MARIN ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® CALLS FOR COUNTY-WIDE
BUILDING PERMIT AMNESTY PROGRAMS
Overview
Based on the success of Novato’s
building permit amnesty program, which generated tens of thousands
of dollars in revenue for that city, the Marin Association of
REALTORS® (MAR) is calling on all other county, city, and town
governments across Marin County to implement similar programs for
homeowners and property owners within the next 18 months.
In addition, MAR
is:
· Conducting a
year-round public service campaign to educate the public about the
criteria for obtaining building permits in their
communities
· Seeking to
work with elected officials throughout Marin County to help promote
and publicize their amnesty programs to the public and the real
estate community.
Our reason for
supporting these important projects is simple: we want to work with
all local governments to help improve the quality of life in Marin
County.
Benefits and
Advantages of Building Permit Amnesty Programs
· Building
permit amnesty programs may generate additional revenue for local
governments, make properties more marketable, and provide
peace-of-mind to prospective home buyers
· Communities
can use amnesty programs to encourage homeowners to bring second
units up to local legal standards, thus adding needed code-approved
housing to a tight housing market.
Novato’s Success
Story
The purpose of Novato’s building amnesty programs was
to encourage compliance with state building codes by offering
homeowners a financial incentive.
According to
Novato officials, more than 850 people participated in the city’s
two amnesty programs, which were conducted between 1998 and 2000.
After all was said and done, the city collected more than $160,000
in fees and evaluated more than $3 million worth of work.
Under provisions of the Novato programs:
·
Residents who had made repairs or improvements without first getting
the necessary building permits could have the work legalized without
paying the triple-penalty fee
·
The program did not sanction or grandfather in code violations or
waive standard building permit fees
Working Together
At
the very least, we hope elected officials will work with MAR to help
educate all residents about current building permit regulations.
Beyond that, we encourage local governments to take a serious look
at Novato’s successful building permit amnesty program and, if
appropriate, customize and implement it in their communities.
For those public officials who are concerned about utilizing
staff resources to implement building permit amnesty programs, we
hope they will consider hiring qualified temporary workers or
contracting out the projects to appropriate companies and experts.
It
would be beneficial for all parties if property owners set things
right with their local governments, and we hope elected officials
and their staffs will agree to provide taxpayers with a clean slate.
When government agencies notify MAR about any building permit
changes, we will immediately pass on this important information to
the public and our members.
MAR’s Public Service Campaign
A
focal point of MAR’s public service campaign is its new
Internet-based “building permit information center.” Located at
www.buildingpermitsmarin.com, the site serves as a gateway to
provide visitors with details about their local building permit
policies, regulations, and application procedures.
The MAR site features links to appropriate government Web
pages, scanned pages of local building permit regulations provided
by city or town officials, and phone numbers for people to call for
more information or answers to their questions.
The campaign includes:
·
A new Web site www.buildingpermitsmarin.com. The home page serves as
a portal for the building permit regulations of 11 Marin cities and
the unincorporated areas of the county. The list includes Belvedere,
Corte Madera, Fairfax, Larkspur, Mill Valley, Novato, Ross, San
Anselmo, San Rafael, Sausalito, Tiburon, and the unincorporated
areas of Marin County
·
A public information outreach effort to the members of more than 300
homeowner associations and local labor unions.
·
E-mail updates to residents who subscribe to MAR’s new “Building
Permit Alerts”
·
A series of briefing activities and materials for MAR’s 1,350
members.
If
you have any questions or require additional information about MAR’s
support for building permit amnesty programs and its public service
campaign, please do not hesitate to contact Edward Segal, MAR’s
governmental affairs director, at 507-1011 or via e-mail at Edwards@marinaor.com
.