Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Sacramento Press / Mayor: Facilities permit program "effective"


Sacramento Press / Mayor: Facilities permit program "effective":

"Mayor Kevin Johnson said Tuesday the outcome of the audit of the Community Development Department will be important to how he views the future of a permitting program that has drawn controversy in recent weeks. At the same time, Johnson said he thinks the Facilities Permit Program has been “very effective.”

The FPP, which is part of the Community Development Department, was shuttered Oct. 27 in the midst of public debate over the Nestlé company’s move to establish a water bottling plant in Sacramento. Nestlé’s plant had been approved through the city’s FPP program.

City officials investigated the Community Development Department’s approval of Nestlé’s construction work and temporarily shut down the FPP program. At issue was the approval that Nestlé and contractors received from a city building inspector to start construction work. While the company and its contractors had verbal approval from the city, they did not have a building permit or a “start-work authorization.”"