CONSENT AGENDA REQUEST

Sponsor:

 Meeting Date:

 Harry F. Atherton, Chairman, Marshall Magisterial District Supervisor  

November 17, 2003

Staff Lead:

Department:  

Frederick P.D. Carr, Director

Community Development

 

Topic: A Resolution to Authorize Engineers and Surveyors Institute (ESI) Peer Review Program Implementation

 

Topic Description:   

At the conclusion of the May 19, 2003 work session, the Board of Supervisors directed staff to implement the ESI Peer Review Program.  Included is a brief summary outlining information regarding ESI and the Fauquier County program. Community Development has worked with ESI, the County Attorney and Purchasing Office in developing the attached and executed October 1, 2003 contract.  The contract will result in the implementation of the Peer Review Program for three time sensitive and complex plan categories:  construction plan, site plan and final plat.  

We are in the process of designing ESI checklists, which will be completed in November.  The County and ESI staff will conduct a public information session for the development community and interested individuals in early December outlining how the program will work and to answer questions.  The program for the stated application categories will officially start on January 5, 2004 .

 

Requested Action of the Board of Supervisors:

The Board of Supervisors is requested to:

(1)   affirm the attached and executed contract with ESI; and

(2)   authorize use of the departmental land development fee revenue, which is not included within Community Development’s FY 2004 Budget or committed to other County uses, to fund the ESI Peer Review Program.

 

Financial Impact Analysis:

 

Will be funded through land development application fees.

Identify Any Other Departments, Organizations or Individuals That Would Be Affected by This Request:

Department of Community Development

Referral Agencies Participating in the Technical Review Committee Process

Engineers & Surveyors

Applicants

                                                

Fauquier County
Department of Community Development
Third Floor - COURT AND OFFICE BUILDING
 40 Culpeper Street
 warrenton , Virginia 20186
(540) 347-8660
FAX (540) 341-3444

planning
(540) 347-8703
 

County engineer
county soil scientist
(540) 347-8660

Zoning Administration
(540) 347-8789
 

Building
and zoning permits
(540) 347-8646
(540) 347-8647
(540) 347-8674

memorandum

TO:                  Fauquier County Board of Supervisors

FROM:           Frederick P.D. Carr, Director

SUBJECT:     Engineers & Surveyors Institute (ESI) Peer Review Program

DATE:            November 7, 2003

cc:                   Christer Carshult, County Engineer

                        Elizabeth Cook, Chief of Planning

                        Kimberley Johnson, Chief of Zoning, Permitting & Inspections

 

A.  Status Update.  The following is a summary of the information presented to the Board of Supervisors at its May 19, 2003 work session.  At the conclusion of the presentation and the question/answer session, the Board of Supervisors directed staff to implement the program as soon as practical.  The Department worked with ESI, the County Attorney and Purchasing Office in developing the attached and executed contract.  The contract will result in the implementation of the Peer Review Program for three time sensitive and complex plan categories:  construction plan, site plan and final plat.

We are in the process of designing ESI checklists, which will be completed in November.  The County and ESI staff will conduct a public information session for the development community and interested individuals in early December outlining how the program will work and to answer questions, while the program will officially start on January 5, 2004 .

B.   Background Information: Engineers & Surveyors Institute (ESI). ESI is a nonprofit Virginia corporation formed in December of 1987, and its primary function was to promote a public/private partnership devoted to improving the quality of engineering plans and the process by which they are approved.  The Institute also provides programs to improve the design and approval process, maintain current practice education for both public and private professionals, and to improve communication through the land development industry.

ESI membership includes engineering and surveying firms practicing in land development in Virginia, local jurisdictions, VDOT, public utility agencies, and other similar organizations (Refer to the List of Engineer & Surveyor Institute Members).  The organization was formed due to the frustration experienced on the part of both local government and professional firms due to confusing regulations and their application and the declining quality of plans filed.  Now there is an established track record in several ESI programs used in neighboring jurisdictions that could assist Fauquier County .

