By Helen Callier, Contributing Writer
Have you ever submitted a perfect construction permit set to a jurisdiction and it goes through several departmental reviews, racking up every imaginable rejection comment? You then scratch your head, begin to fume and next, release a mouthful of complaints to the city plan reviewers, worrying how much delays in permitting will cost you.
With the increase in lumber prices, pressures from the lingering 2020 pandemic, long lead items and unusually longer plan review times at jurisdictions in parts of Texas, California, and many other areas in the U.S., some contractors’ frustrations are running high. The PermitUsNow team hears countless stories from small to midsize to large contractors juggling to start a construction project on time and wrap up timely.
What I know from a couple of experiences and from listening to many contractors’ horror stories is that repeatedly hurling complaints at your city’s permitting center is not the best course of action in obtaining a building permit in a timely manner.
Below are some of my top reasons to avoid complaining about your city’s permitting center:
- It takes you off your course versus being focused on finding ways to address any city comments and pulling the permit as soon as possible.
- It creates a crap magnet attracting other negative energy that can derail your project in some manner like lost or stolen tools, delay in customer payments and in many other ways.
- It turns others off. The truth is mostly everyone going to work shows up wanting to have a positive experience. And when something or someone goes against this basic desire, people like the plan reviewer will shut down and are slow to respond.
- It triggers additional rejection comments. After hearing a barrage of complaints, some plan reviewers will then go line by line, letter by letter in the notes making sure everything meets building codes. This magnifying glass approach usually causes more rejection comments, including very minor ones.
- Eventually no one listens to a contractor who whines and complains all the time about the city permitting center.
In addition to the above 5 reasons, steady complaining can adversely affect your physical health, impact the morale of your employees and signal to the marketplace a different message than you planned to convey.
The Dodge Report (https://www.construction.com/) and other industry statistics highlight permitting delays are a problem in many markets in the U.S.; and it is beneficial for contractors to be proactive and have a solid plan when pulling permits in order to minimize delays.
The 2020 pandemic flipped the way permitting centers work, from making an appointment to completing online submissions. But despite these unexpected changes, contractors continue working as construction projects keep moving forward in housing, aviation, transportation, mixed-use and many commercial projects. And I have to say, it is this kind of determination that keeps me writing articles with unique and helpful tips for contractors in regards to permitting. If you have any interesting stories about obtaining permits, please connect with me on Linkedin or call me at 1.844.PERMIT.4. I would love to hear your story. Visit PermitUsNow at www.permitusnow.com to find out more about our permitting services. #Buildsafe
