Had an interesting discussion with someone via the Plugoo widget over in the sidebar. See that chat box over on the right side? If I’m online, you can chat with me there.
Okay, back to the discussion.
The visitor was asking initially about whether he needed a permit to install a shed in his yard. If I look at the Pima County development services site, it says you don’t need a permit for a storage shed that is 1 story in height and is less than 200 sq ft in floor area. However, you still need to obey zoning, setback, association, and deed restrictions, as they may restrict the installation, location, or design of a shed.
It led him to an interesting question:
What’s my incentive to get a permit, other than to "do the right thing?"
There’s the whole needing to obey the law aspect of going through the permit application process, but is there really any *incentive*? I guess if you’ve got a neighbor that complains about a permitted shed, then maybe they would have no recourse against you - whereas if you had an unpermitted shed and a disgruntled neighbor calls out development services, perhaps you’d be spending a chunk of money to bring it up to standards or tearing it down. Is that an incentive? Every reason I can think of to get a permit is more about avoiding punishment instead of a tangible reward.
I headed over to pimaxpress.com, the Pima County Development Services site, and found this: the top 25 requested permits for Pima County.
Jeez - if I’m reading this correctly, you need a permit to re-roof a house, to relocate a sink, to install a new water heater, to replace a window, to remodel a bathroom.
March 18th, 2008 at 8:09 am
There’s no real direct incentive to have you get a permit, but you have a definte benefit in other people getting a permit. That way work is inspected.
Aren’t you glad that the houses in your neighborhood aren’t made of straw with exposed wiring. Trust me, thats how some contractors would build them without inspections.
I’d be pissed if the new roof from the house next door lifted off in merely forty knot winds and slammed into my house.
March 18th, 2008 at 10:44 am
Athol - I do see the larger picture, but this is still somewhat the wild west out here in many ways. I’m not questioning permits for larger projects, but some of those things on the list seem silly to me. A permit to replace a light fixture? My contractor friend tells me you need a permit to replace a toilet. Can you imagine the burden on the city if they actually inspected every light fixture replaced? You’d be waiting years to get a permit and final approval.
March 18th, 2008 at 8:45 pm
Kelley,
Your dead on when you write about the getting permits for large sized jobs or complex modifications. But little jobs, come on! Several years ago, the city of San Jose wanted me to pay a $125.00 permit fee to replace a $110.00 toilet. We’re talking replace, not move or re-pipe. Does that make any sense? And as far as the inspectors signing off on a project, I’ve had several come out to various jobs and not even look at the work and sign it off. Or worse yet, I had several inspectors contradict each other and make my client’s do un-necessary (and expensive) repairs before they would sign off on the permit. Who makes sure that the inspector’s know what they are doing?
March 19th, 2008 at 7:52 am
To assure you the homeowner had a service provided that meets county requirements. Wouldn’t you be mad if you had an addition done and 2 months later roof caves in. An inspector from the county follows the building process signing off on each step with approval or no approval till resolved.
The bad part is permit have gone up significantly in price.
March 19th, 2008 at 8:36 am
I am actually trying to build a shed and had been using the same websites you linked. However, when I went downtown, I was told that the size spec for sheds exempt from permits had changed. Instead of 200 sq ft….it’s 120 sq ft.
March 19th, 2008 at 10:10 am
I think permits are very appropriate for additions and large projects. When it comes to replacing a light fixture or toilet - is the county supposed to tag everyone that walks out of Home Depot with one of those in their cart?
As an agent, I can’t advise people to not get a permit when I know one is required. The practical part of me wonders if enforcing the permit rules is even possible. I’d venture to guess 96% of all houses I’ve seen in Tucson have needed permits and not gotten them, by that standard.
March 20th, 2008 at 8:19 am
Watch how close you put the shed to the property line. I know someone who got the permit and ended up being 2 inches to close to the property line and they had to move it. It had a cement slab and that was great had to cut it out and add to the other side.
March 21st, 2008 at 8:42 am
The reason many permit toilets is that the standard changed in many communities and went to low flow systems to save water and this was one way to ensure any retro fits did the same as new construction. There is a grand plan to the county maddness believe it or not.
March 22nd, 2008 at 8:59 am
You are right many permits allow new standards in a county to be implemented and they have come to these conclusions since the original parcel was built on.