PORT ANGELES — Clallam County’s Department of Community Development is seeking temporary help to expedite the process of getting a building permit.
Department Director Sheila Roark Miller told the three commissioners Monday that “steady increases” in construction activity combined with a heavier workload in her department has resulted in four-week wait times for plan review, which normally takes half that long.
No commissioner objected to Roark Miller’s proposal to use budgeted money from an unfilled position to hire a temporary worker to alleviate pressures on the county permit center.
Commissioner Jim McEntire said the move would boost economic activity as well as tax revenue.
“I believe it’s well-justified,” McEntire said in a commissioners’ briefing.
Several years ago, the board committed to monitor the “ebb and flow” of permit applications when it agreed to support higher fees, Chairman Mike Chapman recalled.
“I like the idea of a temporary position to alleviate the backlog of permits right now,” Chapman said in a Tuesday interview.
County Administrator Jim Jones said the unfilled DCD position is the geographic information system, or GIS, coordinator, which may be moved to information technology in 2014.
Frustration with delays
“I’ve had some conversations with individual builders who have expressed frustration [with delays], and you each have as well,” Jones told commissioners.
“I think we see good evidence, or reasonable belief, that this is going to continue for the construction period, and I think her request for temporary help using some of the budgeted money which has not yet been spent is a good way to do that.”
Roark Miller’s proposal was prompted in part by a July 3 letter from the North Peninsula Building Association.
“Unfortunately, many members report serious delays in the current environment with plan review lead times sometimes taking up to six weeks,” North Peninsula Building Association President Garret DelaBarre wrote on behalf of the NPBA board.
DelaBarre said new construction activity “may intensify, and we are counting on the Permit Center to be prepared so we can all get to work.”
Departmental limitations
Permit Center Manager Tom Shindler responded in a July 17 letter that outlined the department’s limitations, ongoing efforts to fix the delays, future plans and a suggestion that builders fill out “complete and accurate” application packages to speed things up.
“We recognize that a building permit doesn’t just represent a new structure, it represents paychecks that support families in our community, and we want to do everything we can to help you keep those paychecks flowing,” Shindler wrote.
“We share your goal of helping the local construction industry rebound from the financial melt-down.”
He added: “Our staff will continue to work hard to keep you working too.”
Roark Miller, the nation’s only elected DCD director, opened the briefing by introducing new NPBA Executive Officer Lary Coppola.
Coppola, a former Port Orchard mayor, started working for NPBA on July 29.
The 62-year-old replaces former director FaLeana Wech, 41, who took a job as communications and public relations director at the Building Industry Association of Washington but maintains a residence in Sequim.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.