Posted on 11/03/2015 6:41:34 PM PST by TMD
This is an update to to a post from Aug 5, dealing with the local planning commission. We attempted to submit plans (small, <500 sq ft addition in an unused side yard at the back of our house - adding exactly 2 walls) to the building dept in July and were told we were in a 'special study zone' and our plans needed 'extra' scrutiny before we can submit them to the building dept. 95 days and an extra $2000 later, we were given permission to submit our plans (after we had to provided them a paint and roof sample). Our designer went to submit plans today. He called and said it was a "No-go, the city requires a listing of every material that's going to be used in the addition and 'prove' all materials are low-VOC".
I'm ready to just cash-out of this gawd-forsaken, miserable state that oozes with govt drones who justify their jobs by making hard-working, tax-paying, home owners and life-long California natives grovel, bow and scrape the floor begging for 'permission' to improve our homes, neighborhoods, city and community.
It wont get any better till you leave Kalifornina
I am going through something similar with the City of Santa Clara. Painfully slow to get a “small” commercial project permitted.
I think the architect (I assume an architect)is perhaps short changing you.
Probably low balled you and everything becomes an extra. All the plans I see list the materials along with a colored drawing of the proposal.
So true. You need permits for everything and there's a limited list of what you can and cannot use.
My son was going to build on a lot in San Rafael. He spent thousands and never got to the building stage. He gave up and sold the lot. In Marin County, another son has a house with redwood plywood siding. He needs to replace two panels and the county wants him to get a permit to do it. It's removing two panels and replacing them with identical panels. Nothing structural involved at all. It's just another way for the county to get money.
I fell for you. Trying to build anything in this state is hard. Architects that know only what the book show. Inspectors that nip pick the smallest stuff and don’t have the knowledge to check the big stuff. Owners that expect the world while cutting every corner possible. Just let me insulate the damn building and be done with it. Gotta Love the Bay Area.
Nothing embarrasses (and gets rid of) insane planning commissions like being outed in public.
Even if there's no direct appeal to the city council, almost every city council has public address time, use it, bring your roof and paint sample, and list the requirements that are being put on you, as well as the additional time for a very simple addition.
We have a designer who drew up the plans (same way as last year for a major kitchen remodel involving moving load bearing walls). We’re doing it as owner/builder (they hate do it your selfers). He said he’s never seen any city with requirements like this and yes, he’s done many remodels/additions in the City of Campbell over the last 30 yrs. I guess part of the ‘special scrutiny’ by the planning department was to insist we provide paint/roofing samples but not ensure we’re using ‘low-VOC’ materials, that’s for the F’n Building Department.....you can’t even find anything that isn’t low-VOC around here......
What’s `VOC’?
Indeed. It is why I now am a proud resident of north Georgia
2-3% state income tax
Reduced property tax
Lower gas price (up to $0.75 per gal. lower)
Lower restrictions on property modifications (such as you discuss here)
Better weather (Oct. to May is great! July/Aug not as bad as feared)
great restaurants
Golf........excellent (except my score!)
I looked it up: Volatile Organic Compounds.
OK. This is the reason for the warning we’re always seeing on many products:
`Known to contain VOCs that may cause cancer in rats and Californians.’
I lived in So. CA, but forgot what relentless Nannies they are.
VOC is Volatile Organic Compounds (off-gassing)- basically water-based paints/solvents (low) vs. petroleum based (high). You can’t even buy any house paint around here that isn’t water-based.
I also am a contractor in CA so I fully understand your point and appreciate a properly thought out set of plans. I have been part of too many projects that were bid on a light set and most parties involved ended up taking it in the shorts to some degree. Happens all the time when you work with people you don’t know or work from crappy plans. A good set of plans is better for everyone and well worth the extra money.
In California some of us have been conditioned to tolerate a government that can dictate what paint to use. Some of us can’t take it any more and need to move before they send us to re-education camp. The problem here is not the homeowner, the designer, the manufacturer of the materials or the men who install them. The problem is a government that has way too much power.
http://www.conservation.ca.gov/cgs/rghm/ap/Pages/main.aspx
the he Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Fault Zoning Act, or Special Studies act.
