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Why does it take so long to get a Building Permit?
Design professionals, owners, developers, engineers, and building departments bear some responsibilities.
Buildings require a permit in order to be constructed.
For many years, owners, developers, design professionals and the building departments themselves have struggled with the amount of time required to review design construction documents that are the basis of the building permit. The smallest of jurisdictions review
thousands of applications for permits and are bombarded by construction projects of all types.
What are the reasons for the length of time required to obtain the permits?
The American Institute of Architects retained Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC) in the 1990's to conduct a study of the impact of the amount of time and the reasons why it takes to obtain permits. Additionally, they analyzed the costs for those delays in getting the permits issued.
What they found then remains true today.
It seems that is plenty of responsibility to go around for the delays to all of the parties involved in the process. The simplest of projects, fences, equipment replacement and the like can be handles by "over-the-counter" applications. These types of permits are usually handled in a short period of time, but they do impact the staff issuing the permits, especially in small jurisdictions. Building permits take more time.
If it can be looked at as "blame" for the delays, there is plenty of it to go around. All states have laws that require design professionals (architects and engineers) to sign and seal drawings and specifications that are the basis of the applications. Many states have exceptions to what types of buildings have to be certified by the design professionals.
For instance, in Florida, an architect is not required to sign and seal single-family and two-family residential buildings and agriculture buildings. But an engineer is required to sign-off on the structural design of the buildings.
In many cases single-family residences are designed by drafting and design firms without a licensed architect on staff. Depending on their level of expertise, they may or may not be submitting the required information for the permit.
Design professionals, owners, and developers also bear some responsibilities.
State legislatures have established laws on who can design, thus certify by signing and sealing their construction documents, they are legally permitted to do so. Many inexperienced owners and developers try to save money by hiring the engineers and by-passing the architect. This can cause delays in moving the permit process forward.
Looking to Florida for an example, the state permits civil and structural engineers to design buildings that are "purely incidental" to their practice. The term "purely incidental" is not legally defined and in some cases, makes it difficult for building departments to
determine if the engineer is permitted to design the building. Additionally, professional engineering licensing laws in Florida do not identify by discipline, the seal of the engineer. In some cases, engineers who are not trained as civil or structural engineers submit for permits, thus causing the building department to spend time researching the engineer if not known to the department.
Building departments often are frustrated that applications submitted by engineers lack information required to grant a permit. The lack of information results in a "volleyball"effect of submission, review and comment, reply by the professional and repeat as many times as
necessary to issue the permit. The "volleyball" effect can take months, again causing the building department to impact the efficacy of their staff.
Architects and their engineering consultants are also a part of the issue. Many firms are well versed in providing the information required for a building permit application. Some are not.
Those who do not provide the information required by the building code initiate the "volleyball" effect that was discussed above. Depending on the size and complexity of the building, the delays can range from days to weeks to months.
In the thick of it all is the building department. Many building departments are enterprise funds, thus their funding comes exclusively from the permit applications and the costs of inspections. Many are understaffed due to the real estate market conditions of the community. If an understaffed department gets hit with a sudden burst of applications, it may take time away from reviewing the applications to hire and train new staff. In many cases building departments are staffed by individuals who have a minimum amount of education and training in the building code. On-the-job training takes time thus slowing the impact of getting permits issued quickly.
The PWC report identified all of the above conditions as the impacts of why it takes so long to get a permit. The cost could not be accurately estimated, but conservatively stated, the cost was in hundreds of millions of dollars.
- Owners and developers lose potential income from getting their buildings operational.
- Design professionals expend more time dealing with the "volleyball" effect, thus affecting their fees.
- Contractors and builders can be affected by price increases in the supplies, materials, and equipment they use to construct the
buildings. - And, the jurisdictions where the buildings are to be built lose tax revenue from time lost getting the buildings completed.
In the end, everyone involved in the construction process is negatively impacted by not getting permits quickly.
What are the solutions to building permit delays?
Owners and developers need to realize that depending on the size and complexity of their project, fees are required that are fair and equitable to the design professionals who design the buildings. Owners and developer should expect detailed fee proposals from their design professionals and a work plan of how they will accomplish the design as a basis for their fee. Architects and professional engineers are the only parties charged with meeting the requirements of the building code.
Architects and engineers need to know the building code and the requirements for producing construction documents that provide the plans examiners the required information to get the permits quickly. Plans examiners are not mind readers. They need the required information to understand the design and assure that it meets the requirements of the building code.
Building departments need to provide competent staff, capable of understanding that the building code is a minimum requirement for construction. Better education of the plans examiners and inspectors must be a continual element of the building department’s operations.
Communication is likely the most important aspect of EVERY construction project.
Detailed explanation of the owner or developer with their design team is at the forefront. If there is a potential for misunderstanding, communicate as soon as possible with the party who needs to know. Design professionals need to make the building department a part of the team when issues exist that might cause delays.
Early resolution may impact the staff at the building department initially, but the amount of time saved on the back side can be appreciable. Where possible builders need to be involved and working with the owner-developer and design teams as early as possible.
The traditional process of design | bid |build may have seen its day.
In many cases, this sets up an adversarial relationships between all of the parties.
It bears repeating: In the end - communication is the key. People need to communicate with each other, and documents need to communicate the intent in detail to expedite the permit process.
