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Neil Streech, right, building inspector and plans examiner for the Roseburg Community Development Department, looks over blueprints with Jeff King, superintendent for JohnsonBuilt Homes, to compare them with completed work on a unit being built in Rose Village in Roseburg Monday.
Last spring, in the midst of Mercy Medical Center’s expansion project, Roseburg’s Community Development Department was having a hard time keeping pace.
Building permits for the hospital were flooding in at the same time the housing boom was taking the department by storm.
With Mercy officials calling frequently to check on the status of their permits, the Douglas County building department lent a helping hand.
“I didn’t hear another word from the hospital,” said Eric Swanson, who’d recently taken over as city manager.
Since then, city officials have worked to improve the efficiency of the development department. They’ve focused on customer service and added a couple staff members.
But with building continuing full force, officials still see room for improvement.
The city formed a Quality Control Review Committee in December to brainstorm ways to help the planning and building process move more smoothly.
The group of city officials, developers and builders is examining the possibility of contracting more of the city’s building services to the county on a regular basis.
“They’ve got a much larger team,” Swanson said.
The committee is figuring out how the city and the county would coordinate planning and building functions effectively.
One idea is to have the county issue building permits and do inspections once a plan has gone through the city’s planning division and committees. For example, if someone submits a plan to build in a historic district, any special requirements would need to be hashed out before the applicant would seek a permit through the county.
The city and county would need to communicate during the process and once the building is completed to make sure all conditions are met.
Former City Councilor and Mayor Doug John was in office when the city and county were working under such an agreement in the 1980s. He noted bad relationships between the city and county helped foil that plan, but said it’s possible the two entities could work better together now.
Still, John believes the city should maintain control of the building process. Although the state building code is standardized, the city does have different standards for factors like setbacks, fencing and clear vision.
“They need to be able to control and make sure those are properly enforced,” he said, adding that contracting some work to the county only when the city is too overloaded would be a better idea.
Swanson stressed that the idea is “very preliminary,” as did county officials.
“It’s way too early to speculate whether we’re part of the solution,” said Aaron Yuma, director of the county building department. “… They’re looking at all of the options to see what they can do.”
The city’s 2006-07 proposed budget document makes note of potential advantages to having the county deliver building inspection services within the city.
The other option, Swanson said, is for the city to hire enough of its own staff to meet the demand.
“The bottom line is the fees would go up,” he said.
City Hall also doesn’t have enough room, he added, to house more staff. Specialized inspectors, which the county has but the city doesn’t, are hard to come by.
Swanson said moving planning division services to the county is not on the table, though the Quality Control Review Committee is working on ideas to improve that area as well.
“We’ll always have a separate planning function,” Swanson said.
Russ Noah of R.E. Noah and Co., who’s a member of the review committee, said he’s
glad the city is addressing the overloaded Community Development Department.
If the city and county agree to work together as before, he said, it will take a lot of planning and collaboration. Whatever the solution, though, he hopes the process will be streamlined.
“I’m cautiously optimistic,” he said.
With increased development like the anticipated commercial work on Diamond Lake Boulevard and urban growth boundary expansion, Swanson said the city’s trying to get ahead of the game.
“We’re trying to be proactive,” he said.
• You can reach reporter Chelsea Duncan at 957-4246 or by e-mail at cduncan@newsreview.info.
Building permits for the hospital were flooding in at the same time the housing boom was taking the department by storm.
With Mercy officials calling frequently to check on the status of their permits, the Douglas County building department lent a helping hand.
“I didn’t hear another word from the hospital,” said Eric Swanson, who’d recently taken over as city manager.
Since then, city officials have worked to improve the efficiency of the development department. They’ve focused on customer service and added a couple staff members.
But with building continuing full force, officials still see room for improvement.
The city formed a Quality Control Review Committee in December to brainstorm ways to help the planning and building process move more smoothly.
The group of city officials, developers and builders is examining the possibility of contracting more of the city’s building services to the county on a regular basis.
“They’ve got a much larger team,” Swanson said.
The committee is figuring out how the city and the county would coordinate planning and building functions effectively.
One idea is to have the county issue building permits and do inspections once a plan has gone through the city’s planning division and committees. For example, if someone submits a plan to build in a historic district, any special requirements would need to be hashed out before the applicant would seek a permit through the county.
The city and county would need to communicate during the process and once the building is completed to make sure all conditions are met.
Former City Councilor and Mayor Doug John was in office when the city and county were working under such an agreement in the 1980s. He noted bad relationships between the city and county helped foil that plan, but said it’s possible the two entities could work better together now.
Still, John believes the city should maintain control of the building process. Although the state building code is standardized, the city does have different standards for factors like setbacks, fencing and clear vision.
“They need to be able to control and make sure those are properly enforced,” he said, adding that contracting some work to the county only when the city is too overloaded would be a better idea.
Swanson stressed that the idea is “very preliminary,” as did county officials.
“It’s way too early to speculate whether we’re part of the solution,” said Aaron Yuma, director of the county building department. “… They’re looking at all of the options to see what they can do.”
The city’s 2006-07 proposed budget document makes note of potential advantages to having the county deliver building inspection services within the city.
The other option, Swanson said, is for the city to hire enough of its own staff to meet the demand.
“The bottom line is the fees would go up,” he said.
City Hall also doesn’t have enough room, he added, to house more staff. Specialized inspectors, which the county has but the city doesn’t, are hard to come by.
Swanson said moving planning division services to the county is not on the table, though the Quality Control Review Committee is working on ideas to improve that area as well.
“We’ll always have a separate planning function,” Swanson said.
Russ Noah of R.E. Noah and Co., who’s a member of the review committee, said he’s
glad the city is addressing the overloaded Community Development Department.
If the city and county agree to work together as before, he said, it will take a lot of planning and collaboration. Whatever the solution, though, he hopes the process will be streamlined.
“I’m cautiously optimistic,” he said.
With increased development like the anticipated commercial work on Diamond Lake Boulevard and urban growth boundary expansion, Swanson said the city’s trying to get ahead of the game.
“We’re trying to be proactive,” he said.
• You can reach reporter Chelsea Duncan at 957-4246 or by e-mail at cduncan@newsreview.info.
