BUILDING PERMITS

Taupo Times, Volume II, Issue 80, 29 July 1953, Page 5

BUILDING PERMITS

METHOD OF ISSUING The conditions under which building permits are issued are referred to by a correspondent elsewhere in this issue of the Times, the opinion being expressed that the Ton Board's Building Inspector should have authority to issue permits forthwith, instead of contractors having to wait tll their applications have been considered "by a board of non-technical members." - By-Law No. 14 provides that the Building Inspector shall issue a building permit within fourteen days if the plans and particulars supplied with the application appear to be in accordance with the by-laws. Enquiries made by "the Times from the Town Clerk show that the practice followed is for the Building Inspector to deal with all applications for building permits on a regular day each week. Where the plans, drawings or specifications submitted with the applications show that the proposed building complies with the bylaws, the Inspector advises the Town Clerk accordingly and a permit is issued at once. Where the application is for a commercial building, the plans are submitted to the Board, but only for the information of the members. If the plans are in compliance with the bylaws the permit is issued, as already outlined, and is not held up until the plans have been before the Board. The only occasions on which applications for permits are held over for the Board's consideration are those on which the plans and specifications submitted are incomplete or appear to be cont'rary to the by-laws. When this happens, the Inspector submits the application, with his report thereon. In giving the foregoing information, the Town Clerk, Mr S. Torepe,

stated that Wednesday was the day on which the Inspector dealt with applications for permits. In many of the cases in which the applications were in order, the builders lodging the applications often did not uplift their permits for several days after they were issued. In such cases a reminder that the permit was ready was sent. When permits were found by the Inspector to be contrary to the by-laws, or not sufficiently descriptive of the work to be done, the applicant was informed of the position at the first opportunity, either personally, or by telephone or letter. This enabled the applicant to amend or eomplete his plans in accordance with the by-laws with as little delay as possible.