shoreline/critical areas, best approach to rebuild outbuilding

[Scott Davis]

Looking for advice on the best way to approach the county permit office to rebuild an outbuilding (non residential storage building somewhat over 200 sq ft) that is grandfathered in, but in poor condition (over 50% damaged, standing), in a location where shorelines & critical areas are involved.

There is a critical areas delineation for the property done, and the grandfathered building would not likely be permitted as new construction today.
 

I have talked with the county (planning & environmental) informally, read the zoning/etc code and the shoreline master plan, and asked around for recommendations as best I can, but these SMALLER projects are uncommon.

It's a rural county so there are a small handful of options- general mid sized consultants, engineers, and builders... who regularly show up on the recent permits...(I've been searching & reading building permit notices for shorelines projects over the last few years). Within my network it doesn't look like I'll come up with any direct recommendations. Most shorelines projects are bigger and therefore not a whole lot of options for companies that would be interested in a small project.

I want to figure out who has the best relationship with/experience directly dealing with the county permit office. the project will require an engineer (geo, possibly civil) and a builder..

Price is a factor, but the most important thing is to have the rebuild/replacement allowed and not denied by the county.
So my question is which of these "types" (that I've found submitting similar projects) is better positioned to manage the permitting part efficiently? 

-regional consultants with a local office,(engineers & environmental consultants on staff), works on small projects occasionally

-local small real estate development consultant 

-small specialized engineering (geo & civil) firm (the environmental consultant would be hired separately) works on small to mid sized similar projects

-regional mid-large sized engineering firm with a local office

-small specialized builder who has done similar small projects occasionally (engineer & environmental consultant would be hired separately)

-mid sized builder who mostly does much larger upscale residential, but occasionally smaller similar projects and specializes in waterfront/shorelines

thanks for ANY input & thanks for the wonderful site