those 2 people must have a boss... go over them. if that doesn't get it moving, contact the city manager's office. that usually makes things happen - quickly.

Many times, municipalities are hesitant to work with owners who GC a project themselves. They're used to working with contractors on whom they can somewhat rely for a certain standard of work, and despite having inspections, may not have truly competent people in those positions. I know that in my little small town that the building inspector position is one that is filled by cronyism and the BIL of the animal control guy filled one of the positions even though he had no building experience whatsoever! This all comes together to mean than owner GCing is very much discouraged and you have to really really work to get the permits by proving that you have the same knowledge that they'd expect from a contractor pulling the permit because they can't rely on the building inspector to actually be able to catch unsafe and unsound building practices. It took us a good six months to get our building permit for our shop, and we had some hoops to jump through. Maybe they were expecting "the usual kickback" and never got it? THe funny thing is that the final "inspection" took maybe five minutes with the guy just looking around admiring the structure without really looking for anything specific safety or code related. I'd always thought that most of the older homes were built better than most of the new ones, but now I'm positive that they probably are if that's how code inspections are conducted around here!

Welcome to the Bay Area!!

We won't be fully permitted until Nov/Dec we closed escrow in April, and got the plans etc to the city ASAP (May/June). After we get permitted there is a 4wk period before we actually get the permits and can begin work. Oh the joys of remodeling in a city.

You would think with our state/cities being in such disrepair that they would be chomping at the bit for every red cent they could get. I did hear a rumor that the SF city planners are approving almost every permit that they get, probably to generate revenue. Since Newsom is spending it quicker than he can generate it, that's another story!

I know in SF if you don't use an Architect or GC with a good 'relationship' with the planning department you are at a huge disadvantage. I thought that was only in SF and places like South Bay/East Bay would not have our crazy city politics.

We were really upset at first, but we are just keeping our eye on the prize, whenever it gets done. We are looking at Feb/March 2011 move in, so don't feel too discouraged!!

I feel your pain! I've worked with our architect for over 16 months before we pulled our building permits. We're converting our 1825 2 family back into a single family, gutting the kitchen and 2 baths, adding 144 square feet to the kitchen, adding a half bath and adding a 78 sq. ft. mud room. My contractor was going to pull the permit on a Wed and asked on Fri - did you sign the tree permit? I was not familiar with THAT permit and went down to city hall to get it on Mon. Since I was going to be at inspectional services anyway I decided to run my plans by the inspector. (Also, one big reason I picked my architect and contractor is that they do most of their work in our town). In our town (Newton, MA) about 15 different permits are needed. Everything was in order EXCEPT the board of alderman made an "oops" change in the zoning laws 2 months previous. Now 20% of the town's housing stock needs a special permit for any addition - even though it meets the other laws. We fell into that 20%. They said the special permit process has been "streamlined" and is "quick and doesn't cost any more than a regualar permit". It will take a minimum 4+ extra months, my neighbors all get to weigh in on my modest addition at a town public meeting and it will cost an additional $10,000! I have complained loudly. Also, once you get a special permit you have to have a special permit for any changes to the exterior including like removing a walkway, changing garage doors, etc. even though it meets all zoning codes. If you don't do exactly what's on the permit you have to change it. One guy didn't want to change his stairs and they sent him to jail (this was told to me by the special permit review board)! I haven't even started construction and have had so many headaches. In parallel I'm trying to get the alderman (24!) to make the correct changes to the zoning laws - this will allow me to procede smoothly. With summer and 24 of them this is a difficult task. I HATE town politics. We want to pour our cement before winter! Oh, did I mention I gave my tenants notice to move by last July 1st. Thank goodness they were our of town for a few weeks and didn't find anything. Oh, I did have my HVAC guy drain the 1st floor radiators so there's no heat (we're putting in central air in heat). Yes, I feel your pain!