Breaking through the red tape!
You might remember some time ago I wrote a post about my friend @a4xjeeper and how he recently purchased a building to expand his business. I wish I could say it has been an easy process for him, but that couldn't be further from the truth!
I'm actually going to add my good friend as a beneficiary to this post since he is the inspiration for it. I still haven't been able to get him to start posting himself, so I will have to tell his story until he feels comfortable doing it himself.
I actually plan on this being a series of posts over the next couple of months and for full disclosure, some of the photos I use will be from him, not from me. He is fully on board with this and he actually said he isn't even worried about earning HIVE from this just as long as I do. I'm still going to add him as a beneficiary.
My friend has been working in building and construction for as long as I can remember. He was always doing stuff with his dad, but in high school he also worked at a local lumber yard. Eventually he got some side jobs and I would occasionally help him with them. Simple things like constructing a shed or putting in a window. It was a lot of fun!
After getting his degree at university to be a police officer, he eventually decided building was his true passion and he started his first business. It didn't go the greatest and due to needing health insurance, he ended up working at Lowe's for many years. Eventually, he started a new business with a different focus and to say it has taken off would be an understatement. If you talk to him now, he would be the first to tell you he wishes he had done this sooner. The concerns he had about health insurance ended up being pretty minimal.
His new handyman business has been doing so well that he now has two or three crews working for him and he just bought the building that you see in the photos above. It used to be a dollar store that closed down and now it belongs to my friend.
His hope is to use it as an office, storefront, and staging area for his crews. He has gained quite the niche clientele of realtors and executives at the local chemical plant that keep him busy and in the green.
He is actually looking at expanding beyond just the handyman moniker because he can do inspections and all kinds of other things now. As you can see from the opening photo, a little bit of excavating is never out of the question.
This is where the red tape comes in.
You see the brick wall in the photo above? His plans when buying the building were to cut two large holes in that wall so he can pull his panel trucks in at night for storage. While he was assured that those plans wouldn't be an issue, as @silverd510 can tell you, city councils can be pretty two faced when it comes to stuff like this.
All the promises from the city council went out the window when a couple members of the community came to them with concerns over the building. He soon found himself in a months long battle with the city trying to get what he needed so he can move forward with his business.
Since the land is zoned as commercial and not industrial, he can't park any of his trucks or heavy equipment outside. He knew that going in, which is why he wanted to cut the holes in the wall to pull his trucks inside.
If you need a reference, the doors in question would be on the right side of the building above. Then there was concern that semi trucks were going to be pulling through the parking lot and making all kinds of noise. First, it was a dollar store before, you don't think there were large trucks delivering inventory? Second, if the doors are on the right side of the building, you can clearly see there is very little room in the parking lot for a big rig to maneuver in that small area.
After getting some lawyers on standby, paying a ridiculous number of fees that they seemingly made up on the fly, going back to the zoning commision, and then having the zoning commision give their recommendation to the city council, on Monday night this past week, @a4xjeeper finally got the final approval he needed to start work on the building.
He sent me the photos above and below of equipment being delivered on Tuesday so that the demolition could start happening on Wednesday.
As I said, he is going to be sending me photos throughout the process so that I can share them here with you to see how things are moving along. I am really excited for my friend and the opportunities that this is going to create for him and his business. I was talking to him Monday night after the meeting and he said that if he could he would be out there with a sledge hammer at 10:00 PM that night starting to bust down the walls.
It's been a long time coming and a lot of red tape for him to get to this point. I can't wait to see what the future holds for him!
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STOPor to resume write a wordSTARTYeah I know all too well. Good luck to him.
Something are just over regulated while others are not.. It's amazing how tough it is to get through the red tape sometimes. It's like they would rather one fail than succeed. grrr. Best wishes to him in his pursuits.
I remember when we lived in our old township we needed to get a permit just to put a shed up and to put a new window in our house. It was ridiculous!
You need a permit to put a shed up here as well. I had them add it to our plot plan when we built this new house, that way I didn't have to get a separate permit for it when I was ready. Heck, my last house I got a permit and put in a woodburning fireplace. Did it myself. I remember the guy kept coming back to check every step of the way. I kind of agree with that, better than burning the police down. Only thing is that when I went to sell the house they didn't have a record of a permit being pulled for the fireplace being added. I said you have got to be kidding me! They wanted me to tear the wall open, take out new permits and pay fines. Luckily I kept all the paperwork. Go pound sand I told them!
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It was an interesting article. Thank you for sharing this to us. For inspiring me with your writings. Can't wait to see your upcoming blogs. Keep safe
Thank you! I am glad you enjoyed it!
Red tape is insane some regulations are good, but I feel your pain. I'm building a new manufacturing facility and we just got hit will a million dollar bill to reroute a pipe under a river ...
No way! That is totally nuts. Those rivers are rough to deal with for sure. I have some colleagues who are working on a fiber project and getting the lines across the river have been giving them fits!
Permitting anything may be a headache, particularly in states where bureaucracy is rampant. Just ask @silverd510! They all have it, though some are more affected than others. New Jersey is among the worst and California is a little better, but without connections in high places, it can be difficult to do much in the wrong cities.
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That seems to be the consensus that New Jersey is absolutely horrible!
Perhaps we just hear a lot of bureaucracy in New Jersey? I just know from the time @silverd510 started his paperwork to the time he got all permits... it seemed like years!!
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So true about the process of making any building changes and working with cities. I own a small commercial building myself and even to change the structure that holds the sign requires an act of congress. I settled with just “repairing” the existing structure and SLOWLY making the small changes I wanted to fly under the radar.
Oh man, that sucks! I know it's even worse when you are in a historic district, it gets even worse.
Good for him! Getting permits to do anything can be a nightmare, especially in states with red tape everywhere. All of them have it, some just worse than others. New Jersey is amongst the worst in that category. California is somewhat better, but in the wrong cities it can be hard to get anything done without "friends" in high places. Glad to hear those walls can finally be remedied. It sounds like he made the right choice to be a businessman and not a cop!
I think in the end it did have a little bit to do with who he knows and that got things moving along .
Interesting article and best wishes to all of us.
Thank you!
You are welcome, my brother
crazy that you need to get permission to do things on your own property.
It's pretty crazy for sure. Everyone gets a say in your life these days!
Oh red tape.... I live in the land of read tape, so I know it well. Good luck to him.
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Planning regulations can be a pain anywhere. The rules need to be clear and logical. You always have to be wary of anyone saying it 'should be okay' as they may not have the final say. I hope your friend's business does well anyway.
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