[Vision2020] You Think Our City Council Has Problems . . .

[Tom Hansen]

Rezoning of Marquette, Nebraska
http://www.TomandRodna.com/Town_Rezoning.mp3

Courtesy of today's (December 21, 2009) Sacramento Bee (Sacramento,
California)

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Sacramento's fast-tracking of projects hits snag
lkalb at sacbee.com
Published Monday, Dec. 21, 2009


For urban developers, the city of Sacramento's plan was praiseworthy.

Since 2005, a streamlined building-permit process enabled owners and
contractors on large projects to meet tight deadlines for modifying
interior spaces for commercial or industrial tenants.

The approach, imported from Portland, Ore., by now-City Manager Ray
Kerridge, had one key attribute: It enabled tenant modifications to begin
with a verbal OK from a building official. The building permit could come
later.

Sacramento's Elks Building, the MARRS retail center and the U.S. Bank
Tower – home of the relocated Morton's restaurant – were among those
registered in the program.

There was just one problem.

After giving a green light to the fast-tracking of about 1,500 projects
within 50 large buildings, the City Council heard last week that a verbal
go-ahead doesn't comply with state law or Sacramento's building code.

A permit must be issued before work begins, said City Attorney Eileen
Teichert.

She added that details of the expedited permit program had not been
brought to her for vetting. If problems had been found, the City Council
would have had to have stepped in and find a solution.

The issue underscores a persistent conflict in the industry. Underfunded
cities and counties have struggled to keep up with demand for residential
and commercial inspections and plan reviews. And owners of large projects
have long chafed at too much oversight and burdensome delays.

That conflict helped produce the city's fast-track program. And while the
idea of green-lighting some makeovers with only verbal authority alarmed
some people, the plan's backers said the program did not compromise public
safety or work quality.

In each case, full plan drawings and project submittals were filed before
work began, officials and developers said. Building owners or their
representatives agreed in writing that they were at risk of having to
redo, at their own expense, any work not meeting city code or plan
specifications. And in each case, inspections occurred before mechanical,
electrical or plumbing work was finished.

But realization that the council had exercised virtually no oversight on
the permit process sounded some alarms.

"In Oregon, they voted on it," Councilman Kevin McCarty said, referring to
Portland, where verbal authorizations are legal.

"Here, (in Sacramento) it was put into practice 
 and there was never such
a discussion here 
 . I guess that begs a question. Why?"

An answer came from Assistant City Manager John Dangberg: "I think in the
broader context of the program, it quite frankly was missed."

Dangberg suspended the program Oct. 27 because, by then, questions had
been raised about its consistency with city building codes.

Still, there was broad support from councilmembers for an expedited
program without the legal baggage. Such efforts, Councilman Ray Tretheway
said, are what make the city "business-friendly."

"I think we've all heard what it (the program) means to business in the
city of Sacramento," Tretheway said last week, after about 20 people –
most from the development community – had lauded the approach in a public
meeting.

"Had we not had that capacity to expedite the process, (projects such as
the MARRS retail center and Elks Building) would not have happened," said
developer Michael Heller of Heller Pacific.

The permit program allowed him to work with tenants, Heller told The Bee,
and to promise that "we're going to get you in by this date and if we
don't, we'll pay damages or you can break the lease.

"The reason I've been able to make that leap of faith is we've had
confidence with the (permit) program," he added. "If it were to disappear,
we'd be very disappointed."

Sacramento architect Peter B. Dannenfelser II, who specializes in
commercial tenant alterations, said he's not convinced the city's plan is
illegal.

Starting work when detailed plans are submitted, but before a permit is
issued, "legitimized a practice that has been ongoing for decades in a
dozen jurisdictions in the greater Sacramento area," Dannenfelser said.

The permit problem couldn't have come at a more difficult time for
Sacramento's building department:

• Earlier this year, a customer service supervisor in the building
department transferred 35 permits in the Natomas flood zone in apparent
violation of a federal building ban in the area and in violation of city
code. Supervisor Dan Waters, son of City Councilman Robbie Waters, allowed
deferrals of thousands of dollars in fees.

City officials and the Federal Emergency Management Agency are analyzing
what occurred. Dan Waters, along with development department director Bill
Thomas, who oversees building services, are on paid leave. Kerridge has
ordered an inquiry.

• Alterations on a south Sacramento industrial building for a
214,000-square-foot Nestlé bottling plant were stalled in October while
the council considered placing special permits on beverage bottling
plants, and while building officials researched permits issued to Nestlé.

The company, which had used the expedited permit process, was allowed to
resume work a few days later. Mayor Kevin Johnson apologized to Nestlé for
the delay.

Last week the council authorized an interim program for fast-track
permitting, eliminating verbal authorizations.

Leading developers also are working with the city on a permanent program,
aimed for early next year, that expedites work without legal difficulty.
That likely will involve a change in the city code.

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Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"The Pessimist complains about the wind, the Optimist expects it to change
and the Realist adjusts his sails."

- Unknown