Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Permits Inspections topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
LaSalle County reports higher-than-average March permits; staff assumes plan-review work amid Safe Built backlog
Summary
In March the county issued 36 construction permits (above the 10-year average), including three new single-family homes and one mobile home, and reported staffing changes and plan-review delays after Safe Built’s remote reviewers rejected submitted plans.
LaSalle County building and zoning staff reported at the April 2 Land Use Committee meeting that March permit activity exceeded the 10-year average and that staff are handling a plan-review backlog caused by changes in Safe Built’s plan-review workflow.
Monthly permits and inspections
The county reported 36 permits issued in March — above the 10-year average — including three new single-family houses and one mobile home; no commercial projects were reported. Staff said a number of solar permit applications continue to arrive and are detailed in the staff packet.
Inspection activity and solid-waste work
Staff reported 15 non-EPA inspections, one abandoned property opened, one closed, and two new zoning violations opened. Solid-waste inspections totaled 28 in March, with four complaint inspections, 20 reinspections and four permitted-site inspections.
Staffing and plan-review backlog
Land-use staff introduced a new environmental inspector, Emma Gerkitz, and said a new inspector contracted through Safe Built began about two weeks earlier. Staff described repeated rejections of plan submissions by Safe Built’s remote reviewers and said the county has been issuing some permits directly to clear a backlog.
"I've actually been reviewing and issuing permits because people have been waiting three weeks," staff said, adding that she will temporarily take on plan-review duties while the county negotiates how to handle remote reviews and whether the contract must change. Staff said Safe Built’s reviewers were rejecting plans for items the county does not require under state statute and that the company has reduced in-office hours for inspections. Staff warned the county may need to renegotiate the Safe Built contract or seek alternative arrangements if the current workflow delays permit issuance.
Other operational notes
Staff reminded the committee that registration opens for the county e-recycling event on April 12 and summarized a recent visit to a regional recycling facility in Plainfield that uses automated sorting. The county is monitoring new state bills related to solid-waste and compost market development and said the household hazardous-waste program remains in flux at the state level.
Ending
Staff said they would continue to process permits while negotiating a plan-review approach with Safe Built and would report back to the committee if contract changes are needed.
