GILROY
– With the state mandating building permits for nearly all
construction projects, Gilroy’s Building, Life and Environmental
Safety department has its hands full with applications. But it’s
unclear which is the fastest way to handle the paperwork – in house
or farmed out to other agencies.
GILROY – With the state mandating building permits for nearly all construction projects, Gilroy’s Building, Life and Environmental Safety department has its hands full with applications. But it’s unclear which is the fastest way to handle the paperwork – in house or farmed out to other agencies.
Department officials and local contractors alike know that when it comes to processing them, timing is everything.
The building department tries to return new applications within 14 days and rechecks within nine days, understanding that construction is put on hold during the interim.
Although the city has the means to process permit applications for small projects such as water heaters, re-roofing, patio covers and some swimming pool projects, the remainder of applications are sent to consulting firms. Unlike in San Jose, outsourcing has been standard practice in Gilroy because staffing limits the city’s ability to process high volumes of applications and complex cases.
Local contractor Larry Kent is not concerned about the practice as long as it does not add time to the processing. City Plan Check Supervisor Stephen Lau explained that shipping services eliminate these concerns.
“We can get the applications to the plan reviewer the next morning,” Lau said.
Gary Farotte, owner of Farotte Construction, believes sending applications to consulting firms actually speeds up the process.
“We work all over the South Bay Area and Gilroy is one of the better municipalities; they are very good about processing applications,” he said.
Farotte also appreciates the personal attention city staff gives to his company.
“There are a number of people behind the desk who follow your cases. You can just walk in and ask them about the progress,” he said.
The cost to review applications, including transport costs to and from the consultant, is covered by review fees. The amount is determined for each application individually and is based on the value of the proposed project. Unless the city processes an entire application, the consulting firms receive 75 percent of the plan check fee.
Currently, the city works with CSG Consultants of San Mateo as the primary consultant and Harris and Associates of Gilroy as the secondary firm. Just as the city does, these offices review the projects, working with architects and engineers to correct designs and check for compliance with building codes and other regulations. The city chooses consulting firms by sending out a proposal to various companies and evaluating costs, quality control measures, and other aspects of performance.
While they have encountered no problems working with the consulting firms, the city knows it is more efficient and customer-friendly to process applications in house, said Deputy Community Development Director John Greenhut. Kent agrees that processing more applications in house may lead to more consistent permit reviews which is another main concern for contractors.
When Gilroy resident Constance Kilmartin applied for approval to build a house on her property, she was frustrated by the process.
“I don’t know if it’s a lack of staff or too much business or people aren’t around enough, but it was a very lengthy process getting approval,” she said. ”I’m sure a lot could be improved. I think the whole system is faulty.” She specifically complained that if plans are not approved by the time the permit expires, applicants must pay additional fees to renew the permit.
In order to improve its system the city hired a new engineer who is currently training his staff. Greenhut hopes the department will be able to process more applications in-house within a few months.