About the author: Greg Burke, FAIA, is a Florida-based architect with more than 40 years in the profession and the President of Gregory John Burke | ARCHITECT, PA. He is licensed to practice in seven states. Prior to starting his own practice, he worked in the three largest firms in the country and was a technical director in one. Burke teaches an AIA-approved 2-Hour Florida Advanced Building Code Course titled "Preparing CODE COMPLIANT Construction Documents" and is the author of continuing education courses on BIM Execution Plans, and Architect-Led Plan review and Inspection Services.
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As I have discussed in previous blogs on Missing Middle housing, the term refers to diverse and attainable housing options that fit between single-family homes and large scale, high-density apartment buildings. Missing Middle has been with us for more than 100 years, but zoning beginning in the late 1920's restricted the ability to develop this type of project in most U.S. cities. Along with restrictive zoning, a general misunderstanding of Missing Middle housing has caused local communities to question its impact on property values to surrounding single-family homes. Such confusion has stalled or even halted developments from moving forward, even in communities that are in desperate need of attainable housing for rent or for sale.
The use of pattern zoning can be the key to making Missing Middle succeed, offering a variety of building types that can enhance neighborhood quality, walkable areas, and a better quality of life.
Continuing on the topic of Missing Middle housing, I look at the challenges in the way of bringing this affordable housing solution to neighborhoods and communities here in Florida and across the country.
Why do Missing Middle neighborhoods work so well? How does a type of housing made popular in the first half of the 20th century answer the 21st century housing crisis?
In this article, I go into what Missing Middle Housing is, its history, and why it's the ideal solution to solving America's affordable housing crisis.
When my friend Andrew Favata of BACI Advisors posted on LinkedIn the "Top 5 Mistakes Owners Make" in developing their projects, it prompted me to share my recommendations based on my own 40+ years of experience working on a range of projects from extremely small and straightforward to large complex corporate projects. Whether you are contemplating a porch addition or you are a corporate officer or facilities manager, the missteps and their solutions are equal. It’s just a matter of magnitude in time and dollars. In this article, I will mostly address the smaller projects. More about those really big projects in another post. Misstep No. 1: "Assembling the Wrong Project Team and People." You would think that this is a no-brainer. For small projects this may actually be a bigger issue than for larger projects. Corporations have facilities managers who perform this task and are charged with keeping the corporations from making this and the other four mistakes. But small project owners have to do everything themselves - right? What should the small project owner do? Enlist someone they trust in helping put a team together Interview several firms needed to design and construct the building Review the resumes of the individuals who will design and build the project Ensure continuity of the team Misstep No. 2: "Insufficient Planning Without the End Goal in Mind." When you consider building something there is usually some semblance of a goal in mind. Again, the larger projects have the advantage in that there is a team of people who have done a lot of homework (architects call it Programming), identifying goals and objectives of meeting the resultant building’s image, function, and life-cycle operation. What should the small project owner do? Put together the right team who can provide the best direction for your project Work closely with architect or construction manager to develop a proper Program Don’t think this omission will save time and money - it won’t A recent prospective church client came to me with two pre-engineered heavy-timber structural system buildings designed by the heavy-timber fabricator. The fabricator was also asked to basically design the building, EVEN though they informed the client that they were not architects. Both buildings were to be two stories in height with people occupied second floors. There was no elevator, toilet rooms did not meet the building code and in general, the building was not well designed. The church representative already had hired a civil engineer to design the site and locate the buildings without the aid of an architect. One of the two buildings did not orient itself to the site in the best method for energy efficiency. Putting the WHOLE team together before starting one aspect of a design will save time, money and headaches. Misstep No. 3: "Creating Inaccurate Budgets." This mistake takes on exponential impacts, especially if you have made Missteps 1 and 2. What should the small project owner do? • Employ the professionals in developing your budget • If budget exceeds funds, adjust the scope of the project • Allow for a contingency fund, especially for early budgeting (usually 20% above budget) Misstep No. 4: "Underestimating the Time Involved and Missing Deadlines." This mistake can have dire consequences. Every project needs a realistic schedule as well as a budget. Architects and construction managers develop schedules with milestone dates for the completion of the design and construction. The ancient Chinese proverb that a man will never arrive at his destination if he doesn’t know where he is going applies here. The schedule IS the road map. What should the small project owner do? With the professionals, develop a realistic schedule Understand that the schedule impacts the quality of construction Understand - accelerated schedules have cost impacts Take into account climatic conditions that can affect the schedule Misstep No. 5: "Managing a New Project While Running Their Main Business." Because the large projects have staffs that are tasked with performing the management on the owner’s behalf, this misstep more likely happens on smaller projects than large. What should the small project owner do? If the budget can accommodate - hire a professional to represent your interests Meet regularly with your representative - have an update schedule Insist that written progress reports be submitted to you for approval By assembling the right team and right people to execute your vision, will allow you to continue to do what you are good at doing. Rely on the team you have assembled. They will likely ensure your success and if they do their job properly, make you look like the "smartest person on the block." Avoiding the "5 Missteps" will not totally guarantee that your project will move smoothly along without bumps in the road. But avoiding these slip-ups will ensure that you will spend less time, money, and sanity on getting the building constructed. No one can predict when a natural disaster will impact your project. Or, will the market tumble, affecting your bottom line? However I can be one-hundred percent accurate that if you make any of the errors outlined above, you will adversely impact your schedule, money, or sanity. Or all three. Greg Burke, FAIA
