Effective June 1, 2015, the Athens-Clarke County Unified Government (ACC) implemented a new plans review process to enhance ACC’s role in local real estate development.  The initiative is the result of recommendations made by the Mayor’s Economic Development Task Force and a thorough analysis of the plans review process led by the Manager’s Office.  Comments were solicited from developers and design consultants familiar with the ACC plans review process and consulted with all levels of staff in the departments that participate in the process.  The result is a streamlined process intended to provide a more customer-service oriented approach to plans review.    

Key ACC commitments in the new plans review process:

• Visioning Meetings:  Applicants will have the opportunity to request a meeting with all reviewing departments prior to making a formal plans submittal.  Applicants may request a Visioning Meeting through the ACC Planning Department; meetings will be scheduled on alternating Wednesdays. 

• Single plans submittal destination:  All plans and revisions will be submitted through the ACC Planning Department, which will distribute the plans to all of the applicable reviewing departments. 

• Single fee destination:  Plans review fees will be taken at the time of plans submittal and one payment for all associated review fees can be made to the Building Inspection Department.

• Review turnaround and comments:  ACC has made a commitment to complete the initial review of building plans within 8 calendar days of a submittal deadline and site plans within 15 calendar days of a submittal deadline.  Additionally, staff will provide their comments to the design consultant at least 24 hours prior to the roundtable plans review meeting to allow design consultants to be better prepared to discuss comments at that meeting. 

• Roundtable:  ACC staff from departments involved in the plans review process will be available for a roundtable meeting with the developer/design consultant.  The staff members that are present at the meeting will have decision-making capabilities on behalf of their respective departments to allow for an expedient discussion of proposed alternatives and changes.  Roundtable meetings are held on Thursdays – 9 days after a building plans submittal deadline and 16 days after a site plan submittal deadline.   

• Development Coordinator:  ACC has created a new position, Development Coordinator, housed in the Economic Development Department.  The Development Coordinator serves as a point of contact and liaison between the development community, business community, and ACC staff and officials, providing assistance on a variety of development related issues, including permitting and code requirements, and facilitating the plans review process.   

More information and resources related to the plans review process can be found at:  http://www.athensclarkecounty.com/843/Plans-Review

Top Ten Keys to Success in the Plans Review Process 

1. Schedule a Visioning Meeting 

Visioning meetings are held every other Wednesday morning and offer an opportunity for an owner or developer to discuss a potential project at an early stage with their selected ACC department representatives. Visioning meetings can be requested online at athensclarkecounty.com/plansreview. 

2. Carefully Review All Application Information 

Sometimes Plans Review applications encounter delays in review due to lack of required information in the plan submittal. The ACC Plans Review application contains a checklist that details the types of plans required, the number of required copies, and other important information about your project. The application is a vital tool in the review that is often glossed-over, to the detriment of the overall process. 

3. Contact the ACC Development Coordinator 

If you have any questions or concerns regarding any aspect of the Plans Review process, or your project’s status, contact the Development Coordinator (706-613-3233). The development review process has many cogs in the machine, but this position was specifically created to communicate with both reviewers and applicants to ensure a smoother review and permit process. 

4. Determine if a Design Professional is Needed 

Due to their complexity, proposed scale or occupancy, some types of plans must be prepared by an Architect, Engineer, or Landscape Architect with a design seal affixed to each page. If you are unsure whether your project requires a design professional, contact the Development Coordinator (706-613-3233) or consult the ACC Plans Review Handbook (http://athensclarkecounty.com/DocumentView.aspx?DID=276). 

5. Attend Plans Review Conference and Ask Questions 

With every Plans Review submittal, a meeting with staff reviewers is scheduled—with building plans, it is on the Thursday of the week following the Tuesday deadline. With civil plans, the Thursday appointment is two weeks after. At this meeting, the reviewers will explain any comments, corrections, or concerns that they may have with the project. As the applicant, you are encouraged to ask questions of your own—both to increase your own understanding of the process and comments, as well as to provide the reviewers with information that may not have been clear from the plans submitted. 

6. Submit Complete Plans (Don’t Piecemeal It!) 

If you are submitting plans for review, make sure it is a complete set that could feasibly go to approval and permit. Submitting incomplete plans (i.e. building plans with no plumbing plans included) will result in a resubmittal being required, as well as possibly creating confusion for other reviewers that may lead to further delays. If a set of drawings is not ready for submittal by the Tuesday deadline, it is best to wait for the complete set of plans to be completed.

7. Don’t Wait Until Noon on Tuesday 

Just because the deadline is noon on Tuesday, it doesn’t mean that you have to submit plans at 11:59am. Plans Review applications come in every day and are processed and given appointment times corresponding to the upcoming deadline schedule. Waiting until the last minute to submit often leads to a backup at the counter, and a much longer stay in Planning than if plans were submitted earlier in the week, or even earlier on Tuesday morning. 

8. Submit Revisions with a Comment Narrative 

If your initial submittal is not approved for permit, you will be given a list of comments and corrections that must be satisfied. When working on a resubmittal, prepare a narrative that includes the previous comments alongside a response that details how and where (in terms of sheet number) the corrective action was made. If a comment is not addressed in the plans, please provide reasoning for this in the narrative memo. 

9. Check the Disc! 

ACC requires a complete digital copy of any paper submitted for review. Digital copies are required for a few reasons: to allow for fewer paper copies to be submitted, to create a digital archive set, and to have a back-up if paper copies are misplaced. Before you submit, make sure the disc works and that the digital plans meet our requirements: 

o A complete plan set in either .PDF or .DWF format. 

o All sheets compiled into one file. 

o All sheets properly oriented for on‐screen viewing. 

o Maximum file sizes: 30 MB for .PDFs / 80 MB for .DWFs  

10. Coordinate your Submittals 

Some projects have multiple firms and design professionals associated with them. Make sure that if revisions are required, the designers aren’t submitting their own portions separately. From a reviewer’s standpoint, this is very confusing and it will lead to miscommunication and delays in the overall review of the project.