CITY CHANGES ITS PERMIT PROCESS

Changes in the way city officials issue building permits and enforce construction codes are aimed at stemming the possible flight of development from Cape Girardeau.

City Manager J. Ronald Fischer said Ken Eftink, the city's planning services coordinator, will be given the added responsibilities of coordinating building permit demands and helping to speed the permit process.

The change came on the heels of concerns voiced by a special committee of the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce that was formed after area developers and contractors complained about the city's inspection and planning services department.

Fischer met with members of the chamber committee twice, and he met with a group of developers and tradesmen represented by the committee.

"It appeared to me that the chamber committee felt very strongly that we should have strong codes, but that it should be done fairly and equally with an attitude of assisting people through the system -- kind of a customer relationship," Fischer said.

"We believe we can help people with this process through the additional responsibilities that Ken will now have."

Fischer said Eftink's added responsibilities won't be another "layer of bureaucracy."

"Ken's already at City Hall, and he's been working with little bits and pieces in these areas for years," he said.

Harry Rediger, chairman of the chamber board of directors, said the changes at City Hall are just the type of thing he thinks will go a long way toward addressing concerns about inefficient and meddlesome permit and code enforcement policies.

"Most of the concerns that were raised by developers and contractors in the city seemed to arise more out of the permitting and inspection side of the house," Rediger said. "The city's response has been to make an effort to speed up the process and have communication back and forth to avoid unnecessary delays."

Rediger said the chamber and the special committee will be "put on call" to monitor the new procedures to see that they're adequately addressing the concerns.

"The primary concern really came down to using common sense," he said. "People wanted more communication and better customer service.

"The city needs to realize that the builder and developer knocking on the door are the customer. They need to perform for them and treat them as a customer."

Rediger said the chamber had heard an increasing number of complaints about the city's building permit and inspections department. He said one of the recurring themes was that development in out-county areas exceeded city development because of inefficiencies in the department.

"That was the thrust of why the chamber wanted to get involved," he said. "We felt that with the word we were hearing, that was taking place or about to take place -- that people would take their show elsewhere."

Delays in the building permit process is something that costs everybody, Rediger said.

"Delays involve cost," he said. "It's going to affect every consumer involved, from the person paying the bill to the contractor doing the work."

Eftink said he will now coordinate the plan review process to assure that the person proposing the development understands the required procedures.

For example, when a large commercial project comes to City Hall, building plans must be sent to a number of departments: inspections, planning and engineering.

"My job is to make sure the information gets to all these different departments and that work gets done," Eftink said.

He said the changes will help new developers in particular and those people who don't go through the permit and inspection process often.

"Most local developers are familiar with the system and know what they need to do to get the job done," Eftink said. "I think I'll be helping the person who's not familiar with the process.

"Maybe it's someone new in town, or someone who hasn't built anything for a few years and isn't up to speed on some of the new regulations and code changes."

Fischer said the city's goal is for a 15-day turn-around in commercial plan reviews -- the most complicated and time-consuming. For residential plan reviews, the turn-around is 24 hours.

Fischer said the plan review process helps avoid problems on the job site.

"If we can identify something that's wrong in the plan review, then they won't have to go through the hassle and expense of changing something after it's already done on the site," he said.

Eftink said he also will be responsible for monitoring city inspection procedures to make certain it's a "reasonable process."

"Ken may find some hurdles that don't need to be there," Fischer added.

Eftink said: "We want to make the process as easy as possible without jeopardizing the plan review and code enforcement."

Fischer said that although it's important to help developers through the process, the building code requirements are needed to protect consumers from shoddy construction.

"It's geared toward health, safety and welfare," he said. "When you move into a community, and they tell you your house has been built to code, that's some security."

Eftink said that by developing a "team" between contractors, developers and city officials, property owners can be protected while developers won't be sent elsewhere.

"The developer's goal is to develop property for a profit," he said. "Ours is for the betterment of the community.

"It is more expensive to develop because of regulations, but the long-term benefit to the community is what's at stake. We're not going to change the regulations, but if there's a problem, we are going to help them with that."