Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Building Permits topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Bluff staff outline changes to land-use clearance process and new enforcement letters for unpermitted work
Summary
Town of Bluff building staff proposed administratively folding many residential land-use clearances into the building-permit process, keeping commercial projects separate, and adopting an immediate cease-and-desist approach for future unpermitted work while issuing one-time release-of-liability letters for recent, completed projects.
Amanda Podmore, chair of the Town of Bluff Planning and Zoning Commission, and town staff on April 17 discussed changes to how the town handles land-use clearances and enforcement of unpermitted construction.
The change under discussion would make separate land-use clearances unnecessary for most residential projects by handling land-use checks inside the building-permit review. Kristen Bushnell, permit technician for the building department, said, “All applicants have to first obtain a land use clearance, including residential. Like, everything goes through land use clearance prior to applying.” Bushnell and other staff proposed keeping a separate land-use clearance (LUC) process for commercial or industrial projects while streamlining residential permits into the building application.
Why it matters: the building department enforces a 14-day review window from application to approving or denying a permit. Requiring a separate LUC for every residential application reduced that effective window, staff said. The change would cut duplication for routine residential work while preserving planning commission review for larger or commercial uses.
Discussion and concerns: Planning commissioners largely supported a practical split between residential and commercial reviews but raised concerns about fees and concentration of authority. Commissioner Marcia Havenfelt said she was “still concerned that someone has to pay $200 for an LUC,” and worried that fee costs could deter small business applicants. Commissioners also debated whether assigning a single commissioner to sign off on simple LUCs would be appropriate; several commissioners worried that designating one person could shift the workload or omit needed group review on borderline cases.
Town manager Erin Nelson said the building department’s administrative role is expanding to handle routine determinations and noted the office has contracted a qualified building official to interpret state code. Nelson said of that official, “He has all the certifications,” and that final determinations about whether permits are required will rest with the qualified official and building staff.
Enforcement and retroactive cases: Staff presented two approaches for dealing with ongoing or completed work that occurred before the town’s local permitting system was established. For recently completed projects, staff said the town plans to offer a one-time “release of liability” letter that acknowledges work was performed but states the town did not inspect or approve it; staff described that letter as a limited, one-time measure for pre-existing construction. For any new or continuing work without a permit, staff proposed an immediate cease-and-desist approach: properties must stop work and start the permitting process before continuing. Kristen Bushnell described the town’s intended compromise for older projects: “We are not going to charge people 2 times the building permit fee as that penalty. We'll just pretend like they just started and and move on from there,” while also saying the town will move to cease-and-desist for ongoing unpermitted work going forward.
Tracking and public transparency: The building department will publish a monthly tracking sheet of permit activity and can provide a live OneDrive link to commissioners so they can confirm whether an observed site has a current permit. Staff noted their records go back to a county archive only to February 2019; older records are not in the current online system.
Next steps and reporting: Commissioners asked staff to report the proposed administrative change (residential LUCs handled inside building permits; commercial LUCs retained) to the mayor. Amanda Podmore said she would relay the commission’s discussion to the mayor. Staff said they will refine the enforcement letter language with the town attorney and begin sending the one-time release-of-liability letters to qualifying, already-completed projects.
Ending: Staff and commissioners agreed to implement internal administrative steps first (no ordinance changes required) and to revisit the approach after the change has been used for several months. The building department will continue to send a standing update to the commission at the first monthly meeting and to provide the permit-tracking link on request.
