Previous Story
‘Central site for all permitting agencies would help island’s property developers’
|
Posted on Dec 28 2011
By Clarissa David
Reporter
Reporter
Michael S. Sablan of Blue Water Homes LLC is suggesting that all permitting agencies should be centralized in one location for the convenience of property developers applying for permits and licenses on island.
Sablan said that he will support any efforts to streamline and coordinate permitting requirements for property developers.
“I think for developers, it’d be very convenient if they came and dealt with the agencies in one place,” Sablan told Saipan Tribune.
Sablan, who is also a member of Sandy Beach Homes LLC, which recently held its grand opening for the first affordable housing project in the CNMI under the Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program, disclosed that a “frustration” they had for the Sandy Beach Homes project was the different locations of permitting agencies like the Department of Public Works and the Division of Environmental Quality.
“They were all spread out,” according to Sablan.
Sablan, a former public auditor, noted that cost is a big issue why centralizing these permitting agencies remains to be seen.
“If we’re unable to move the agencies together because of fiscal issues, I think one alternative is for developers to come into one office and have the agencies meet them there rather than moving the entire agency and have permitting meetings at one location,” he suggested.
Sablan disclosed that they were able to do this for the Sandy Beach Homes project in Chalan Kanoa, conducting multi-agency meetings at the Coastal Resources Management office along Middle Road or at the Zoning Office in Dandan. “That worked out well,” he added.
Sablan is optimistic that with the Blue Water Homes project, which is set to begin construction in the next few months, will see improvements on these “deficiencies,” including redundancies in regulations and requirements.
The Blue Water Homes project is expected to be completed in 2013.
