TREASURE ISLAND — City commissioners heard a familiar refrain at their Sept. 18 special meeting: Getting a building permit in Treasure Island has become a frustrating gamble.
Residents and contractors filled City Hall to describe how outside building inspectors arbitrarily deny permit requests, require lengthy and cumbersome plans, and leave homeowners waiting months for approval.
They told commissioners that outside inspectors regularly reject drainage and grading plans other cities have approved, blaming the complexity of the city’s Terrain Modification Manual for project delays. Ultimately, the complaints proved sufficiently compelling to prompt the City Commission to agree unanimously to scrap the manual…