Are you aware that plan approval for an addition, remodel or house move may take between two and ten months to receive depending upon the complexities of the project?

Planning and Zoning will require the greatest time for approval due to the many uncertain aspects of the project. Building Department approvals require much less time; ten days to six weeks is a reasonable time period for approval for most permit issuances.

A part of the problem may be the fact that many Planning and Zoning decisions are based upon subjective analyses rather than Building Department decisions, which are based upon scientific, analytical and empirical data derived from the International Conference of Building Officials (ICBO).

The fact that there are numerous interpretations of the same terminology by staff complicates the process even more. An example of this is the term “Neighborhood Context,” which is used in many Planning and Zoning Departments and can be interpreted by three different staff members in three different ways. That is to say, improvements which are acceptable in the “Neighborhood Context” to one planner may not be acceptable to another. For example, one planner may not think it is acceptable to have a front deck designed on the second level of a house, while a second planner may find the design acceptable and aesthetically pleasing. This difference may be attributed to the unique exposure or travel of the planners in question.

The Planning and Zoning Departments involvement in granting approval of plans can be exasperating to architects, designers and home owners. This can lead to extensive redesign, reproduction and plan copying, which is costly to the home owner or developer.

A suggestion for avoiding these types problems and delays in the design and planning process is to always have a pre-design meeting with Planning Department staff. Get the written ordinances of each zone you are working in. Seek to have the same planner review your work each time a revision to the plans is made. Take copious notes of each meeting and get a written comment from the planner, detailing his or her rationale for approval or disapproval. Try to follow the same procedure with the Building Department’s Plan Checkers.

In The Words of The Coopers'

In the winter of 2004 we needed the front steps and porch of our home repaired. We spoke with an acquaintance who referred us to a gentlemen who said he was a general contractor.

We hired this individual and our house was subsequently “Red Tagged” (Stop Notice). We were advised to get proper permits for the work being done on our house. Little did we know, the individual working on our house did not have a license. He had advised us that we did not need a permit to do work on our house. He then showed us we had extra space under our house and told us he could convert the extra space into livable space. We had given this individual over $72,000 before the city inspectors came by one day and placed the “Stop Notice” sign on our house. Since that time we have had to hire a contracting consultant and submit plans for a permit to continue. Thus far, we have spent an additional $22,000 for the architectural, engineering, topographic survey and application fees and are still awaiting plan approval to continue with work on our house.

City Offers Commercial Property Grants

Neighborhood and Downtown Grants are offered to specific commercial property façade improvements. If your property falls within a designated location, you may be entitled to a $10,000 or $20,000 grant through the City of Oakland’s Neighborhood Commercial Revitalization Façade Improvement Program.

The owner of 9340 International Blvd. has a new neighbor going through this improvement, and now his property must meet similar corrections. He was contacted by the City of Oakland in 2005 and informed that his deadline for compliance needed to be met in 2006. Tito Young, AIA Associate helped this owner coordinate an adjusted date of corrections and have a new direction defined for this project. Please feel free to view the project status in our Member Areas project images.

It is our objective to provide the maximum education through our workbook(s) and seminars. To that extent, we are starting this column with a "pre-test." We are asking our readers to take this pre-test and register at the link below to receive the correct answers to the questions. We will be using your responses to further develop and expand our educational effort to better prepare our end-user, the home owner and newly licensed contractor. This pre-test will also be used to validate our presentations via our workbook(s) and seminars. Our aim is to assist our readers by gauging their level of knowledge of the building industry and identify areas in which they need further education. It will also aid ADC Limited, LLC to provide more timely information about the industry and how newly acquired information can accelerate the readers understanding.

In no way will the test be used to deny our readers the opportunity to continue receiving the newsletter. The newsletter will be distributed monthly without bias whether or not you take the test.

The test will take on the average 5 minutes. Thanks for your cooperation in this venture.

Please click here to take the test.

Staff Developments

We would like to introduce Mr. Richard Rodriguez of our staff. Mr. Rodriguez, holds a Masters Degree in Business Administration, has worked in the building Industry as a General Contractor for over 20 years, and is the owner of a general contractor referral service.
richard@bayareadevelopers.com

Tito Young, AIA Associate has been an ongoing designer of select ADC building projects. He holds a University of Washington Bachelor of Science Degree from the Department of Architecture and Urban Planning. His extended experience includes 20 years of architectural design for schools, residences and commercial interiors.
tito@adcbuilderseminar.com

March 18, 2006 is our next scheduled Seminar.

Click here to register on line.