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Originally Posted by njbchbum
bk - i agree with points 1 & 2 but hafta take exception to #3 since lake county is the county that needs the $$ received from all of those permits and inspections. and sumter county is likely not familiar with the lake county policies/procedures for permitting and inspecting [i don't know if there is a uniform way to do things between counties - but here in nj every town does something different].
perhaps the developer could convince sumter county to help train new staff for lake county if there is a uniform way of doing things among counties; or loan lake county several employees [an excellent way to get an inside look at what goes on in that office!]; or just process the work and give the fees to Lake county!
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Typically, the fees charged by governmental building departments basically cover their costs of operation, They're not "profit makers".
With the exception of only one large city in the U.S., no other counties or municipalities create their own building codes. There are national codes that are widely accepted for governing residential building. In the USA the main codes are the International Commercial or Residential Code [ICC/IRC], including electrical, plumbing and mechanical codes. There are a few local or state-wide amendments to codes, such as some minor requirements for hurricane protection here in Florida. But those minor amendments are widely accepted and reflected in local building codes across the state. I think the differences you cite in New Jersey are differences in staffing and the way various sized municipalities
administer the building codes, not the codes themselves.
Due to ever increasing complexity and cost of developing building regulations, virtually all municipalities in the United States have chosen to adopt model codes instead. The City of Chicago remains the only municipality in America that continues to use a building code the city developed on its own as part of the Municipal Code of Chicago. My educated guess is that the Lake and Sumter county building codes read word-for-word like the national model residential building code.
So the key issue seems to be which building department is prepared to keep pace with the demands of a very large and fast-moving project? As has been noted here, if the Villages of Fruitland Park proceeds, Fruitland Park will be the fastest growing municipality in the U.S for about two years.
Look at it from the viewpoint of the Developer. They will be placing millions of dollars at risk in building this development. Their formula is pretty simple. Prior to actually starting construction, the roads and utilities are paid for from the proceeds of bond issuances. Then they build houses so fast that they don't even need construction financing. They build, sell and close so quickly that they can finance construction within the normal payment terms offered by their suppliers of the building materials they use. By the time the bill for foundations, lumber, electrical and the like is due, the house is sold and closed and the suppliers are paid from the proceeds of the new homeowner's mortgage loans.
Basically, the development can proceed without the Developer even borrowing money, so long as it proceeds at the planned pace needed to build, sell and close in their normal window of about 45 days. If anything interferes with this program, the whole development model falls apart...and could become very costly for the Developer.
Maybe the question that should be asked is, if you were the developer would you agree to proceed with this development under the aegis of the Lake County authorities, knowing that the number of building permits and inspections required will about three times the normal volume per year administered by the county building departments?
Not only isn't Lake County staffed to oversee such a project, but unless they build a temporary building department office right here in The Villages (like Sumter has done down near the Sumter County annex on CR 466), the developer and contractors would have to run all the way down to Tavares for permits and other construction-related documents. In case you're unfamiliar, that's 23 miles on US 441 during daylight hours, "in season" more than an hour each way in heavy traffic.
The way I see it, this project will only proceed if the two counties get their heads together and permit Sumter County to continue with the permitting, inspections and oversight of this expansion of The Villages. That would be pretty easy to accomplish. All that would be needed would be...
- An inter-governmental agreement that Sumter County would administer the permitting and construction of The Villages of Fruitland Park development.
- That Sumter County would perform such administration using the building codes used by Lake County, presumably the national model building codes.
- That Sumter County would enter into a "hold harmless" agreement shifting any risk of litigation involving this specific development from Lake to Sumter County.
I know that if I were the developer, there is no way I would proceed otherwise. There would be way too much risk of inadequate governmental staffing and support, regardless of what they may promise prior to starting the development. I guess we've seen how good government promises in Washington are worth haven't we?