The only thing worse than getting ripped off with an excessive list of fees in the permit process is getting ripped off and having them misapply regulations which then cost thousands of unnecessary extra dollars.

In my last letter, I said the building inspector looked at my plans and declared that what was required was “ridiculous.” Well, it turns out that the building and safety plan checker was insisting on applying a code that didn’t apply. In other words, my project was exempt from that code.

The point is, besides the excessive charges, the process and the labyrinth of laws are too complex for even those applying the laws to understand.

We have a candidate, Joe Scarafone, who largely bases his campaign on the need to clean up the permit process. Not only doesn’t Stone address this issue, he doesn’t respond to letters asking for help with the problems of the permit process.

Is this representative government? I invite anyone, in or out of the construction or building materials business, who feels we need reform to sign the petition, which I’m going to send to both Stone and Scarafone.

Eric Townsend
Idyllwild