Recent content by Cass

They're about as mediocre as you can get in terms of customer service and knowledge. I can handle that. What gets to me is the long wait times during phone calls and between emails. No one gets back to me in a timely manner. If a worker told me to come in at a certain time for assistance, my...

Why are you leaning towards not issuing the Certificate of Occupancy? Are you afraid that the house isn't up to code? Maybe it could be inspected after it's been rehabilitated? I'd say that will part of the rehabilitation process anyway.

How many reinspection attempts does your municipality allow on a residential building without charging another fee? We only get one opportunity to make corrections before we have to pay another inspection fee. That's always seemed stingy to me, because sometimes the building inspector misses...

Hi, Stephanie, welcome to our group! It's great to have you join us. I believe there's always something new to learn in permitting. Codes change all the time, so it keeps us on our toes. This forum is a great resource for information. I don't know what I'd do without it.

What is one thing you wish your clients/the public understood about your job and the permitting process in general? What do you think is the most common misconception?

HOAs can add additional requirements, but as far as I know, they can't approve plans that go against building codes. For example, they can force owners to use certain colors or materials on their project, but if the code calls for building reinforcements, the HOA can't say that reinforcements...

Good point about trying to save on fees where you can. My local permitting office will point out workarounds sometimes, and I really appreciate it when they do.

It appears that we don't need to pull an additional permit. Thanks for checking on it! We just wanted to be sure that we were reading things right. We have the disposal part down, thankfully. It doesn't require a permit, but there are certain steps you have to take to ensure it doesn't...

My husband and I flip houses. The market has been rocky in Southern California lately, so we've started buying properties further north. Since we're not as familiar with that territory, we're trying to learn the permit rules as we go. We have a reno that has an attic full of toxic mold...

The disastrous fires in California have decimated our housing stock. Unfortunately, sometimes it takes months to receive the proper building permit in order to rebuild. That timeline is bound to lag behind even more, since so many new applications are pouring in. In order to address this...

AI must be programed by people, who undoubtedly have their own ideas and emotions; and, even the most efficient algorithms have been shown to create natural bias over time. I'm not sure that we can logic our way out of this one. In my city, workers only receive a cost-of-living adjustment...

I'm having a hard time picturing this. Is it really a building, or is it more like a vending machine? Which permits are required here? It sure sounds like an interesting project.

Thanks for bringing that up, RavenGirl56. Sadly, the fires in California have made a lasting negative impact on migratory insects, especially the Monarch Butterfly. It could be years before they fully recover. I hope the proposal goes through.

Not so fast. Although many states don't require such a permit, California is different. I'm a fellow native, and you likely do need a Tree Removal permit in El Monte. I'll warn you that your buddy is in for a rough time if the species of tree is on the protected or heritage list. It'll help...