and it's apparent the journey was anything but smooth. Transportation Solutions president Dwight Mayo saw progress clogged as the company smacked into conflicting directives from the city and Allegheny County when it came to the property's sewer and water systems, volleying between the two entities, mired in red tape and picking up permit after permit after permit...

"Pittsburgh is not the best place to do business," O'Connor admitted during an interview this week. "That's slowing down development. I don't know if you can put a dollar value on it, but it hurts us in terms of being pro-business."

The mayor, a former restaurateur who took office in January, said the problems are city-wide, and he's developing an ongoing strategy to make the city more business-friendly. O'Connor already announced the elimination and/or phasing out of certain taxes levied at business. He expects to unveil the next crucial component, aimed at unraveling red tape, in early summer.

Working since February with city and county departments -- including the PWSA and health management, planning and human resources departments -- O'Connor said his plan cuts the steps and stages it takes to obtain permits in half and pares a cumbersome process that can take six months or more to less than two.

Color-coded diagrams, still in draft stages, unfurled on O'Connor's desk, carving the current trek of roughly 15 steps to build or renovate a facility to seven. He said the materials will be added to the city's official Web site, www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us, under the heading "Permits Plus" so business owners, developers and contractors know what to expect. There also will be a component for tracking the progress of individual projects.

So, the story got me to thinkin' (which I do every now and again), can I count the 15 steps?

Here's a go from my limited knowledge:
(1) Building Permit...
(2) OK, you need a Zoning Permit first...
(3) Well, you need permission from the Zoning Board of Adjustment first...
(4) Unless it's in a historic district, in which case you need a certificate of appropriateness...
(5) And if you're changing the zoning, you need Planning Commission approval...
(6) But if you need to replace sewage lines, you need the OK of PWSA...
(7) And the Allegheny County Health Department if the lines are bad...
(8) And a demolition permit from the Bureau of Building Inspection, if that's what you're doing...
(9) And another permit from the Health Department if there's asbestos...
(10) Um... Public Arts Commission, I suppose...
(11) Oh, and if you're getting money from the URA, you need their approval...
(12) And City Council approval if you're buying URA or City land...
(13) And the Equal Opportunity Commission...
(14) And the fire, electrical, alarm, curb cut, and plumbing permits...
(15) And now that the buildings are built, I think you may need abatements from the City/County/School District/State for any special tax programs...
(16) And now you need to go back and get all the approvals that you previously missed...
(17) I suppose at this point, you'd be stupid not to get an actual Occupancy Permit...
(18) And now you need a stiff drink.

All these steps are part of the Full Bureaucratic Employment Act of 1947, as amended (U.S.C. Title 5, sec. 306). I may have overcounted, but you get the point.

I say, save time and get yourself a blasting permit. I have three.

BLAMO!