Walk-Up Building Permit Office Closes

Dwindling requests for post-earthquake residential building permits has resulted in the closing of the temporary walk-up West Valley public permit counter, formerly at 19040 Vanowen St.

The closing of the counter is a bittersweet event, said Karen Constine, chief of staff for Councilwoman Laura Chick, who represents parts of the West Valley.

It marks another step in earthquake recovery and the return of a handful of building inspectors to field duties, she said, while simultaneously signaling the end of decentralized simple permitting.

West Valley residents seeking simple permits--such as those required for chimney repair or the addition of a water heater--must now travel to the Valley’s only building and safety permit office in the Van Nuys Civic Center or to four other offices in the Los Angeles Basin.

But there very likely will be more inspectors in the field to handle nuisance complaints--from improper use of homes to the installation of illegal fencing--now that the counter is closed, Constine said.

Budgetary constraints and dropping requests for permits prompted the June 21 closure of the counter.

According to Richard Holguin, chief of the Building and Safety Department’s engineering bureau, the half-dozen engineers and clerks who were loaned to the temporary counter have returned to their original offices in Van Nuys or downtown.

“Right after the earthquake, the [West Valley] counter was open six days a week, and we had four or five engineers there,” Holguin said.

“Then about a year ago, because of the decline in the requests for permits, we went to a four-day week. Then several months later, we went to a three-day week and the staff was reduced to two or three engineers.”

Citing the increased convenience that the counter afforded West Valley residents, Constine said, “It has always been our hope that the numbers [of requests] would remain constant and would allow the counter to remain open.”

Chick’s office said it will continue to monitor the situation and push to reopen the counter if necessary.