Permits and our Architect

[Olivia Parker]

Architect charged us to expedite permits, soon after we found out that we were going to need to ask for variances on the project, despite him assuring us before purchase that we would be able to change from a single family to a duplex "by right". So we had to wait for a hearing on the variances, making the expediting mute.

He finally is resubmitting the plans to the city, following approval from the zoning comittee and he 's currently trying to convince us to change the application number to a net new project, rather than resubmitting under the original application we paid him to expedite. He indicated that the permits that were previously submitted were not self-certified- despite me producing proof of agreement and payment- and for this reason he recommends submitting plans under new application and the new application would be expedited. The contact in deptartment of buildings indicates that it is not possible to self-cert on this kind of project, period, at all.

My inital thought is it would be fastest to to just resubmit against the original plans as most of the rewiew has been approved, but it was a red flag to me and when directly asked whether the application was expedited he refused to answer and insists that new application will have the self-cert, but the building person to say its not even possible.

- shouldn't he know all of this?

- what would the motive be behind the recommendation to change?

He then offered a refund in full on the project when I continued to press the question. But at this point we are 10 months into what should have been a two month process and restarting, while tempting, feels impractical. Thoughts? Has anyone had a similar issue with a architect, especially in Chicago area.

[Samuel Pavlovcik]

@Tom Shallcross thanks for the mention

@Olivia Parker It's unfortunate to hear about your situation. You are correct that this project Does Not qualify for self-cert; as the "Increase in number of dwelling units in an existing building" is specifically listed as a Disqualifying Feature. This is regardless of whether it is "By Right" or via a Zoning variation or the ADU process.

You can find the full rules for the Self-Certification program at the link below. The "Disqualifying features can be found at the bottom of pg. 19, Table D:

https://www.chicago.gov/conten...

As far as the current status of your project; the fastest path to approval would definitely still be to move forward with your current permit as submitted. Based on your screenshot, the only reviews pending are Ventilation, Arch/Fire, and Zoning. It is likely that there have been "Revisions" issed to the Architect with comments from these departments regarding questions they need to answer or revisions to the drawings that they need to make. If you were to resubmit, you would be sent back into the bottom of the queue and require re-review by All departments. You would also loose out on any permit fees paid thus far (not counting Zoning, so likely just a $350 deposit) which you would need to re-pay at your next submittal. From my understanding if you received the Zoning Variation approval, it is tied to the property, not the permit, which means you would Not need to go back through the entire ZBA Hearing process; however, you would need to ensure that the new submittal would meet the same provisions as the Zoning Variation allowed for and not ask for more.

Only your Architect would know why they are trying to avoid finishing the project but it definitely seems strange considering they were willing to offer a full refund. I'm sure they have already spent more time on the project than expected as well. I have a few assumptions as to why they are trying to avoid proceeding forward; however, without actual facts it is difficult to know.

I'm not too sure if there's anything else I could do to assist here, but you can feel free to contact me directly if there is anything else I could do. I would be willing to speak with your Architect and try to gain a better understanding of the situation. I am hopeful that there may be a way that we could assist them in order to persuade them to stay on your project and get things moving forward again. In the worst case, we would be able to assist you with a whole new permit; however, that definitely seems like it would be everyone's last option here.