EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Permit Processing - Inefficiencies

Fairfax County’s Department of Environmental Management (DEM)* received many complaints from contractors about the time required to obtain permits prior to performing minor work that required permits.

Annual Permitting

An annual permitting program was established to allow property owners and contractors to obtain an annual permit that authorizes them to perform minor types of work prior to obtaining an individual, address-specific permit.

The annual permit authorizes small-scale work, such as residential re-roofs, installation of telephone and computer wire, and minor commercial renovations, to be permitted and paid for on a yearly basis. The program is an example of DEM’s effort to educate contractors to reduce the amount of oversight provided by the building official.

Participants complete an application form for an annual permit and pay a $56 fee. The permit is valid for 12 months and allows the participant to perform specific types of work prior to applying for an address-specific permit. An address-specific permit application must be submitted to the Building Official by the tenth day of the month following completion of the work, and is processed at a reduced permit fee (currently $20.20). Permit applications must be accompanied by a certification stating that the work was performed according to code. Inspections are performed on a random basis to spot check for code compliance.

The County has experienced some contractors who advise customers that they are participants in the Annual Permit Program, perform the work, and then either fail to submit address-specific permits or submit them only after a complaint has been filed. Contractors who do not abide by the program regulations are removed from the program.

RESULTS:

This program not only saves the time required to wait for permit processing and plan submission, but also the time and cost of traveling to the county offices. Customers are pleased that they do not have to stay at home and wait for an inspector to inspect the work.

This program and several others were undertaken by DEM’s Division of Inspection Services, making it less expensive to perform an inspection than it did in 1992.

A drawback reported by the submitting party is that record-keeping is cumbersome because submission of permit applications is delayed and permits are not separately identified in the computer system. There is also difficulty investigating complaints and problems to determine whether they are within the statute of limitations.

It costs DIS (in real dollars, adjusted for inflation) less to issue a permit, review a plan, and perform an inspection now than in 1988. Establishing this program, in conjunction with other customer service initiatives, has meant that it would cost the County $1.5 million less today to handle the 1988 workload than it did 10 years ago.

• Increases productivity and reduces time, cost, and complexity;
• Places responsibility on the contractor;
• Good program for quality control.

• Scope of work should be carefully selected.

The Streamlining Committee designated this program as a streamlined tool without modifications.

The annual permit program was implemented by administrative action of the DEM. Costs were limited to creating forms and materials explaining the program. The materials explaining the program were included, at no additional cost, in a mailing to contractors containing their contractor license renewal notices.

FOR MORE INFORMATION OR ASSISTANCE IN CONSIDERING THE USE OF THIS MODEL, PLEASE CONTACT:

Zofia A. Zager
Director, Division of Inspection Services
12055 Government Center Parkway
Fairfax, VA 22035
Phone: (703) 324-1980
FAX: (703) 324-3908
Email: szager@co.fairfax.va.us

Or NCSBCS STAFF:
Carolyn Fitch
National Conference of States on Building Codes and Standards
505 Huntmar Park Drive, Suite 210
Herndon, VA 20170
Phone: (703) 437-0100
FAX:    (703) 481-3596
Email: cfitch@ncsbcs.org
Website: www.ncsbcs.org