September 25, 2007With Milton's ample space and affluent communities, single-family homes can reach into the $1 million-plus range and be more complex than most commercial properties.This concerns Director of Community Development Tom Wilson. Naturally, before any new commercial structure can go up, the city is involved from inception to make sure the building meets all city codes. But when it comes to residential homes, the city only issues post-construction occupancy permits – a leftover from Fulton County.And it appears Milton is in the minority. In the immediate metro area, only Roswell and Sandy Springs do not provide residential plan reviews.At the Sept. 13 City Council work session, Wilson brought the idea of an "architectural review" for single family homes before council to see if he should move forward with it."This is not just something I want to do," he said. "This is something a responsible community services department does."
'This is something a responsible community services department does.'Tom WilsonDirector of Community Development
Wilson said Milton can probably conduct the reviews at no added cost to the city and no delays to the permitting cycle – it's already covered in the CH2M HILL OMI contract.John Walker works with the Community Development Department. He said the city already receives basic plans for homes for occupancy permits, so the process would take only about 3 to 5 days. That time would run concurrently with the permitting process already in place."We don't want this to be an impediment. You'll hear it will slow down the project, but I feel like we can do this in the same window," he said. "We can catch problems mid-stream."Mayor Joe Lockwood questioned the fees associated with the review. Walker said one idea was that it could be fixed at 50 percent of the building permit – the fee associated with commercial construction. Wilson said that was just a convenient starting point, and that the fee should only recoup the cost of the actual inspection – nothing more."Obviously, there will be a backlash [from developers], and it will be cost," Lockwood said.Walker consented that while there might be an added cost, home buyers really get better value in the long run."[We see the outside home] but what about the things in the walls?" he said. "The citizens are getting the short end of the stick."Council members Karen Thurman and Bill Lusk agreed.Thurman said while it seems like a good idea, the message might be lost when the issue of added cost pops up."We have to be very careful this is not presented as more big government," she said.Lusk said the way he saw it, the aim was life safety issues, not generating extra fees or revenues."If we bill ourselves as a safe area, we have to build safe structures, too," he said.Councilman Neal O'Brien said he wished a city inspection would have been in place during his home construction."Any home builder knows stairs have to be taken out, driveways cut," he said. "Maybe this can be a selling point for some citizens."With council's blessing, Wilson is now getting feedback from local developers and home buyers associations.
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Brian Vanderhoff @ 5:57 PM
