We are in the stretch now where I am buttoning up loose ends, so that we can submit our application for permit as soon as we get our completed plans from the architect. Here's a look back on some of the things I've worked on to prepare.
Impact fees:
School District-did you know that if you build a home in subdivision, your builder incorporates these fees into your price? When you are building for yourself, you pay directly to the school district you will live in. I called someone there in finance, who told me to call city/township. I told her we are in Unincorporated, but she didn't seem to care. I called county and they confirmed, pay to district. I called township, she called district, we got it all figured out. I paid. FYI, you'd be surprised how much this costs....
Fire District-Headed over to the FD that will service our property. .I had previously spoken to them, just to ensure there wouldn't be any specific requirements for sprinkler system in the home or our driveway width. I paid the small impact fee. I really pray we never have to use their services however.
Note: Many other towns will have Park District impact fee as well. We didn't. Basically you look on a tax bill to see what may be impacted.
County Road access-remember our Christmas Culvert? I contacted the permitting person to confirm whether or not they would issue a certificate to be submitted with my permit. They said just to give the permit. I will be printing that email and attaching it to my application. LOL.
I also made a few calls to County to see how their current workload is, to have an idea of what turnaround on our permits will be (remember the contractor who scared the bejeezus out of me).
Environmental & Health Dept-they will review septic & well permit application, including our site plan. They are currently at 5 days or less for turnaround. I don't anticipate any problems, our site planner is Awesome.
Planning & Development-they have a 3 pronged review:
Stormwater-they will look at how much land is being displaced, are you in a flood plain, etc. Again, don't anticipate any problems, as our site planner already prepared me for what they might require, as we will have a intermediate project (vs Minor) b/c we are displacing more than 20,000 cubic feet of soil-simply b/c we have a long driveway, a home and an outbuilding.
Zoning-they will look at ordinances, etc. Given we went through the variance process and I will be attaching that letter, there better not be any additional surprises that come up on this property!
Plan Examining-they will review the drawings of the house from our
architect and the drawings of our outbuilding (from Menards). This is the one that scares me a little. Don't get me wrong I have complete faith in our architect, but he has also said that the county plans examiners are hit or miss, it will depend on who gets assigned.
In the end my calls told me that P&D is at a 1 week turnaround for new applications (typical is 4-6) and 2 weeks for resubmittals (so when they want you to address any concerns). I think I can live with that, given the ground is covered in 18 inches of snow.
The key will be getting the application in during this "slow time". The longer we wait, the more likely that others will be start thinking of their spring projects and submitting their applications too.
I'm trying to light a fire under our architect at this very moment....
P.S. In the meantime I've also being obtaining insurance quotes for a Builder's risk policy. This will cover our materials and liability.
No comments:
Post a Comment