Re: OT: Storage Building Woes (long)

Posted by Billy NY on May 23, 2007 at 09:29:16 from (205.188.116.14):

In Reply to: OT: Storage Building Woes (long) posted by cj3b_jeep on May 23, 2007 at 08:09:13:

Yes, and I too sometimes find similar attitudes when dealing with municipal or civil employees, mind you not all, but like anyplace, you know there's always a few, and many times that one or two hold a position you need to deal with or has decision making authority.

Since leaving the mid to highrise bldg. construction industry, I've taken the experience and applied it to construction management and consulting, providing professional services for owners, clients and other customers, and I do contracting work to a certain scope of work and size in between. I do present planning and zoning board applications, and have attended many such meetings just to see the mechanics of a particular municipality, prior to applying for a client, noting who the players are and how they act.

Red flag comes up when you said "incomplete drawings" Aside from the current legislature, codes, laws, local laws etc. one thing I see all the time is people presenting poorly prepared applications, for a variance and or just a bldg. permit. People go before the boards and end up looking like a deer in the headlights. These boards can be very unfriendly to people, yet I've seen others that were genuinely helpful, you don't know until you go before them.

The code, laws and other information is published for a locality, anyone can research it, and yes there are people like myself who have experience and or ability to read and interpret the information as it pertains to a particular job, however you don't have to be a rocket scientist either, it is time consuming and you have to use an organized approach when doing so. I use applied knowledge, years of experience when doing so, sometimes an atty, but I'm familar with the terminology and "speak the language" It's nice when a city engineer recognizes you as a player in the industry, when representing a client, it gives your presentation a lot more clout, then just showing up haphazardly like so many do without much preparation or thought.

Once you have pulled the documentation that applies to your job, you must then prepare what is required by an application, in full. Provide what they call for, if it's questionable ask, or include it anyway, the first thing they will use to reject an application is a deficiency in same, incomplete or lacking information etc. When you go before any of these boards you want to look polished and shine at all times. Don't feed that rude persons fire by giving them fuel, (ie incomplete application) I have an advantage from working in a closely related field, big developers pay a big expense to get their applications on the table, in a presentable form, especially for a variance. Scale it down to a homeowner or small developer, owner or other client, but use the big guys mentality, prepare for, anticipate and be able to respond to any issue that the board might bring up, pay close attention to details and leave nothing overlooked. I've had atty's who tell me I'm overthinking things, last one was connected with the politicians, but my attitude is, I won't tell you how to do your job, don't tell me how to do mine, and yes we got an easy approval on a variance, he tried to claim most of the credit, while I did 100% of the bull work, and my client was well represented by me in the fact that everything was 100% complete in the application, board had no questions because the package I submitted was crystal clear and met their requirements, if they had an issue, I was prepared to respond immediately, only after some time consuming work doing the research. Once you go before one of these boards and look foolish, you have tarnished your image, it's like a one shot deal, and if you do have to return for more hearings, right from the beginning you want to look professional, and at all times after, you cannot imagine how some of the applicants act sometimes, literally trying to "wing it". Making a good impression is necessary but only address the issues, never volunteer other information or as I call it "oversell the sale" Also, NEVER get in any confrontation with these people, if angry just politely leave, never never argue with them, I've seen many people do that, waste of energy and you look like a fool, also one they will remember.

I've gone astray a bit on procedure, seems like local laws where you are might be prevalent, over what you may already know is fact, it is also very difficult to comment without researching all applicable legislation, codes, zoning and or other pertaining information, you may find answers by researching the city or towns laws on this, it's the only way to get to the bottom of it.

Around here, ag buildings are not really restricted, they are not occupied structures, when you start getting into occupancy classifications or potential for same, that is where the line is. I have erected the posts for a pole barn here, and will continue with the roof framing and hopefully complete it this year, I have no issues with the town because it's A-42 agricultural, if it were residential, which my neighbors are, yes, I'd have a problem I'm sure.

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