Building in American Fork
American Fork has come under fire for its allegedly cumbersome permitting processes.
In February, the Utah Valley Home Builders Association released a (nonscientific, by their admission) report which placed American Fork near the bottom of the list for plat and project approval, permit approval and inspections. (See Caleb Warnock's article here.)
In March, the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties released results from a (scientific, by their assertion) report which awarded American Fork an 'F' for industrial development and a 'D' for office development. (See Jasen Lee's article here.)
Technically, this is not my department -- administration falls under the mayor's purview -- but I do keep tabs on the situation. Frustratingly, I have not been able to form a conclusion.
On the one hand, I hear a lot of complaints. I even heard of a developer who will not develop in American Fork unless his clients pony up an extra $5K.
On the other hand, I've been told by some developers that AF is no better and no worse than any other city. I've been told by others that American Fork does a superlative job, and by still others that AF has made a positive turn-around in recent years.
For their part, staff insists that delays only happen when developers fail to submit complete information. They're doing their job, they say, to protect the City's residents from poor development.
Given the situation, you can imagine my anxiety when I was invited last week to the first annual Utah Valley Economic Summit, presented by the Utah Valley Home Builders Association.
I sat down to lunch wearing a name tag which, I felt sure, must have been emblazoned with a Scarlet AF.
"Where are you from?" my table mates asked.
"I can't say," I said. When pressed, however, I let it all spill. "I'm Heidi from American Fork where we have planning and approving dysfunction and we're at the bottom of your list.
"Home builders are friends, not food," I added.
"That's okay," said the home builder across the table, consolingly. "You're not at the bottom of our list any more," he said. "You're below the bottom."
But then he felt compelled to say one more thing.
"I'll say this for American Fork," he said. "When your building inspectors have signed off on one my homes, I never lose a minute's sleep over it.
"I know without question," he said, "that building is sound."
With that I leave you, gentle reader, to draw your own conclusions.
In February, the Utah Valley Home Builders Association released a (nonscientific, by their admission) report which placed American Fork near the bottom of the list for plat and project approval, permit approval and inspections. (See Caleb Warnock's article here.)
In March, the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties released results from a (scientific, by their assertion) report which awarded American Fork an 'F' for industrial development and a 'D' for office development. (See Jasen Lee's article here.)
Technically, this is not my department -- administration falls under the mayor's purview -- but I do keep tabs on the situation. Frustratingly, I have not been able to form a conclusion.
On the one hand, I hear a lot of complaints. I even heard of a developer who will not develop in American Fork unless his clients pony up an extra $5K.
On the other hand, I've been told by some developers that AF is no better and no worse than any other city. I've been told by others that American Fork does a superlative job, and by still others that AF has made a positive turn-around in recent years.
For their part, staff insists that delays only happen when developers fail to submit complete information. They're doing their job, they say, to protect the City's residents from poor development.
Given the situation, you can imagine my anxiety when I was invited last week to the first annual Utah Valley Economic Summit, presented by the Utah Valley Home Builders Association.
I sat down to lunch wearing a name tag which, I felt sure, must have been emblazoned with a Scarlet AF.
"Where are you from?" my table mates asked.
"I can't say," I said. When pressed, however, I let it all spill. "I'm Heidi from American Fork where we have planning and approving dysfunction and we're at the bottom of your list.
"Home builders are friends, not food," I added.
"That's okay," said the home builder across the table, consolingly. "You're not at the bottom of our list any more," he said. "You're below the bottom."
But then he felt compelled to say one more thing.
"I'll say this for American Fork," he said. "When your building inspectors have signed off on one my homes, I never lose a minute's sleep over it.
"I know without question," he said, "that building is sound."
With that I leave you, gentle reader, to draw your own conclusions.
posted by Heidi Rodeback at 2:14 PM
1 Comments:
Having discussed these kinds of issues with my brother, a city planner for Provo; it is the job of the city to make sure that developers meet code and zoning requirements, not win popularity contests. If a city is popular with developers, then it is not doing its job. You end up with mount rushmore peaking out over the freeway.
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