NO BUILDING PERMIT

My trip to the county building yesterday morning ended in more frustration, and at one point, downright anger.  Dealing with governmental bureaucrats has risen to the top of the list as my least favorite things to do, period!

The morning started with great optimism, as I thought I had everything necessary for the county to review, and within a few days, issue me a building permit for the RV shade cover.  When my turn came to sit down with a development department planner, that optimism quickly turned to deep disappointment.  This same guy who weeks ago told me I couldn't build another detached structure on the property due to a 1,500 square footage limitation, looked at the topographical map on the computer screen, and said, that due to the elevation changes on our property, he needed to consult with the "topo expert".  When this second guy came out, he explained that because our property had grades of more than 15%, we were subject to the "hillside ordinance".  My exact words were "OK, what the heck is the hillside ordinance?

It seems that this hillside ordinance limits the colors of buildings to only natural earth tones.  When I told him that this shade cover would have a white roof, the same as the house and garage, per the HOA rules, he said that wasn't permissible.  At that point, I just about lost it, thinking that this is another case of government over reach, bordering on the absurd.  I chose my next words very carefully, and told this guy that within the last year, Pima County issued me a building permit for my 1,500 square foot garage, and guess what???? - it has a white roof!   Back then, nothing was ever mentioned about a hillside ordinance, and if it's now going to be the reason for denial, then from this day forward, they would be dealing with my attorney.  At that point, the backpedaling began, with the blame going to "inconsistencies within our department", and that it should have been an issue when the garage was built.  But, since it was overlooked with the garage, they would agree to not enforce the ordinance with the shade cover.   The patronizing, and we're going to do you a favor language was almost sickening, but I just kept quiet, thinking that I had just dodged a bullet, and what are they next going to throw at me?

It didn't take long to find out when the original guy came back, and started looking at the engineered plans that I just purchased for $170.  The engineering firm is licensed in Arizona, but is based in Arkansas, and after a minute or so of review, he said that the drawings and calculations were based on the engineering prevailing code of 2009, which the county could not accept.  All engineered plans have to be based on the prevailing code of 2012.  That effectively ended the discussion, and I left knowing that I had to wait for the new set of plans to be mailed from Arkansas to Arizona.  When I got home, a quick call got that ball rolling, and the waiting game begins once again.   Experiences like this push me more and more toward the Libertarian point of view, that less government is better than what we now have at the local, state, and federal levels.  

After the county experience, I picked up 20 bags of concrete for the step landing, and will work out some of my frustration with the cement mixer later today.