Changes in HSVPOA Permitting & Inspections
Matt Broom, Associate Director of Hot Springs Village Public Services Department, said that HSVPOA staff has made changes to improve the new home-building process in Hot Springs Village. Broom said the Permitting and Inspections Department wants to ensure everyone is on the same page.
The recent changes made in Permitting and Inspections are to protect new-build property owners and home builders. The changes will help avoid problems that property owners reported from past new builds; Broom is working to eliminate issues that occurred in the past.
“The village is our home, and quality construction practices must be used!”
Matthew Broom, Hot Springs Village POA Associate Director of Public Services
The new permitting and inspection process focuses on clarification of responsibility.
Occasionally, owners of newly built homes are unaware that the builder should address some of the problems with their property, not the POA. Broom said, “When Public Services took Permitting and Inspections under our wings, we decided we would target the things being brought to our attention by property owners, sometimes, years later. Property owners may be erroneously informed by the contractor that some things that fall under contractor responsibility belong to the POA. In other words, property owners may believe they have issues the POA is responsible for addressing, but the onus really falls on the builder.”
Much of the misunderstandings concern drainage and matters from a street maintenance standpoint. Broom said, “The POA does not reroute drainage on common or private property. Drainage will flow naturally, and it falls on the builder to accommodate for the drainage. We are learning from the past and intend to evolve and improve our service to property owners and new home builders.”
While the POA is not responsible for approving drainage, they can point out any red flags they see and explain that the builder must address the drainage issue. It is up to the builder or another expert to decide how to handle the drainage issue. If the POA sees a problem with the plan, they will not approve the permit.
Broom stated, “We have builders that don’t call and schedule required POA inspections. We are trying to stop this.”
The POA will also be stressing, “Do No Harm,” which means do not harm the POA infrastructure, roads, drainage systems, or the neighbors. We see too often where builders cause erosion or other issues for the neighboring properties.”
Contour changes
“We mistakenly stated that two-foot contours are available on the Members Section of the Explore the Village website. The site shows five-foot contours. We kept the five-foot contour requirement but added language that we would provide the two-foot elevation drawings if we needed additional elevation drawings. Many times, five-foot contours suffice,” stated Broom.
Contractor Meeting
Broom said, “We are trying to get all of the contractors up to speed on these changes. We will meet with the contractors later in February or early March. We will review the changes during this meeting, and builders can ask questions after our presentation.”
Pre-construction meeting before issuing a permit
“We also want to set up a short on-site Pre-construction Meeting between our staff and the builder to review items such as stormwater management, drainage, and elevation issues. We want the contractors to understand the POA expectations,” explained Broom. A permit will not be issued before the Pre-construction meeting is completed. We just rolled out our New Construction Permit Packet this week. We did not revamp the entire building permit form and only made a few changes. Builders must obtain a permit before clearing the lot.”
Scheduling a pre-construction meeting
The preferred method of scheduling a pre-construction meeting is by using the Online Service Request Form, located here, or the on-site conference can be scheduled by calling the office at (501) 922-5556.
Hot Springs Village wants only good builders!
“We have new builders coming into the village all of the time and we welcome them. We want good builders. We do not need more builders; we need more good builders.”
Matthew Broom, Hot Springs Village POA Associate Director of Public Services
Very Important! Property owners need to report to the POA when small-permit projects are completed.
Broom says residents should use the online request form to report the completion of a small permit project. Small permit projects are for things like new landscaping, home additions, etc. After the project is finished, the property owner must inform the POA so an inspection can be scheduled and the “books” can be closed. “If we are not notified of a small project completion, eventually, we will reach out to the property owner. Often, they don’t contact us to let us know the project is finished. Notification by the property owner of project completion helps our process close out more quickly, simplifying the process for all involved.” To close out a project, please use the online Public Services request form or call the office at (501) 922-5562. Click here to view the Online Public Service Request Form.
By Cheryl Dowden
Click here to join our Hot Springs Village Property Owners’ private Facebook group.
Really great ideas. Matt Broom is really the right guy for the job.