Obtaining permits a hurdle for Lake Houston-area businessesThe commercial permitting process is meant to ensure public safety, but some business owners say the system is overly complicated, leading to delays and lost revenue before their enterprise even opens.


The issues can be more complex around the Lake Houston area, where several municipalities and entities have jurisdiction, said Jenna Armstrong, president of the Lake Houston Area Chamber of Commerce. The region includes the cities of Houston and Humble, while other stretches of the Lake Houston area are unincorporated and therefore under the jurisdiction of Harris County.


“A lot of times [business owners] think they’re in the city of Humble, but they’re not,” she said. “They’re in an unincorporated area, and [Harris County] is where you need to go. And a lot of times people have a contractor to set it up, but if they’re not specifically from this area, the contractor doesn’t understand it either.”


Humble, which is home to about 15,000 residents, has fewer layers of bureaucracy than its surrounding neighborhoods, allowing the city to approve permits in less than two months from an initial meeting with the business owner, said Assistant City Manager Jason Stuebe.


“When a new development comes in, I put together a meeting between the engineers, the architects, our engineers, our public works director, our building official and our fire marshal, and we’re able to sit down in a room and hash all of the issues out pretty quickly,” Stuebe said.



Obtaining a permit


Shawn Sturhan, assistant manager of the permit office of the Harris County Engineering Department, said his department works to ensure commercial development is not negatively affecting a neighborhood—from traffic flow and flood prevention outside the business to making sure fire extinguishers and emergency exits are properly marked inside.


“It’s important, because if you’re opening a new business, the public is going to be entering there,” he said. “Whether it’s employees or customers, we check for building life safety so the people inside are going to be safe.”


Before opening a new business within the city of Houston or Harris County’s jurisdiction, individuals must work with several departments to ensure the building is up to code, fire safety regulations are in place and health inspections are passed, according to the Harris County Fire Marshal’s office.


Once a business owner submits site and safety plans to the engineering department, he or she goes through a two-week review process with the county. Officials then return with notes on what has to be done to meet codes and receive final approval.


“We are pretty strict on our two-week reviews,” Sturhan said. “Something that could make reviews long[er] is if [applicants] don’t address comments or make a correction [but] it still doesn’t meet code. We can’t approve something that doesn’t meet code.”



Obtaining permits a hurdle for Lake Houston-area businessesOpenings delayed


Clint Smith, owner of White Lightning—a three-part entertainment venue that features three bars, a restaurant and a barbershop—racked up six-figure losses since snags in the permit process delayed his business opening.


White Lightning, which is in unincorporated Harris County, was initially scheduled to open in February to coincide with the Super Bowl before being pushed back several times as the business continues to wait for final approval on a fire code inspection, Smith said.


“Not getting this right has cost me several hundred thousand dollars,” he said.


Smith said if he could redo the process, he would hire a general contractor who is knowledgeable about the area to work directly with his architect during the design phase of the project. Smith said he spent all of the money he saved by not hiring a contractor during the delays.


He said greater clarity on the rules for each permit could save the county and business owner time and money.


“You never have a submittal that doesn’t get rejected at least the first two or three times,” he said. “I don’t care how big your company is, something is getting rejected. It would be nice if there was a process where we didn’t have to go through that. It almost seems as if there’s a constant waste of time on their part and [the business owner] to have to go to redo plans and resubmit.” 


Susie and John Mims hired a local contractor to help them navigate the process of opening Wild Birds Unlimited in Kingwood, which is within the city of Houston. However, the retailer, which carries bird feeding and nature products, has still faced delays. 


While the business was scheduled to open earlier this year, it has been delayed because of miscommunication between the architect, the contractor and the owners while they  applied for the permits, John said. Construction was delayed by a month as the contractor and architect worked to secure the necessary permits. The couple has since decided to work more closely with the architect after the contractor resigned.


The Mims family said its situation underscores the reality that many factors are beyond an owner’s control when seeking permits to open a business. The Mimses said they expect to spend $15,000 more than they had planned to pay rent and redesign elements of their business to pass inspection.


“The contractor was not necessarily communicating well with us and not giving us solid information,” John said. “We thought we were having permitting issues, but it turned out we were having contractor issues.”


Cities, such as Houston and Humble, are often a one-stop shop for approving permits. However, for businesses established within the Humble there are two exceptions, Stuebe said.


A business owner must reach out to the county for permits if the enterprise is located on a county road, such as Will Clayton Parkway, and requires roadway improvements or is connected to a water system that drains into a county drainage ditch, Stuebe said.



Obtaining permits a hurdle for Lake Houston-area businessesAvoiding Hurdles


The city of Houston is planning to unveil its permitting wizard called the Project Planner, a user-friendly online Obtaining permits a hurdle for Lake Houston-area businessesdatabase, for beta testing this fall, said Alanna Reed, public information officer for the city of Houston’s Public Works and Engineering Department.


The Project Planner will help guide potential business owners to the correct permits with a prompt that features several questions. When the feature goes live, users will be allowed to apply for any permit offered by the city online, Reed said.


“The dynamic decision-making software powering the Project Planner will quickly exclude irrelevant permit categories, ensuring a personalized experience,” Reed said. “At the end of the interview, the Project Planner will provide a customized list of required regulation types—permits, registration, certification and license.”


Harris County Fire Marshal Mike Montgomery said planning can help simplify the process of obtaining permits from the fire marshal’s office.


“Choose reputable contractors that understand Harris County permitting and code requirements, [and] make sure you have all the required permits before beginning,” Montgomery said.


Sturhan said business owners can submit reviews online and pay for permits by credit card. He said he encourages his colleagues to spend extra time on the front end to help business owners understand what has to be done and why.


“Our main goal here is public safety,” Sturhan said. “We’re not trying to stop development or make it hard to open a business. The sooner I can get you meeting code and open for business, the sooner you’re out of my hair.”


The chamber also offers counsel to members and nonmembers on navigating the process, Armstrong said. However, business owners who speak to the chamber earlier in the process can learn common mistakes to avoid and best practices that keep business owners from dramatically increasing their starting costs.


“The hardest thing for a business to open a lot of the time is overcoming those hurdles of getting the permitting approved,” Armstrong said. “A lot of times you’re sitting there ready to open up, and you’re losing money every day that you cannot operate your business, waiting for a permit to be approved.”