Here are some of our tips for a smoothER* permit submission process. No guarantees when dealing with the city of Philadelphia, but these few conscious adjustments can go a LONG way. ESPECIALLY getting a proof of application and application number from your GC or whomever is applying on your behalf. ...
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Newbie on the Block June concludes my first month at Philadelphia Zoning as an expeditor. Let me tell you, it was no joke. Don’t get me wrong, there were lots of jokes exchanged between me and my fantastic expediting trainer. However, to execute the role of a seasoned expeditor requires a true mastery of both the Art and the Science of City Zoning Code. One might think...
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Time is Money When you are planning to renovate a home or start a new business, many times, the most important thing to consider is timing. So if your project involves obtaining permits or licenses from the City, it is important that you know what the different timetables are. But before we discuss specific timetables of different permits, the first thing to know is that you will...
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What is Expediting? An expeditor is a person who is licensed with the City to file permits and licenses on behalf of another individual. An expeditor can also create tax accounts with the city, file deeds, and register a change of address with the Office of Property Assessment. Expeditors cannot, however, request special favors. We cannot circumvent the process or evade any rules or procedures. It is our...
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Tomorrow is Cinco De Mayo a holiday that, like most other holidays, is celebrated by heavy drinking. And as most of us know from experience, there is really a no more efficient way to get to that utterly blissful state of intoxication than by taking shots. Now, I am sure you must be thinking, where is this going? Taking shots has nothing to do with...
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An additional information request is sent by Licenses and Inspections whenever one of their plans examiners wants to know more about your project. Getting this letter is not an indication of failure, it is actually considered a standard response as requirements for permits can be as unpredictable as the weather. However, in the off chance you do not receive a request for additional information, you deserve...
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Previously in this blog, we’ve mentioned the City of Philadelphia’s requests for additional information. Since we see a lot of these, we are going to create a catalogue of the requests as a reference guide. We hope that this will help our clients, design partners, and contractors better understand what information is most commonly missing from an application. (If you haven’t seen it before, it’s...
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I cannot tell you how many of our clients run into issues with their General Contractor (or whatever party is in charge of applying-for and obtaining things on behalf of their client). Oftentimes, tracking down a physical building permit is more difficult than Nicholas cage's voyage in all of the National Treasure movies combined. I am not saying that general contractors are bad people. I am...
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Happy holidays from Philadelphia Zoning! We've had quite a year here, thanks to our clients, legal partners, and design partners. To thank everyone, we're offering this present: A handy reference guide for our most common permitting projects. Enjoy! General Zoning and Permitting Information The source: The Philadelphia Zoning Code The Philadelphia Code can be found here. Title 14 (what those of us not in the legal profession would simply...
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We here at Philadelphia Zoning like to poke some fun at our City's bureaucracy. Licenses and Inspections can be a mystery to homeowners and developers: documents go in; only sometimes do they come out. When they do come out, it's often because they are rejected for arcane reasons. It can be pretty frustrating and eat your time (and it's why Philadelphia Zoning exists: to save...
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