As the Growth Coalition reported in past newsletters, the City-Parish sought to supplement its permitting workforce by soliciting proposals from private third-party reviewers. The City-Parish received only three proposals which have recently been rejected. Two of the contractors requested a retainer to provide the services to the permit office.
Having abandoned contracting directly with third parties, the City-Parish has agreed to create an expedited review process. Upon submission by a qualified third-party, there will be an expedited plan review. The City Parish has agreed to complete the plan review within seven business days for a single family residential projects and 21 business days for a commercial project. Responses to review comments will be addressed in three business days for both commercial and residential projects. The City-Parish is considering an up charge for access to this process. The initial suggestion has been a plan review fee of two times the current rate to access to expedited review. This is currently under review.
Applicants electing to utilize this service may select any third party provider from the state approved list found at
https:lasfm.louisiana.gov/searchlsuccc.aspx. Upon completion of the technical code review by the third party provider, the applicant shall provide the Permit & Inspection Division with a digital copy of the approved plans along with a signed statement from the third party provider stating that the plans for the proposed work are compliant with all applicable state-mandated building codes.
The Baton Rouge Growth Coalition has continued to work with the City-Parish on this issue. If you have any questions or comments please contact
Larry Bankston.