While the world grinds to a halt, one might expect our rebuild plans to slow down a little too. We are waiting for two parallel bureaucratic processes to conclude, so that we can move into construction. Those processes are Coastal Commission approval and Hermosa Beach City Building Permits.
All around us organizations adapt to deliver goods and services in a new, socially distant world. Upscale restaurants have pivoted to selling take-out and bulk bags of flour, the piano and gym classes moved online, and even the weekly spelling test is on Zoom. But I hadn't imagined the Coastal Commission or Hermosa Beach City Planning department to be quite so adaptable, to be honest. Based on correspondence to date, they seem less than dynamic. I pictured the bureaucrats working away in a large, dusty room with plans chests full of actual blue prints, and carbon copiers and fax machines clunking and whirring away.
I stand corrected: the Coastal Commission has gone digital. Our application will be included in the May hearing and is being presented as a 'waiver' which means it doesn't need a permit and will be rubber stamped rather than discussed in any detail. This is surprisingly good news and puts us ahead of the schedule I had sketched out at the start of this process (read more about that here).
Which means we just need Hermosa City Hall to keep up. So far no-one is admitting to any delays, and apparently we are 'on track' to be approved for our building permit sometime in the next month or two. The detailed bid for our construction is also in its final phases.
I guess the next question is - do we still want to start our build this summer? On the one hand, we might benefit from some lower material or labor costs. I know that sounds exploitative but building costs locally have been inflated by massive demand, so if that dips a bit, that helps us out. On the other hand, is now the right time to take out a big fat loan predicated on 2021/2022 home value?
Anyone got a crystal ball? Like so much of this pandemic situation there are a lot of unknowns.
I'll just say that I feel uncertain enough about the timing to have planted some new summer crops in the yard. I had put off doing this because 'we'll be knocking this house down by July'. But I'm now hedging my bets with some tomatoes, peas and chard. If we stay on schedule, I'll sacrifice them without a second thought. And if our project hits pandemic-related delays, we'll console ourselves with homegrown chard.
All around us organizations adapt to deliver goods and services in a new, socially distant world. Upscale restaurants have pivoted to selling take-out and bulk bags of flour, the piano and gym classes moved online, and even the weekly spelling test is on Zoom. But I hadn't imagined the Coastal Commission or Hermosa Beach City Planning department to be quite so adaptable, to be honest. Based on correspondence to date, they seem less than dynamic. I pictured the bureaucrats working away in a large, dusty room with plans chests full of actual blue prints, and carbon copiers and fax machines clunking and whirring away.
I stand corrected: the Coastal Commission has gone digital. Our application will be included in the May hearing and is being presented as a 'waiver' which means it doesn't need a permit and will be rubber stamped rather than discussed in any detail. This is surprisingly good news and puts us ahead of the schedule I had sketched out at the start of this process (read more about that here).
Which means we just need Hermosa City Hall to keep up. So far no-one is admitting to any delays, and apparently we are 'on track' to be approved for our building permit sometime in the next month or two. The detailed bid for our construction is also in its final phases.
I guess the next question is - do we still want to start our build this summer? On the one hand, we might benefit from some lower material or labor costs. I know that sounds exploitative but building costs locally have been inflated by massive demand, so if that dips a bit, that helps us out. On the other hand, is now the right time to take out a big fat loan predicated on 2021/2022 home value?
Anyone got a crystal ball? Like so much of this pandemic situation there are a lot of unknowns.
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I'll just say that I feel uncertain enough about the timing to have planted some new summer crops in the yard. I had put off doing this because 'we'll be knocking this house down by July'. But I'm now hedging my bets with some tomatoes, peas and chard. If we stay on schedule, I'll sacrifice them without a second thought. And if our project hits pandemic-related delays, we'll console ourselves with homegrown chard.
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