As an example, here in Indiana, we can get around paying for flood insurance if we can show we’re not really in a flood zone even if the lender’s expert says we are. Of course in the end it’s the lender’s decision.
It sounds like the plan commission is afraid you are close to a fault and if your addition was destroyed it would leak toxic fumes and 1.) sicken or kill everyone on your block, or 2.) possibly create a Godzilla-like creature off shore or in the fault.
“You can learn more about the potential of fault rupture by:
Asking the property owner or real estate agent to see any geologic report prepared for the site.
Checking the files of local government for consulting reports for nearby sites. Also, most fault investigations required by the Alquist-Priolo Act are on file at the Department of Conservation’s California Geological Survey office in San Francisco.
Researching maps and data on active faults at technical libraries at the California Geological Survey, U.S. Geological Survey, and universities.
Hiring a consulting geologist to provide a preliminary assessment of the fault-rupture hazard for a specific site (see the Yellow Pages).”
Hiring a consulting engineer sounds like your best bet. Then if things go tits-up, everyone can blame him/her/it.
Hope this helps. I would call their office every day offering to help resolve the matter. If they get tired enough of you, they will push your matter to the front burner just to get rid of you.
Wow how things have changed. In 1980 we restored the Italianate Victorian farm house on Bascom near Dry Creek Road and placed it on the National Record of Historic Places. All the powers at Campbell City Hall were quite helpful.
If we did it now it would probably be a pain in the ass.
We left the area for good in 98.
We’re in southern Utah now.
No, the ‘Special Study’ is the San Tomas Area Neighborhood Plan. http://www.cityofcampbell.com/DocumentCenter/View/167 The criteria are intended to provide guidance to applicants and consistency in design review.
Objectives
1. Ensure that the size of homes are in proportion to lot size.
2. New developments and additions to existing homes should be integrated with homes in the
surrounding area.
3. Ensure that projects in planned developments zones are compatible with the surrounding
area.
4. Use landscaping to enhance the rural characteristics of the area.
5. Establish criteria to determine larger than minimum lot size.
We don’t even come close to violating a single thing in this plan. We did a huge kitchen remodel (moving load bearing walls) last year. For this project we had to notify all our neighbors so they could comment on the plans. The stupidest thing of all is that the only two neighbors who could possibly be impacted by a change in our backyard are in San Jose (we’re the last house in Campbell). They were not notified by the Campbell planning department because they’re in San Jose.
It is mind-numbing. My Grandfather was a developer back in the 50’s and developed a lot of the neighborhoods off Blossom Hill Road. Lu-Ray Drive is named after my grandmother (Lucille) and my grandfather (Ray). Building, planning, demo, remodeling courses through my blood.
My mother was one of the original house-flippers as a divorced mother of 5 in the late 60’s. She got a 10k loan from my grandfather, took a big risk and used us kids as sweat-equity in fixing up a dumpy little house on Edelen Ave (now worth more than 2million$$) by Old Town in Los Gatos. She repeated this over and over and over and was very successful with tons of hard work. She could NEVER do the same thing today. The motto in California is that success and hard work are punished, mindless drones are rewarded.
oh brother i feel your pain. we’re just east of you.
Nowdays, being designated as ‘Historical’ is the kiss of death for ever making any improvement.
It’s so bad that, in Santa Clara, you’re supposed to get a permit to replace your dishwasher, replace your kitchen faucets, put irrigation in your lawn, etc....
It is truly the death of 1000 cuts. They get away with it by picking on tiny little constituencies and no one notices or cares because, until you try to make any improvement, it’s completely off your radar. A local realtor told us the story about a homeowner who was replacing a post on his front porch because of termites and a city inspector was driving by and asked if he had a permit. He said, No. The inspector said “Stop work, you need a permit.”
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