VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - One of the city’s old training rooms is now the planning department's customer service counter.
“We are here temporarily to issue permits, to do plan reviews, to answer phone calls,” said Permits and Inspections Administrator Cheri Hainer.
The original counter was located on the first floor of Building 2.
James Therrin is a local contractor who was actually there on the day of the tragic shooting on May 31.
Click here for our full coverage on the Virginia Beach mass shooting.
“It’s kind of distraught because me and my wife were in the building a few hours pulling another permit,” said Therrin.
He’s here today for an electrical permit he’s been waiting on. Planning administrators are asking people to be patient.
“We are catching up. Our franchise utility permits that require review from other departments such as public utilities and public works are kind of on hold right now,” says Hainer.
If you’re coming in for a simple permit, you should be out in less than 30 minutes.
Hainer adds, “If you’re just getting a trade permit like electrical plumbing, we can usually do those in 15 minutes. A building permit is a little longer depending on the scope of the work you’re doing.”
Payments are not accepted at the temporary location, so once your permit is issued by one of the administrators, customers need to go to the treasurer’s office - which is right across the street inside City Hall - and pay for their permit.
“They pay there, come back with their receipt and we activate the permit for them,” said Hainer.
For more information on the customer service counter, click here.
