Well I'm jealous, wysmama. Ours is officially driving us all insane.

Not California, but similar jurisdiction (out of an abundance of caution, I'm avoiding naming the city here until after we have the permit).

Six to eight months is especially crazy! We're really hoping we're nearly to the end - we think based on a phone call between the final reviewer and one of our engineers today that he'll sign off on Monday, and that's the last hurdle. Well, except pre-issuance, which from what we can tell is just the department that takes a long time to add up exactly what we owe them to get the permit.

This is part of being in a small town that I love...our dirt permit was in hand in 20 min. Electrical - took a day and 1 phone call to verify that our neighbor (an electrician) was going to check my husband's work before inspection. Buuilding permit - waiting on our surveyors to finish up. When I get that piece of paper I will turn in the final bits and I expect to have a permit in a week or so.

We were told ours would take 4 weeks. It took 4 months. It's available to read about on my Saga thread.

Locally here the process is same day to a week in most cases. At least is has been for the clients that we have designed for. Some other cities its a month to several months for insanely stupid items. The worst being an inspector correcting my spell on notes.

Ours was 2 or 3 days, don't remember for sure. We did well, septic and garage/workshop permits at one time then a month or so later did the house. Compared to where we used to live it was a piece of cake and inexpensive.

cpartist - glad to know we're in good company. We've had reviewers who didn't read the submissions and sent back checksheets with questions that were already addressed on the plan, reviewers who misread the plans, reviewers who our (multiple) engineers agree are just wrong about what the city code says, and most recently a reviewer who didn't look at our answers to her checksheet for three months (during which time everything except her area was resolved). It's maddening.

The good news is that our builder and architect are excellent and have put a ton of work in to manage the process and keep things moving.

I have to say, the amount of variation from place to place is crazy to me.

Yeah it varies crazily in the Bay Area. I am lucky that my city is very quick and well run. It took about 6-8 weeks, and I think most of that was my architect taking time to respond. I hear horror stories from my contractor about a neighboring city where getting a permit normally takes over 6 months or longer. Glad I don't live there!

6 Months - Raleigh. Comedy but mostly tragedy.

I do think it was bad luck, combined with an intentional slow down process on building, combined with incompetence.

Frankly, this is gross incompetence by your city management if it takes so long, They need to hire more people if they are so busy. I assume they take your money without much delay.

My first building permit (2009, not a busy time for new home construction) was approved the same day.

My second building permit (2017, a crazy busy time for new home construction) was approved within 5 days.

Dallas, TX

I haven't turned in plans yet. However, we are in a smaller town of 1,000. I asked the city office how long to get my permit, and was told 24 hours. Honestly, I think I could get it the same day (if the city inspector is in, he will probably just run out to my lot with me and issue the permit then). I was also told we could do all dirtwork before the permit gets issued...so very unlikely we will be waiting on ours. We are 10 minutes outside of a town of 500,000, so very lucky to have an easy process. I don't remember the fees involved, but very minimal.

Alison, I also think there's a great deal of variance in how much double checking the reviewers do. It sounds like in a lot of places they glance through it, make sure things are generally good, and if so give you a permit. In many places there will be subsequent inspections as things are actually built to make sure it's all as it should be.

In our jurisdiction (and I'm guessing yours) the reviewers are engineers themselves (though less experienced ones than those we hired) and are basically double checking everything. But it means they review every detail to make sure they think it's as it should be, and sometimes, being younger and more inexperienced, they ask questions because they just don't understand things (i.e. reviewer who read the plans wrong).

galore - I agree that this is ridiculous, and that they need to hire more reviewers. And given that our permits will likely cost over $40,000, it would seem like they should have the funds to do so. We don't pay until the end, though, so we also don't know the final permit cost.

I can certainly empathize. Working in New York City as an architect has necessitated a degree of patience with the permitting process. While it depends a bit on the complexity of the project, depending on the issues and designations surrounding a given site the permitting process can be a long one. With so much existing urban fabric combined with the value of the real estate, filing strategies can often get creative in order to accomplish the best outcome for the client which can also extend the process.

Over four months is definitely a long time, but it's far from unheard of. You have quite a round table of consultants, which in NYC would technically be multiple filings as well. For a renovation job that was changing egress, occupancy or zoning...it could definitely be that long. Throw in the Landmarks Preservation Commission, absolutely.

They're all different. I got mine between 3.5 - 4.5 months. I'm rural in a very small township which means that people aren't manning the offices on a 9 to 5 basis. We did have some trouble with someone stating my septic was too close to a stream, when in actuality it wasn't, but that was just "local politics". When push came to shove, we won out.

In my smallish town, it took 3 weeks. But, for one week of that duration, the entire building department was out of town at a seminar and they had a rush of plans come in so they got behind. We didn't have to jump through any hoops and everyone we dealt with was professional and friendly. We paid $11,000 and some change for a house with approximately 3,200 sf of living space.

In other municipalities in our metropolitan area, it has taken 4-8 weeks. For the new build, I'm hoping for 8 weeks. But reading this thread I realize that our spring build may be a fall build as this municipality aspires to become Silicon City North.

More than one surveyor turned down doing the grading plan as the city is known for asking for multiple revisions.

13 months and counting....

