Nashville Market Makers hosted its first event this year which featured The Metro Codes Department. The event was sponsored by Anderson & Catania, True North Advisory, Thompson & Burton, CLA, KCI, C.B Ragland Company, and CityNowNext.
“Bill Herbert, Director of Metro Codes, captured the significance of this Nashville Market Makers breakfast and panel discussion perfectly when describing the large number of senior-level decision-makers at the event. ‘I am stunned by the attendance this morning,’ he remarked,” said Chris Smith, Nashville Market Makers Co-Founder and a Senior Surety Broker at Anderson & Catania Surety Services.
The panel was moderated by Emily Lamb, an attorney with Thompson & Burton and led by the new codes Director Bill Herbert who left the department two years ago and returned at the request of Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell. He emphasized the need for better coordination amongst all reviewing departments during the permitting process and announced the upcoming formation of an advisory over the next few months. The goal of the advisory is to listen to the pain points and find ways to address them amongst the reviewing parties to streamline the process. Here’s a rundown of highlights from the event:
“The panel and breakfast discussion offered unparalleled insight into the best ways to navigate Metro’s permitting process as well as the changes on the horizon that will continue to improve Metro’s development services. I’m immensely grateful to the Metro Codes panelists who have been at the forefront of all development in the city for more than 60 years collectively. Their advice and expertise was impactful for all in attendance who are some of the city’s preeminent development partners.”
Emily Lamb, Attorney at Thompson & Burton
Metrics For Permit Review & Processing.
Metro Codes tracks the performance of its processes and creates a report monthly that captures items such as turnaround time for plan review, compensation, number inspections that were performed and a host of development services it provides. Those reports are run each month and reported to the Mayor’s Office. Typically, Metro Code reviews take between 4-8 weeks depending on staffing, however that doesn’t include time for other reviewing departments such as NES which is not a Metro Department. Review times also depend on the zoning and/or overlay corridors. The Director noted that the Codes Department is far from perfect, but is working with the resources it has.
Ways To Reduce Processing Delays.
Steve Mishu acknowledged that Nashville has some of the best engineers in the country and his first recommendation would be to use a local Architect and Engineer. From there to take advantage of scheduling pre-application meetings with the different departments. In preparation for those meetings start with high-quality plans, get to a level detail, and develop a project plan. The biggest thing to know in the beginning is how you want to turn the project over. That will help develop a permitting scheme and guidance for Codes to follow. For example, knowing if you want to occupy the parking garage or retail before the rest of the project is complete.
Review Continuity During Staff Turnover.
The Director noted that the Codes Department experienced virtually zero growth, while Nashville was growing exponentially, and that made it hard on its staff. As a government entity they cannot simply create positions that weren’t funded in the previous budget. He further explained that they obtained lots of data and hired outside consultants to look at not only Metro Codes but other departments. The result of the study concluded that they were operating at 50% of the number of required personnel based on comparable cities nationwide. Metro Codes was able to provide additional positions included in the last budget year. As it relates to training, he emphasized that this is a slow process, however, they are closer to getting the staffing numbers where they need to be. One thing that’s out of their control is new employees that leave for higher pay in the private sector once they are trained and get experience. He also expressed that they are working to provide better pay and benefits to create that continuity.
Potential Challenges With Upcoming State Legislation.
A lot of what’s in that bill are things we are already doing such as allowing 3rd Party Plan Reviewers and inspectors. As it relates to the review portal, a proposal which allows governments to dictate the review time, Metro Codes notes that the only issue is that it doesn’t consider review by others when they have to make changes. For example, if a plan is submitted at day 29 of a 30-day review, it wouldn’t give the department adequate time to review and comment.
Use of Permit Expediters.
Codes recommends the use of permit expediters but noted that it doesn’t necessarily expedite or speed up the process. However, it probably will save the contractors time from having their own employees come in and sit there all day. Permit Expediters can build relationships with some of the codes staff and subsequently get a better understanding of the process. It gives the departments a single point of contact which can be beneficial during the review process.
For more on the codes department, the advisory, and other upcoming changes check out their website using the link (here).
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