NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 25, 1999

TOWN STREAMLINES PERMIT PROCESS FOR HOMEOWNERS, SMALL BUSINESS PERSONS

CARY, NC – The Town of Cary is helping the "Do-It Yourselfer" do it a little faster with their new SPOT program— Small Project, One-hour Turnaround. Now, citizens applying for building permits for small projects such as decks, screened porches, garages, basement and attic conversions, and additions of less than 500 sq. ft. can receive a building permit while they wait, often in under thirty minutes. Before SPOT, small project permit requests were taken on a first-come, first served basis and lumped together with all other permit requests, usually taking a couple of days to be processed.

A high proportion of the number of permit requests Cary gets each year is for small projects. During the temporary halt on new construction which has been in place in Cary since late May, these small projects have comprised the majority of permit activity in the Division.

"We’re always looking for ways to make good government a little bit better," said Cary’s Inspections & Permits Division Director Bob Strowbridge. "While building permits are very important to ensure the safety of our friends and family, the process to get them doesn’t have to be overly cumbersome."

To use SPOT, contractors and handypeople should drop by the Town’s Inspections & Permits Division customer service counter between 8:00AM & 11:00AM weekdays. Bring two sets of the completed building plans, two plot plans of the lot showing the proposed addition at a measurable scale, and funds to pay for the permit. There, you’ll be asked to complete an application with the property owner's name, contractors' names and license numbers, privilege license numbers, and proof of worker's compensation insurance, if applicable. The Town will process the permit while you wait.

"We’ve been testing the new system for about a month now, and it seems to be making a real difference in the way we can serve our citizens," said Strowbridge.

Like most other municipalities in North Carolina, Cary enforces and administers State Building Code regulations. These rules govern the types of construction activities for which permits are required. According to the Code "No person, firm or corporation shall erect, construct, enlarge, install, alter, repair, move, improve, remove, convert or demolish any building, structure, or service system without first obtaining a permit for such from the Inspections Department having jurisdiction."

The result is that, with few exceptions, a permit is required any time work is done on a building or structure, or the systems serving the structure, including plumbing, mechanical and electrical wiring.

Examples of everyday projects for which permits ARE required:

• Converting a residence to a business.
• Constructing a deck, screened porch, or sunroom.
• Installing an irrigation system.
• Installing a swimming pool.
• Adding a ceiling fan.
• Finishing an attic or basement.
• Replacing a furnace or air conditioner.
• Installing gas logs, attic fans, skylights.

Examples of projects for which permits are NOT required:

• Replacing non-structural, cosmetic building elements such as: floor and wall coverings; moldings and trim; cabinets and casework; roof coverings with same materials, etc.
• Residential accessory buildings that are less than 12 feet in any dimension.
• Replacing electrical fixtures and components when work is not done within the wall or ceiling cavity or behind the finished wall or ceiling surface.
• Replacing plumbing fixtures when the work does not go beyond the trap seal.
• Replacing of water heaters in the same location with the same fuel source.
• Installing low voltage exterior landscape lighting.

The Town’s Inspections and Permits Division encourages anyone with questions about permitting regulations and the procedures associated with them to call 469-4340.

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