GET THE RIGHT PERMITS
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The permit process has the potential to be extremely frustrating and expensive. Be persistent and do your research.
Tips for the Permit Process
*If you are not familiar with any/all of the information/documents listed below, ask your Real Estate Agent. It is their job to advise you on all of these requirements. That's what they get paid to do. If they tell you otherwise, you may want to consider finding a different agent.
On your first visit to City Hall, you will most likely receive a list of paperwork to get you started. Here’s a tip when dealing with the city: BE AS PERSISTENT AS POSSIBLE. It is their job to think of everything that can potentially go wrong with your business. You will hear “NO” a lot. Knowing this from the beginning, approach this task with the mindset that every “NO” is a future “YES”. You might run into a lot of costs at this stage IF you don’t do your research. Every rule they are applying (charging) you for is public knowledge. Go online and find the City Permit Guide, City Planning Code, and any other documents concerning Zoning, Policies, Procedures, and Laws governing your city. Learn these documents well. Double check everything they are telling you. We avoided over $7,000 in permit costs by double checking the information we received and by turning their “No’s” into our “Yes’”. Depending on what area of the country you live in, and what state, you may also fall under some strict County, and State laws as well. If that’s the case, do your homework there as well. Google search for the applicable documents and learn them. All of these documents are public information, so arm yourself appropriately.
When submitting applications to City Hall for permits, inspections, and other approval processes, be prepared to submit up to ten or more initial sets of full-size plans collated, stapled, and folded to the exact dimensions that will be dictated in your application. Plans may need to be drawn by a professional designer or architect unless otherwise approved by the Director. When the application is deemed complete and a public hearing is required, be prepared to submit up to twenty-five or more sets of plans for the review process. Your application will tell you how many sets you will be required to submit. Don't go out and make hundreds of copies just in case, but keep this in mind when budgeting, since document reproduction could possibly turn into a significant cost, depending on what you are required to submit.
Parking Survey
If you are asked to perform a parking survey, request a meeting with the development planner or property manager to be absolutely sure that this is necessary. It is treated as a common task to be performed by all potential businesses but it has the potential to cost up to $10,000 or more and is relatively avoidable if you speak to the right people, ask the right questions, and DO YOUR RESEARCH. Keep in mind that your Property Manager likely already has all of this information compiled into a neat little package ready for you to submit to the city. Remeber, you are probably not the first business to move into their complex, so they've been through this process before, many times. Below is a list of possible information you may be required to submit in order to obtain Parking Approval for your location.
Permits, Inspections, & Surveys
Here is a list of potential documents you may or may not need and a general idea of their ESTIMATED costs. Amounts listed are ESTIMATED amounts and the actual cost could be more or less depending on your specific city/county/state. Keep in mind, you may need several of these, or you may not need any. Cost varies SIGNIFICANTLY from city to city so be sure to check your specific area before adding these numbers to your COST ANALYSIS WORKSHEET.
*Note: The links, information, and costs listed above are general information or examples from various cities and towns around the United States. You can obtain the most accurate information from contacting your local City Hall or other local agencies dealing with each specific permit, inspection, survey, etc. A Google search with "your city name" + "name of the document" will usually turn up some valuable information as well.
Tips for the Permit Process
*If you are not familiar with any/all of the information/documents listed below, ask your Real Estate Agent. It is their job to advise you on all of these requirements. That's what they get paid to do. If they tell you otherwise, you may want to consider finding a different agent.
On your first visit to City Hall, you will most likely receive a list of paperwork to get you started. Here’s a tip when dealing with the city: BE AS PERSISTENT AS POSSIBLE. It is their job to think of everything that can potentially go wrong with your business. You will hear “NO” a lot. Knowing this from the beginning, approach this task with the mindset that every “NO” is a future “YES”. You might run into a lot of costs at this stage IF you don’t do your research. Every rule they are applying (charging) you for is public knowledge. Go online and find the City Permit Guide, City Planning Code, and any other documents concerning Zoning, Policies, Procedures, and Laws governing your city. Learn these documents well. Double check everything they are telling you. We avoided over $7,000 in permit costs by double checking the information we received and by turning their “No’s” into our “Yes’”. Depending on what area of the country you live in, and what state, you may also fall under some strict County, and State laws as well. If that’s the case, do your homework there as well. Google search for the applicable documents and learn them. All of these documents are public information, so arm yourself appropriately.
When submitting applications to City Hall for permits, inspections, and other approval processes, be prepared to submit up to ten or more initial sets of full-size plans collated, stapled, and folded to the exact dimensions that will be dictated in your application. Plans may need to be drawn by a professional designer or architect unless otherwise approved by the Director. When the application is deemed complete and a public hearing is required, be prepared to submit up to twenty-five or more sets of plans for the review process. Your application will tell you how many sets you will be required to submit. Don't go out and make hundreds of copies just in case, but keep this in mind when budgeting, since document reproduction could possibly turn into a significant cost, depending on what you are required to submit.
Parking Survey
If you are asked to perform a parking survey, request a meeting with the development planner or property manager to be absolutely sure that this is necessary. It is treated as a common task to be performed by all potential businesses but it has the potential to cost up to $10,000 or more and is relatively avoidable if you speak to the right people, ask the right questions, and DO YOUR RESEARCH. Keep in mind that your Property Manager likely already has all of this information compiled into a neat little package ready for you to submit to the city. Remeber, you are probably not the first business to move into their complex, so they've been through this process before, many times. Below is a list of possible information you may be required to submit in order to obtain Parking Approval for your location.
- A site plan showing all parking spaces, building square footage and tenant spaces within the complex(es) or area(s) participating.
- A joint use parking matrix with the following information:
- Project building(s) and tenant address(es);
- The number of parking stalls available on-site (parking supply);
- Gross square footage of all building and tenant spaces;
- The name, type of use, and the days and hours of operation for each tenant;
- The number of parking stalls required by this chapter for each tenant or land use, based on the gross square footage and type of use;
- The hourly parking demand for all tenants on weekdays (Monday through Friday), Saturday, and Sunday;
- A comparison between hourly parking demand and the parking supply to show that demand will not exceed parking supply.
Permits, Inspections, & Surveys
Here is a list of potential documents you may or may not need and a general idea of their ESTIMATED costs. Amounts listed are ESTIMATED amounts and the actual cost could be more or less depending on your specific city/county/state. Keep in mind, you may need several of these, or you may not need any. Cost varies SIGNIFICANTLY from city to city so be sure to check your specific area before adding these numbers to your COST ANALYSIS WORKSHEET.
- Special Use Permit
- Conditional Use Permit ~ $8,000 +/-
- Site Development Permit ~ $8,000 +/-
- Administrative Use Permit ~ $2,000 +/-
- Minor Conditional Use Permit ~ $1,600 +/-
- Temporary Use Permit ~ $800 +/-
- Sign Permit ~ $2,000 +/-
- Planning Application
- Fiscal Impact Analysis
- Exception Permit ~ $800 +/-
- Environmental Impact Assessment ~ $5,000 +/-
- Certificate Of Occupancy
- Parking Survey ~ $10,000 +/-
- Fire Marshal Inspection
- Police Services Inspection
- City Engineer Inspection ~ $69 per Hour +/-
- Sellers Permit
*Note: The links, information, and costs listed above are general information or examples from various cities and towns around the United States. You can obtain the most accurate information from contacting your local City Hall or other local agencies dealing with each specific permit, inspection, survey, etc. A Google search with "your city name" + "name of the document" will usually turn up some valuable information as well.