Exasperations and Flow

PRMD - if only I could buy a vowel.  

PRMD stands for Permits and Resource Management Department - the County's gauntlet for permission to do what you want to do on the land.  I could never possibly render the range and litany of stories people like to tell in these parts about this County government department.   In moving down this unfamiliar road toward building an ADU in the unincorporated area of the County, many people have cautioned me and/or counseled about how labyrinthian and difficult, if not obstructive, PRMD would be. 

Same holds true for PG&E, Pacific Gas and Electric.  Part of this project involves applying for power - and there are a range of possibilities for what to request, establish and use between construction power, temporary power, and permanent power.  This arena, too, is hallmarked by "it's going to be tough" and "PG&E is going to take forever."

I'm not entirely sure whether these admonitions are an example of "there, there, dear..." thinking and "help" or if they're trying to ensure I am grounded in more reality than magical thinking about how long things will take or if it's just the verbal currency in these trades - the whipping post of the industry - is the bureaucracy.  Incompetence, intractability, difficulty, head scratching disconnects between people, the list goes on.

For sure, since this effort went from thinking to doing last year, there have been exasperations.  Surprising turns of events, unanticipated obstacles.  And if you have known me in my professioal lifespan, you may be aware that there are few bureaucracies I've met that I ever felt daunted by.  I have enjoyed many a scenario where I was able to move a situation from stalled, blocked or dysfunctional to flow and results.  Kinda took pride in it.   This project is giving me plenty of opportunities to apply those experiences anew.

I’ve had victories and been vexed.  My first foray resulted in a decision in my favor related to meeting groundwater requirements.  My most recent included 24 emails to simply get the cost and payment method for the septic system plan review – they won’t do anything till you pay and trying to find out how much and by what mechanism was, well, successful in the end but really?   Same with PG&E, I’ve managed to navigate that system to a scenario where I’ll have metered power within a month of the permit issue – so we’ll build on permitted power – not a year. 

You may know I’ve been quite the white knuckler – love me a roller coaster.  In this context, not so much, and yet, I ride.