San Diego

In a move calculated to save developers an estimated $3 million a year in wasted time standing in lines, a San Diego City Council Committee gave tentative approval Monday to creating a “one-stop” building permit center, where builders could pick up at one time all the necessary permits needed for planning, construction, water utilities and other city services--permits now scattered in different parts of the city government.

Developers have complained of hours and days lost while waiting for permits, the cost of which is passed on to people who buy new homes and other buildings. Originally, the city staff recommended to council members that the permit center should be located beginning June, 1987, at the 41,000 square-foot Plaza Hall, adjacent to the Golden Hall convention center.

A city task force on building permits said Plaza Hall was a prime spot because it was in use only 52% of the year. But the idea drew protests from the city’s tourism interests, who argued that Plaza Hall was an important element in selling San Diego for smaller conventions. Turning the hall over to developers, they warned, would mean the loss of $3.7 million in business for area hotels and restaurants. Council members heeded their warnings and opted instead for clearing out the third and fourth floors of the nearby City Operations Building for the permit center.