“Sherlook could save us days in drive time to outlying areas of the county,” said Muir. “Hopefully, some customers will even be able to get same-day service from request to inspection. We think it will be particularly useful for re-inspections, where we only need to check that required changes have been made, or give advice on the spot.”
Muir has turned to creativity in lieu of other resources over the last several lean years.
“With the downturn of the economy, our department went from a staff of 25 down to six,” he said. “We are now hiring again, and up to 20, but we’re still always looking for good ideas.”
Evenings and Saturdays are now available, by appointment, for homeowners to schedule permit inspections, through another recent innovation which Muir calls “Tik Tok.”
“This means homeowners making improvements don’t have to miss a day of work just to have their project inspected,” he said. Tik Tok is particularly designed for home remodeling; heating, cooling and plumbing repairs and replacements; and window, roof and siding replacements.
More recent changes and innovations within the department include:
“Smart Permitting,” which allows trade contractors to purchase permits in books of ten for a reduced cost, with spot inspections by the department on the projects.
Reduced pricing for minor repair permits for less than 16 square feet and simple structure permits for less than 750 square feet, such as adding a garage, carport, deck, or patio cover. Homeowners can also now get water heater permits at the trade rate of $66.
The new “Fresh Start” policy, which “allows landlords to get current certificates of occupancy and get on track for future tenants,” Muir said.
Working with the Greater Vancouver Chamber of Commerce, the department has broken tenant improvement permits into categories, which Muir said, better fit each job and better match fees to scale.
“We trying to make it easier on everyone,” he added, “including ourselves.”
For more information about the county’s new video option, email sherlook@clark.wa.gov.
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