Goldsboro hires employee to speed up building permit process
By Anessa Myers
Published in News on September 18, 2008 1:38 PM
With hopes of streamlining the building plan review and permit process, the Goldsboro Inspections Department has created a checklist for items that must appear on residential and commercial building plans.
And, now, there is someone whose job is to make the process run more smoothly by reviewing plans daily and acting as the contact person for any individual, contractor or developer who has questions about the process. Cindy Motsko will serve as plans reviewer.
Before the position was filled, inspections officials were only able to review plans on Fridays, and builders with questions could only receive answers between the hours of 8 and 9 a.m. and 4 to 5 p.m. when inspectors were in their offices.
But Ms. Motsko has changed that.
"We have never had a checklist before," she said.
Builders were just sort of guessing about what was necessary on a building plan, she said, and that made the process much longer and harder for both the builder and the inspections department.
With the checklist, plan designers know exactly what needs to be on the plan for it to be approved.
"They won't have to keep running back and forth," she said.
After she reviews the building plans, they must go through planning and engineering for approval. Once each department approves them, the builder can obtain a permit to build.
The time log on the entire process should be cut down tremendously, and she expects builders to walk out with a permit in their hands within seven days of their permit application.
"I think it's going to be really speedy," she said.
As one of three women in the state who are Level III inspectors -- meaning they have the highest certification for a building inspector and can inspect buildings, plumbing, electrical, mechanical and fire -- and with nine years experience, she can also answer any building code questions builders might have.
The checklists for both residential and commercial plans are available in the inspections department at the City Hall Annex, and within the next few weeks, will be available on the city's Web site, Ms. Motsko said.
She said the checklist will mostly help residential builders since commercial building plans are completed by designers who have spent years designing plans for approval.
But just to make sure, she said, she wanted to emphasize the checklists, which include tidbits of knowledge such as commercial plans must also show mechanical calculations for ventilation and residential plans must show heat loss and heat gain calculations.
Having Ms. Motsko and the checklist will also help free up some of the inspectors.
"They won't have to be coming in from the field to review plans," she said. "They can get a lot more done."