Influx of construction projects, staffing shortages slow Santa Rosa couple’s efforts to rebuild after Glass Fire

Permit approval to start work likely months down the line

Victor and Iracema Suard’s property is perched atop a small hill with sweeping views in Santa Rosa’s Rincon Valley. They’ve lived there since 1991, before any homes dotted the cul-de-sac below.

In 30 years, they remodeled twice, “Got it just where we wanted it,” Victor Suard said with a resigned chuckle.

Then, at the end of September 2020, their home was leveled in the Glass Fire.

They’d been through evacuations before, so when they followed orders and left to stay at a friend’s apartment in Rohnert Park the night of the fire, they thought they’d be returning home the next day.

But when the smoke cleared, “there was nothing left,” Victor said.

Almost two years later, there’s still nothing there save rock and dirt piles. The trees along the hillside have new growth but trunks still darkened by burn are a reminder of the fire that passed through.

The rebuilding process hasn’t been easy for the expected emotional and logistical reasons it never is. But, recently, the Suards ran into an unexpected snag.

When the engineering firm they're working with submitted their plans to the city, they expected permit approval might take a couple months. But, when they followed up about a month later for a status update, they were surprised by the response.

“Review time for this type of application is estimated to be approximately 6 mos.,” an email from the Santa Rosa Planning Division read.

Given its hillside location, the Suards’ property comes with some additional hurdles that prolong the permitting process, but they never anticipated it could be half a year.

Below the message, an italicized signature line noted: “Due to increased demand, limited resources, and time constraints, delays are expected in the City's permit processing … Thank you for your patience and understanding as City operations are reestablished following the coronavirus pandemic.”

“We have been doing our best to rebuild,” Victor told me. “Any delay can be extremely costly, especially given the current rate of inflation.”

Consumer prices jumped 1.3% from May to June after rising 1% between April and May.

And looking down the line, insurance coverage for the Suards’ rental where they’ve been living in the meantime expires three years after the fire in September 2023, which could add major costs if the rebuild isn’t done.

“If the permits don't come until the end of the year, and then we have winter, it could be a while before they actually start,” Iracema said. Cold temperatures and rain, if there is any, would likely slow construction.

The long delays, according to Santa Rosa Planning Division Deputy Director Jessica Jones, stem from a surge in building applications and a loss of key staffing positions over the past several months.

“There's just a tremendous influx of new projects that are coming in, and then we have been, across our department, very short staffed,” Jones told me.

As pandemic restrictions have eased, building has accelerated, and city planners have struggled to keep up as they’ve lost staff to retirements or other agencies. At the same time, there are new types of projects in the pipeline that didn’t exist pre-pandemic, like short-term vacation rental permitting, adding to the workload.

Though Jones said they’ve been dealing with staffing issues for the past couple of years, she’s expecting vacancies to be filled, at least in the planning division, by the end of the summer. They’ve hired for the five open city planner positions, although an additional hire is now needed to replace a staff member that was recently promoted.

“We anticipate our timing to get better as we move forward,” Jones said.

The Planning Division signature line from the email the Suards received said, “The Planning Division anticipates returning to standard processing and response times by Fall 2022.”

The Suards hoped that, as a fire rebuild, their application might be fast-tracked. The city previously contracted with Bureau Veritas, a consulting firm, to process paperwork for homeowners rebuilding after the 2017 wildfires.

But, rebuild permitting is now mainly being handled internally again since there are far fewer applications to the city from subsequent fires. Jones said about 3,000 homes were lost in Santa Rosa, alone, from the Tubbs and Nuns fires.

In comparison, city data shows, the Glass Fire destroyed 34 residential units and damaged 23 within city limits. The majority of these property owners who lost homes have yet to submit applications for rebuilds.

Still, Jones said, for rebuilds, “we do try to move those as quickly as we can.”

The department, however, has to balance against other priorities, such as new residential building in order to align with City Council goals and state requirements, given the critical housing shortage.

Indeed, the implications of the slow-paced permitting for housing scarcity in Sonoma County more broadly has been a nagging concern for Victor as he’s experienced the process firsthand.

While there’s not much homeowners can do while the system works to correct itself, Jones told me making sure the information applicants submit to the city is as complete and accurate as possible “certainly does help expedite the process.”

She said, too, to communicate any deadline-driven situations, such as expiring insurance coverage for a rental that could also speed things up.

When I last talked to Victor and Iracema on Monday, their contractor had just met that morning with a city staffer newly assigned to their permit application. He was optimistic after the conversation, they said, though there’s still no sure timeline.

In the meantime, the Suards will have to sit tight and hope costs don’t keep rising, the permit process accelerates, subcontractors are available and winter weather cooperates.

“Everything’s in limbo,” Victor said.

“We just didn’t think it would be this long,” Iracema added.

“In Your Corner” is a new column that puts watchdog reporting to work for the community. If you have a concern, a tip, or a hunch, you can reach “In Your Corner” Columnist Marisa Endicott at 707-521-5470 or marisa.endicott@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @InYourCornerTPD and Facebook @InYourCornerTPD.