Seminar to cover essentials of building plans, permits

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Approximately 90 percent of the commercial building plans the city reviews have to be resubmitted due to oversights, but an upcoming seminar is geared to prevent such problems.|ret||ret||tab|

"The majority of issues don't dea1 with the building itself, typically," said Nick Heatherly, director of Building Development Services for the city of Springfield. "They're more site-related issues, such as stormwater issues or zoning issues. Another common mistake is people not making sure their property is a legal tract of record. If you don't have one, as defined by the city subdivision process, it's just one more process you have to go through."|ret||ret||tab|

To help cut down on the number of plans that are submitted incorrectly, the city is offering a free seminar Nov. 13 titled "The Essentials of Plan Submittal."|ret||ret||tab|

The seminar, sponsored by the city and the Southwest Missouri Code Officials, will be held at the Ozarks Technical Community College Information Commons West at 1001 E. Brower St., Room 100. It includes a complimentary lunch, and refreshments in the morning and afternoon.|ret||ret||tab|

A free reference binder will include the necessary forms to apply for a building permit and a site design guide, which explains how to lay out a building site.|ret||ret||tab|

The meeting, which runs from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., is primarily for architects, engineers and plan reviewers. In the morning, there will be presentations by the various city departments that review project plans. |ret||ret||tab|

These departments include Building Development Services, Planning and Zoning, the Health Department, City Utilities and Public Works. The presentations will include slides and plans that have been submitted incorrectly. Then, in the afternoon, representatives from these departments will explain what a correctly submitted building plan looks like.|ret||ret||tab|

Roger Day of R.A. Day Construction Services will be the moderator. Day is the president of SMCO.|ret||ret||tab|

The SMCO is an organization that provides opportunities for knowledge exchange and educational seminars for those involved in code enforcement, building design and building construction.|ret||ret||tab|

Day said he realizes there's a lot to know when it comes to building codes. Building codes establish minimum standards for overall building design, energy conservation, fire safety, plumbing, mechanical and electrical aspects.|ret||ret||tab|

"It's hard to keep up with everything," Day said. "Design and construction is so complex."|ret||ret||tab|

Heatherly said the last seminar dealing with city codes was held two years ago.|ret||ret||tab|

"During the critique of that meeting, it was decided that this was something that should be done again," he said. "But it isn't something that you need to go over on an annual basis. The seminar will be good for new employees, people who just got out of school, and those who haven't worked in Springfield very long."|ret||ret||tab|

Heatherly said the time is right for the seminar because "time is of the essence in regard to construction and development issues. The less time it takes to review plans and issue a building permit, the better off everyone is." |ret||ret||tab|

To register for the seminar, call Jeff Volkmer, building permit coordinator for the city of Springfield.|ret||ret||tab|

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