That's INSANE to take that long!!!!!!!!!!!!! What state are you in? Here in NC it takes about a week. You need to contact the city manager!!!!!!!!!!!! And get actual DETAILS!!!! IMO......I've got a feeling they are making money on this somewhere. That's the way it's going these days......

Submitted end of May. Approved mid-August. They have 5 days to review it upon first submission, but that doesn't mean approved. We had some issues with insulating the basement walls that was most of that delay. Plumbing was approved in 15 minutes and HVAC about 30 minutes. Electrical was less than a week. Grading and drainage was about a week?

Permits? We don't recognize no stinkin' permits!

Here's a clue about why it took us two years, application to move-in: "Why, these people aren't even FROM here!" (A statement by a member of this city's Old Guard, made at a public meeting of the Building Review Committee.)

It started out just fine. We got our teardown permit and building permit in a few months. It took a little time for the city to consider and decide that the house to be torn down was not 'historic' just because the plans were signed by a locally venerated architect. The 1950's ranch with sinking addition was not a commissioned work, but slapped together for his newly minted realtor/wife to sell and earn a commission.) So...we were good to go, right?

Ah, but wait... The day the bulldozer started pulled down the front of the house, the city slapped us with a stop work order. Someone (From Here) had complained. We could have sued and won, but it would take two years for the case to be called. Our lawyer advised that we 'work with' the city's Building Review Committee. They turned out to be mayoral appointees, volunteer busybodies -- none with any architectural background. We went on in limbo for months. We were required to lower our roof line ONE foot -- already below requirements. We were rescued from the committee-demanded wood shake roof when our next door neighbor re-roofed with asphalt shingles. The demands were arbitrary and capricious, but all required new plans to be drawn and submitted. It was just *crazy*. I lost thirty pounds and had to delay a surgery.

We were never allowed to know who complained. We were finally summoned to a public meeting at the city hall to be given a tongue-lashing in exchange for being allowed to build AS PERMITTED. The city attorney has since clamped down on this kind of *illegal* over-reaching by volunteer boards...so I'm told.

robin0919 - We're on Ag land in Hawaii. It's even worse if you're on the ocean. Pretty typical, actually. No one in our HOA has gotten a permit in under a year.

Four weeks and this is a very large home however I was well prepared with designing everything to code resulting in zero changes. It could have been done in two weeks if I had not spent the time arguing against installing a fire suppression sptinkler system, had to finally agree; in hindsight it worked out for the best for safety reasons. Hats off to our county. Whatcom County, WA.

Robin - I'm pretty sure that it's just extreme inefficiency. Our builder and architect would actually like us to talk with someone in the mayor's office about our experience...AFTER we have our permits.

Kayce03 - My husband actually just sat by a realtor from Hawaii on a plane, who told him all about how incredibly difficult it is to build in Hawaii. Lots of arbitrary rulings, hard to figure out rules, etc.. It made us appreciate our process, difficult though it has been.

that long!!!!!!!!!!!!! city manager!!!!!!!!!!!! DETAILS!!!!

The quota for exclamation points is going to be drained before long...and when they're gone, they're all gone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I live in the Bay Area and our permits took 15 months. The public hearing took most of the time because the neighbors were anti new construction.

So very glad we don't have to go through a public hearing process, too!

For the new build, I'm hoping for 8 weeks.

What an optimistic dumbo you were!

It's now 35 months since our first zoning meeting with a city adjacent to Toronto. Then Committee of Adjustment, Tree Assessment and Fencing, Grading Plan (8 submissions over 21 months).

Actual building plans were submitted five months ago. I had the architect check on their progress. City said, "It's in queue. Covid. Don't call us again or it will only slow it down."

The last time we had a City Councillor involved, the engineering department responded with "send us your latest and greatest plan", then promptly failed it to show us who's boss. (They can move fast when it suits them.)

Empty fenced homes and lots sit for years here as foolish builders and homeowners tear their hair out in this process. The builder across our courtyard finally has two underway after spending C$3 million for the lots in 2016. (His builds are 7,300 s.f. and 8,400 s.f.)

The Canuckistanian bureaucratic mindset at work is a wonder to behold!

"Then Committee of Adjustment, Tree Assessment and Fencing, Grading Plan (8 submissions over 21 months)."

You missed the Ministry of Silly Walks! ;-)

My old CA town was about a year for permits just before covid, so probably worse now.

The state we are building in was around 6-8 weeks when we started a few months into covid and is probably longer now dues to huge numbers of people moving to the area in the past year.

I spoke with a realtor this week who said 4-6 months to get a permit in my town. My state is flush with money right now and I don’t know why they don’t hire more people at the planning dept. People are paying mortgages for homes that they can’t live in while waiting for a permit. Our city used to be very fast and approving permits.

Still the biggest loser! (Our first meeting with the city was in Dec. 2018.)

Last week, the City examiner told the architect they're now "looking" at the zoning.

There's a Provincial Building Code Commission with the power to review applications within five days if local officials don't handle applications in a timely manner, i.e., 10 days for an approval or request for further information).

So why are we not taking that route?

You think if forced to review what was submitted, offended locals couldn't find something to hold us up in the 90 pages of building plans???

So I'm penciling in a spring 2023 start.