North Las Vegas takes steps to expedite construction permitting

A view of the North Las Vegas City Hall Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2013.

In an effort to spur economic growth, North Las Vegas has started a program to streamline the permitting process for construction.

Professionals such as architects, landscape architects, engineers and civil engineers can complete a self-certification program, which allows plans they submit to the city to be expedited.

The program consists of an eight-hour class at City Hall and costs $1,500. In other jurisdictions, the process can take months. Self-certification is good for three years for those professionals in good standing; there is an annual renewal fee of $500.

Eighteen professionals attended the first class in late March. Six engineers and architects attended the second class this week, driving the number of self-certified professionals to 24.

“It went really well, and we’re excited about it,” said Valerie Evans, a building official with the city. “We haven’t seen any self-certified plans come into our office yet though.”

Evans said those who completed the class are in the process of creating their stamp, showing they are self-certified in North Las Vegas.

Once an engineer or architect submits a plan to the city, it will be reviewed to ensure they meet the criteria for the proposed site.

“We do an initial site plan review that says the building height and area and location on the property and type of construction is allowed, based on the building code,” Evans said. “Then we go through the process of getting the permit ready, and we issue them the permit in four days.”

All new construction projects will continue to be audited, but self-certification quickens the process. Approved engineers and architects certify their own work, so construction can begin as city staff performs their due diligence.

“(Self-certification) reduces construction timelines significantly and saves developers huge sums of money,” said Delen Goldberg, North Las Vegas spokesperson. “The biggest cost in development typically is interest and carrying costs while projects are waiting to be approved.”

The program is especially effective for tenant improvements and small businesses, such as retail sales and mercantile-type facilities, Evans said.

Aside from expediting construction and saving developers money, self-certification is seen as a good marketing tool for local firms and professionals because it can drive local business when national or international companies need professional services.

North Las Vegas officials based the program on Phoenix’s effort and visited Arizona to gather information.

“They have been doing their program for seven years, and they have an 85 percent success rate,” Evans said. She said that Phoenix has had to remove just a few people because the program basically polices itself.

“The person who is going to earn this self-certification stamp, they’re going to be that more diligent to make sure their plans are complete and accurate, so they don’t get audited and fail,” Evans said.

Self-certification won’t be permitted on large projects or high-rise buildings.

“If the Raiders stadium was in North Las Vegas, we wouldn’t let the stadium be self-certified,” Evans said. “But the business office where the Raiders would set up, say a 100,000- square-foot stilt building that would be made into a bunch of offices for all the staff and personnel … they could pull the permit for that building and have that self-certified.”

The next session will be offered in September. Those interested can log onto the city’s site for more information.

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