Recent content by Fenix

It's informal here as well. Someone shoots an email asking for a code interpretation, the director looks at the issue and gives a response in writing, and if the person isn't happy with the answer, it's addressed by appealing to the planning commission.

Why do you believe it's not impactful? Is it not enough money? I don't know if I'd be motivated to go above and beyond if I faced a barrage of unreasonable citizens regularly; and, I've seen some ill-tempered people storming around at the permitting office on many occasions. It can't help...

Most of ours are issued within the week, if not the same day. They're pretty standard forms that are easy to fill out. Most people do it online.

I don't believe I'd want to do that, unless the builder guaranteed that the designs and the work met the city's standards. I know they still inspect the work, so imagine how problematic it would be to get to the end, only to learn that the wrong materials were used or something was off by an...

I They simply feel it's unnecessary. I believe we've gotten so used to things being okay, that we take it all for granted. We tend to forget why we have the agencies and regulations in the first place.

The projects complexity and whether the permitting office is fully staffed are the two biggest deciding factors here. During the height of the pandemic, it probably took months for complicated projects to get approved.

How do you guys think Trump's EPA appointee, Lee Zeldin, will affect environmental permitting over the next four years? I'm hopeful that he'll cut out some of the red tape that's rife in the industry. What about you?

I imagine that's frustrating for you, @Eric. I can't say that I'd want to drive in that traffic either. Have you considered looking for another remote job opportunity? I know they're out there. I think the move back to the office will benefit the customers much more than it will the...

I'm guessing they have the manpower and the resources to do it, while the smaller counties don't. I wonder if it'll become more common as technology advances and becomes more affordable.

The atmosphere wouldn't feel nearly as suffocating had teams of people not put in hours and hours researching, planning, and documenting each step of their proposal. So much money and time goes into it, that it'll always feel like the stakes are high.

Why would back taxes come into play here? Does that mean that the property assessor would've assessed your property at a higher value had they known about your improvements? If so, assessing is done every few years, so there's a chance that it hasn't been missed. In my experience with pulling...

I'll take a guess on this one. I'd say they have special powers that make it easier, sort of like the government does with taking land by eminent domain.

I suppose the permitting office is trying to adapt to our modern technological world. The uptick in price isn't extreme, so it's not like only the wealthy can afford it. I bet that hunting with drones will cause a huge fuss, though, because the noise from the drone is bound to scare off the...

Just for fun, which types of permits do you think had to be pulled for the 2024 Olympics in Paris? I've noticed there are several food vendors about; I'd say each vendor needed various food safety permits.

Sometimes it feels that way. However, I'm sure there's a lot that goes on behind the scenes that we simply don't think about. Laws are usually created to prevent harm, so I'm sure most of our permitting rules follow that. Staffing costs money. Enforcement costs money. Permitting fees help...