The Snowflake Planning & Zoning, and Building Department has only one part-time employee, so it is reactive rather than proactive, Dale Call advised the town council Dec. 13 during his annual report.
The Snowflake Planning and Zoning Commission meets only if there is an agenda item, and so held just five meetings during 2016. The commission recommended approval of two rezones, five special use permits and a variance.
There have been 28 property complaints, resulting in 13 follow-up letters and 34 contacts with the violating parties.
Call sent five informational reports to the State Demographers Office, three floodplain verification letters and had 27 communications with Navajo County for records verification. He had one report of annexations and boundary changes to the U.S. Census.
He has had numerous contacts and phone calls from realtors, contractors and private parties regarding issues such as zoning, property splits, property combinations, property setbacks, ingress/egress easements, septic and sewer availability.
“It has been slow since the housing bust,” said Call, noting he spends most of his time on code compliance and questions from realtors.
He has issued 100 building permits, including two the week of Dec. 12-16. Those permits include 27 utility permits for gas lines and electrical panels being replaced or repaired; three signs; three residential repairs; two residential remodels; and 12 residential new constructions. He has one set of plans for which he will issue another permit by the end of 2016, two residential manufactured homes, four residential additions, 18 residential accessory structures such as sheds, barns and detached garages, two fences or decks, four commercial repairs, six commercial remodels, four commercial new constructions, four commercial additions and two commercial accessory structures.
There have been 66 completed building permits during 2016 and 34 permits remain in progress.
Call has sent 12 information reports to McGraw Hill, the compiler of national permit statistics.
He noted that there are approximately 10 inspections conducted for each new residential structure, five for residential accessory structures, and one or two for minor permits.
Call said that the housing market is beginning to come back, but rural areas are slower to recover than urban. There are fewer homes on the market now and rentals are getting difficult to find, so new construction is increasing.
