Sonoma County outsources permits related to rebuilding efforts
The
In hiring the outside planning firm, county officials are aiming to establish a permitting process for fire victims that's both faster and cheaper than the county's normal way of doing business.
The new permit center has its work cut out already: Staff members estimate the fires in October claimed an estimated 2,000 residential units and another 1,000 residential accessory structures in the unincorporated county alone.
Supervisor
"What we do control is the county process," Rabbitt said. "And within that process, what we control is time and money."
The county's move follows a similar approach taken by the
Under the county's new model, a range of fees for properties in the burned areas have been reduced around 30 to 40 percent. Impact fees -- generally charged to cover the added strain a new development places on county roads, parks and other resources -- were already waived entirely.
County officials exhibited a few case studies of how the fee changes would translate to real projects, with total permit fees ranging from more than
The contract further seeks to guarantee faster time frames for the planning process in the burn areas. Initial plan checks should take five business days or less and rechecks shouldn't last more than three business days. Ten percent of the permit fees will be refunded to the client if
Supervisors were eager to get the new permit center up and running, but also want to take further steps later to reduce costs and timing even more.
Rabbitt, an architect, said he'd prefer a firmer commitment on how fast building permits would actually get issued. He and other supervisors are also interested in testing a model where licensed designers could self-certify their plans are up to code without having to go through an extensive county-sponsored review.
Supervisor
"Our biggest concern, of course, is those folks who are underinsured for whom that five, six,
Already, the county has issued permits for eight new single-family homes and 18 remodels of homes that were damaged but not destroyed in the burn areas, according to Permit Sonoma director Tennis Wick. Residents who had their permits processed under older fee schedules will be issued refunds, Wick said.
The county has the modular structures installed for the new permitting center, but another few weeks are necessary to get the staffing in place and systems to prepared to handle the influx, according to Wick.
"We're starting a
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