The City of Vero Beach may soon decide to reverse a 42-year policy of letting Indian River County handle building permits and inspections in the city limits, a change that would require a year’s written notice and carry unknown costs.
The reason: recurring complaints – many of which have been heard for years – that having to deal with county offices in addition to those at City Hall makes development and renovation unnecessarily difficult in Vero.
“The situation with the inspections and the building department is not getting better,” Vero Mayor John Cotugno told his colleagues on the City Council two weeks ago. “Things are getting worse. Businesses have opted not to come to our downtown because of the issues they’re having, they’re trying to get approval for their permits, never-mind the inspection processes…