The city of Napa is taking a new approach in the method of processing development applications.

In the past it has not been uncommon for a developer, building under strict time and budgetary constraints, to deal with a number of last-minute changes or requirements from city departments that seriously threaten the survival and certainly raise the cost of the finished product. To reduce the occurrence of such surprises, Napa Planning Manager Marlene Demery is managing a restructure of application process with the creation of a Draft Development Review Team (DART).

On Tuesday, April 15, the city of Napa will host a DART-training workshop focused on the review process for development applications. This workshop will allow persons who submit development applications to the city to better understand the redesigned review process and will provide input and answer questions for anyone interested in or affected by this process.

Intending to eliminate the past process of first obtaining approval from one department and then another across the hall, the new system calls for an initial project review with representatives from each department at a single meeting prior to formal submission.

In Demery’s words, the DART meeting “is an opportunity for you to give a brief project overview, identify any significant site constraints/issues as well as request any exceptions to city code requirements.”

The developer can submit the application and, assuming it is complete, can look forward to an internal review process anticipated to take 30 days or less. Of course the time for internal review must be adjusted based on the size, scope and supplemental studies that may be required.

By obtaining more project requirements early in the process, the developer will be able to create a realistic budget, a realistic timeline and a realistic projection regarding the success of a project.

Following the internal review by staff members, a return DART meeting will require each department representative to be prepared to discuss their draft conditions, which have been sent to the applicant prior to the meeting. Short discussions and exchange will take place and appropriate revisions will be made to the application. This step should eliminate the historic process of submission, denial and resubmission that was taking place until each individual department was satisfied with the result.

You may wonder why this has any impact on you as home owner or as a prospective home buyer. As a taxpayer, you would want to know that city employees are there to serve you and the more efficient and effective the operations, the less the cost of government.

As well, if we are to have additional housing at the lowest possible cost, it is important to have a process that invites private sector builders to risk their capital to meet our housing needs. To quote Demery, “we hope that you will look back on the experience with a positive feeling about your city workforce.” To call this new process the “fast lane” may be a bit of an overstatement. But to say the city of Napa is headed in the right direction is not.

Bogue, a broker with Coldwell Banker Brokers of the Valley, 1775 Lincoln Ave., Napa CA 94558, can be reached at 258-5221 or e-cbogue@cbnapavalley.com.