Buffalo Rising Online

Does the City have a third-party plan check/review option? Plans are sent to a consultant for review and approval, the applicant picks up the cost. Here's the program I'm familiar with:

Third-Party Plan Review Program

To help permit applicants who want to expedite their plan review process, the Placer County Building Department has established a third-party plan review process. An applicant may contract with a Department-approved third-party plan review firm for their services. The Building Department will accept third-party approvals by these firms for the specific purpose of issuing a building permit.

This service is offered for the convenience of the applicant, who would pay the fee charged by the third-party firm. The third-party firm's fee does not replace any fees charged by the county. Any errors and/or omissions discovered on the plans when received by the Placer County Building Department would be the responsibility of the third-party firm and will not waive or modify any code requirements.

As someone who's worked in local government, and in the community, I've been on both sides of the table - this kind of proactive approach coupled with follow through is exactly what's needed to move toward change in any large, unwieldy bureaucracy or process. Don't overlook your neighbors to the east (in My Fair City) as a resource for best practices - although Rochester isn't Buffalo, and we still have a long way to go here, we've made significant strides in recent years in terms of process, quality service, management, and responsiveness at City Hall in areas like this. They say "you can't fight City Hall", but my experience is that concerted effort can bring about change, especially with inside help from enlightened leadership - looks like that's what you're doing there.

Good connections between the two city halls are Wade Norwood, former Rochester city councilmember and mayoral candidate, currently on Buffalo's control board, and Chuck Thomas, formerly a Buffalo planner and current planning director in Rochester.

In recent years both of Our Fair Cities have faced frightening budget shortfalls which only seem to grow larger - my view is that both of our cities can benefit from the cost-effective approach of learning from each other and sharing best practices for improving the quality, efficiency, and effectiveness of local government.

If I'm not mistaken, in NYC an architect or engineer can self-certify certain kinds of work.

Has anyone ever been down to the bldg permit office, to apply for a building permit...Id rather go to the dentist. IT seem that "some personnel" find one reason or another why the permit cant be given that same day. There's always some piece of missing info needed to complete the application..even when you're think that you have all the proper documents needed to get it. I have NEVER been issued the permit needed on the FIRST VISIT!! Always some missing documentation or even a reason why, because it doesnt meet code or setback, or you must apply for variance, or this side of building plan is not stamped. Am I surprised that I have seen a few pissed off people walking out of the permit office?? Not likely. There are a couple of inspectors who seem to go out of their way to assist..but when I get the "luck of the draw" I ask for another insp. and wait until they're available. This dept could use some "user friendly" assistance.

Wendes Jones - Very good article and efforts you're making.

The meeting sounds like a positive step, but it also sounds like things are moving very slowly about all this. It's a bad sign that they wouldn't commit to any changes or to having an ongoing dialogue with end citizen customers of the system.

Artvoice this week says Mr. Tobe was been removed early this month from a 3-person panel charged with modernizing the permit and inspection practices, and implies this was due to him falling out of favor with Brown-Casey:

At the beginning of this month, Commissioner of Economic Development and Permit and Inspection Services Rich Tobe, perpetually falling out of favor with the city’s ruling consuls, Mayor Byron Brown and First Deputy Mayor Steve Casey, was removed from a three-person panel charged with reviewing best practices for modernizing the city’s permit and inspection services.

Also removed was Robert Leach, the commissioner of Management Information Systems who was acrimoniously canned last Friday, escorted from City Hall by two police officers.

... [Finance Commissioner Janet] Penska remains on the best practices panel; Tobe and Leach were replaced by Jim Comerford, Tobe’s deputy commissioner, and Brian Reilly, the city’s hire for the newly created position of Chief Economic Development Officer.

Whole thing here.

Maybe that's why Tobe couldn't commit to anything, but the deputy commissioner should have. (Presumably the deputy at your meeting was the same one who replaced Tobe on the panel.)

The Brown admin has been in office over two years. They seem to agree there's big problems with permits and inspections. Somebody there should take some accountability for speeding up system changes and push for welcoming public input and feedback about it all. Common Council members should be pushing for this too and asking questions.

Might be a good idea to email links to this BR article and the previous one to the three panel members, Mr. Comerford, Ms. Penska, and Mr. Reilly. It would be nice if one of them would write a guest article here or elsewhere about what they have in mind.

I've never seen anything to suggest that Tobe's not completely committed to Buffalo. He is a far cry from Wannamaker, who was essentially a journeyman economic development/planning professionalo, moving from place to place and moving up the ladder - not that there is anything wrong with that so long as the individual in question is qualified.

Tobe not looking to move from Buffalo.

Please inform him that D'Youville College is develpment gone wild. There needs to be a Master Plan for this institnution. Fargo Avenue must not be a replica of downtown Main St.

The speeding from D'Youville College on Fargo Avenue does not justify closing our street.

D'Youville College DOES NOT make the surrounding neighborhood safer.

Just this week on Fargo a house was broken into in broad day light and robbed. The criminals probably went over the back fence past two of D'Youville's security cameras.

Last night at approximately 2230 hours an attempt was made to break my front window. This happened when my wife and I were in our living room. The last time this happened it invoved an incident that started at the college with one of my tenants.

In the last three days there have been multiple police reponses on Fargo AVenue, with three to four cars, at a time, on tihis street.

It is outrageously dangerous to even consider closing Fargo Avenue between Porter and Connecticut streets to motor vehicles. Happy Easter D'Youville College please don't assist in making our street a more lawless place to live. If it takes the police, fire, and ambulances longer to go north or south on Fargo Ave then people were be harmed or killed needlessly.

We don't commute here daily. We live here year rund and pay our city taxes every year..

1. D"Youville is a good neighbor, even if you've had some difficulties. It's a big part of the reason that the neighborhood is improving, and it's likely the only entity in the area that will actually have its calls returned by City Hall. It's good to have that kind of power in our neighborhood. Closing off a block of Fargo will have no appreciable effect on anyone, except encouraging the school to continue growing.

2. Are there any serious, ongoing organized efforts to pressure the city to change its permit and real estate departments? One-off meetings may be nice, but won't change anything. How are we going to make ourselves such a threat that they have to give us the changes we want?

We have the same problem with Medaille - students blast through the stop sign at our street have caused several near accidents - complaints to the college go unanswered, campus security does nothing either. I think in a few more years our neighborhood will go from a great residential area to a college ghetto - courtesy of Medaille. The worst part is that its a complete joke of a college!

Hilbert - check! Daemen - check! If pointing out that a college isn't known for the quality of it's academic programs makes me a dick - so be it!