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County staff report plan-review delays under SafeBuilt contract; new building inspector in place
Summary
LaSalle County staff told the Land Use Committee that off-site plan reviews by contractor SafeBuilt are slowing permit turnaround and rejecting items tied to deleted or nonadopted code sections; staff introduced Matt Rogers as the new building inspector who is handling in-house reviews as needed.
LaSalle County staff told the Land Use Committee that plan-review work being performed off-site by contractor SafeBuilt has caused delays and some rejections tied to code sections the county has not adopted.
Brian (last name not provided), the county planner, said many plan-review rejections cite energy-code items the county did not adopt and other sections that were deleted from the county code. "They're rejecting some for the energy code, which we didn't adopt, so that's been straightened out. But now, they're rejecting them for not having some things detailed on plans, which they're citing different sections of the code, which we actually deleted those sections out of the code when we adopted it," Brian said.
Brian said SafeBuilt reviews are supposed to return a review within five days and have five days to review a resubmittal, per the contract, but multiple rejections and resubmittals have extended turnaround time. He described about 15 permits currently held up in review and said he has been working with SafeBuilt daily to resolve the discrepancies. "So some of these, you know, they've had 2 or 3 rejections... it's taking time for the people to get what they're asking for," Brian said.
The committee was introduced to Matt Rogers, the department's new building inspector. Brian said Rogers works Monday, Wednesday and Friday and has been responsive to calls on off days. "He's been pretty responsive, and I think he'll be a good inspector," Brian said.
Why it matters: slower plan-review turnaround can delay construction starts and increase costs for permit applicants; repeated off-site rejections tied to nonadopted code provisions create extra work for county staff and applicants.
Committee comments and next steps: Members asked whether plan review is performed in person; staff said the reviews are sent to SafeBuilt for off-site review. Brian said that if the arrangement continues to delay projects, the county may consider alternative approaches or resume some plan-review work in-house to reduce backlog. The committee also flagged plan-review performance as a factor to weigh when considering a proposed building-fee schedule change.
No formal action was taken at the meeting beyond placing construction, enforcement and IDPA inspection reports on file; staff said they will return with updates next month or when they have options for addressing the plan-review delays.
