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Resident attorney urges faster permit review for accessible affordable home; city says queue is shrinking
Summary
An attorney for a property owner said a single‑family accessible home submitted in October remains far back in the city’s review queue; city staff said a second reviewer was recently hired and that the queue is shortening as the new hire is trained.
At the Feb. 25 meeting, an attorney representing property owner Kevin Bristow told Fountain City Council that a residential building plan submitted in early October is stalled in the zoning review queue and may face long delays that could jeopardize a construction loan.
The attorney said the submittal was initially reported as number 54 in the queue and more recently as number 52, and that without faster processing the project — a single‑family, wheelchair‑accessible home the owner intends as affordable housing — could be delayed for years. He said staff had been responsive in discussing the situation but that the client sought the council’s awareness and any assistance to move the relatively small project ahead of longer commercial reviews.
City staff acknowledged the backlog and said the city has been actively trying to hire additional reviewers. Todd (city staff) and Mr. Buffkin (city legal or department staff) told the council a second reviewer, Tajali Mangle, was hired from Texas and is being trained; staff said the queue has been shortening as training proceeds. The city manager’s office relayed that the building/zoning group has been understaffed and that hiring has been difficult for more than a year.
The council did not take any immediate formal action at the meeting but asked staff to continue to prioritize workflow improvements and to work directly with the property owner and his legal representative to identify potential steps to move the project forward. The owner’s attorney said the client has a construction loan that will become due and needs progress to satisfy the lender.
Staff also said they had considered whether the board of adjustment could help, but the attorney said a board of adjustment was not active in Fountain at the time. Council and staff reiterated they would follow up with the attorney and owner to logistically advance the application.
No vote or formal directive to change queue order was recorded; the matter remains an ongoing staff workload and coordination issue.
