Fixing building process is town's top priority, council decides Fixing building process is town's top priority, council decides (November 16, 2005)

** Residents tell horror stories of trying to remodel and build in Woodside.

By Andrea Gemmet

Almanac Staff Writer

Could Woodside residents' days of swapping horror stories about getting permission for building projects be coming to an end?

The Woodside Town Council just made improving the building process the town's No. 1 priority.

"I hope that in a reasonable amount of time other town councils will say 'We should look at Woodside because it's excellent,'" said Councilwoman Deborah Gordon.

At a special meeting on November 7, the Woodside Town Council authorized Town Manager Susan George to hold a series of private meetings with residents and building professionals so they can anonymously air their grievances and suggest remedies.

"I really am concerned, and I accept full responsibility for whatever is broken about the process," said Town Manager Susan George.

At least 50 people attended the special council meeting, and many were happy to tell the Town Council all about the frustrations of trying to build in Woodside. Unreturned phone calls, unhelpful staff, demands for unreasonably detailed plans, contradictory requests, and a lack of concern for escalating costs were among the problems cited by Woodside residents and building professionals who spoke at the meeting.

Two people said they never would have bought homes in Woodside if they'd had any idea how difficult it would be to remodel.

One lone speaker, Harvey Popell, testified that he had experienced no problems whatsoever, thanks to meeting with staff and diligently doing his homework before submitting his application.

Councilman Pete Sinclair, who expounded at length at the October 25 Council meeting about his own frustrations with remodeling one house and building another, recounted the advice he gave a new Woodside resident who wanted to know if he should tear down his home and rebuild it. "I asked him if he wanted to stay married," Mr. Sinclair said.

Woodside's reputation for being difficult is so widely known that successful building professionals simply won't take on projects in town, forcing residents to use inexperienced or second-rate architects and contractors, said Rebekah Witter. Ms. Witter said she struggled for 10 months to get a permit for a prefabricated barn.

While the town's complicated requirements and time-consuming process got a lot of criticism, the building and planning staff, especially Planning Director Hope Sullivan, mostly received praise. However, although no one named names, several people said there were some staff members who were not so good.

Thalia Lubin, a Woodside architect, said she hears complaints about town staffers with attitude problems from colleagues in the local chapter of the American Institute of Architects. She said she personally didn't have problems with anyone, but said customer service training should be a priority -- "Call Nordstrom if you have to," she said.

Architect Jim Caldwell said he thought the town's use of contract building professionals to review plans was problematic.

"They feel they have to earn their keep by nitpicking," he said.

Claudia Marshall, a member of Woodside's Architectural and Site Review Board, suggested bringing the contract workers' jobs in-house, and doing more to retain good employees.

"From the ASRB's point of view, we've seen a lot of excellent staff come and go, and it's because of money. We need to be paying our people a hell of a lot more," she said.

Council members expressed dismay over complaints that phone calls to town staff weren't being returned. Councilwoman Sue Boynton said that anyone experiencing problems with the staff should call a Town Council member.

"We are highly accessible," she said. "We're available and we will get back to you."

Ms. George said she would send out letters inviting anyone who had been involved in a building project in the past two years to attend a "Meeting with the manager." The meetings will be held in January and February, and will be open to all residents and building professionals, she said. Ms. George promised to move as quickly as possible to come up with improvements and put them into place.

Recommendations from the meetings will be in addition to a list of 16 recommendations for improving Woodside's engineering division that was submitted by the consulting firm, Management Partners. That report was endorsed by the Town Council in July, and a key provision -- recruiting a development services engineer -- is underway.

In her report to the Town Council, Ms. George said that the trust, respect and goodwill of Woodside residents should not be taken for granted. "If the town has lost these, then it is imperative that a good-faith effort be made to earn them back again," she said.

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