The Department of Community Development proposed in May of 2003 to introduce Engineers & Surveyors Institute (ESI) into the review process for three referenced plan categories (construction plan, site plan, and final plat).  With increased application volume in the complex construction and site plan categories, County staff and referral agencies are being handcuffed by mandatory action timelines, forced to focus on major application flaws, and a declining quality in plan submittals.

The Department’s stated and initial program objectives are threefold:  (1) result in improved initial plan submissions that meet checklist requirements; (2) reduce the number of plan re-submissions; and (3) improve the plan review process and the clarity of the County regulations.  All agencies, including VDOT and the WSA, are operating with staffing constraints and need not to serve as a quality control review for submitting firms that need to fulfill that responsibility.  On the other hand, the County needs to provide a predictable development review process with clear submission requirements, comprehensive and consistent referral review and comments pursuant to development regulation requirements.

C. Proposed Program Summary.  For construction plans, site plans and final plats, there are several advantages to establishing an ESI program tailored to Fauquier County .  It can:

1.      Be self-funding through the applicants;

2.      Provide a review time incentive to those professional firms completing high quality work in conformance with County land development regulations and standards;

3.      Present process predictability;

4.      Provide a disincentive to those not providing quality work (additional submissions, fee penalties, longer review times, and ESI membership issues);

5.      Reduction of the natural adversary relationship between the public and private sector;

6.      Supply an additional source of expertise and assistance to County staff; and

7.      Improve the focus of limited staff resources on major design concerns and comprehensive review, rather than taking time on trivial mistakes.

Board of Supervisors Recommended Action:

At its May 2003 work session, the Board of Supervisors directed staff to implement the ESI Peer Review Program as quickly as practical.  The first step assisting in program implementation was the Board of Supervisors approval of the revised Department of Community Development Fee Schedule on August 18, 2003 .  The fee changes were designed to provide the revenue to support the ESI Peer Review Program.  The second step was to establish an approved contract, which was completed on October 1, 2003 (reference the attached contract).

The Board of Supervisors is now asked to affirm the executed contract and to authorize, if funding adjustments need to be done at the end of the fiscal year for this program, use of the Department of Community Development fee revenue stream which is not included within our FY 2004 Budget or committed to other County uses.

a:ESIimplementation1

List of Engineer & Surveyor Institute Members

Firms

A. Morton Thomas and Associates, Inc.

John P. DiGiulian

Adtek Engineers, Inc.

KJ & Associates

Alexandria Surveys International LLC

Kpff Consulting Engineers

Alpha Corporation

Land Development Consultants, Inc.

ATCS, P.L.C.

Loudoun County Sanitation Authority

Basham & Mullen P.C.

Paciulli, Simmons & Associates, Ltd.

BC Consultants, Inc., The

Patton, Harris, Rust & Associates, P.C.

Bohler Engineering, P.C.

PBS&J

Bowers & Associates, Ltd.

Plan Source, The

Bowman Consulting Group, Ltd.

Prince William County Service Authority

Burgess & Niple, Inc.

R. C. Fields, Jr. & Associates, P.C.

Bury+Partners

Rickmond Engineering Inc.

Carson, Harris & Associates, Inc.

Rinker-Detwiler & Associates, P.C.

Charles P. Johnson & Associates, Inc.

Ross, France & Ratliff, Ltd.

Christopher Consultants, ltd.

Runyon, Dudley Associates, Inc.

Delashmutt Associates, Ltd.

SAAD Consultants, P.C.

Design Management Group

Suburban Development Engineering Inc.

Design/Build concepts, Ltd.

Sverdrup Civil , Inc.

Dewberry & Davis LLC

The Tech Group, Inc.

Eastern States Engineering

T. Y. Lin International

Engineering Group, The

Tri-Tek Engineering

Fairfax County Water Authority

Upper Occoquan Sewage Authority

Fairfax County Public Schools

Urban Engineering & Associates, Inc.

Frederick Ward Associates

VIKA, Inc.

GDN Engineering, Inc.

Vitech Engineering

GHJ Limited

Virginia-American Water Company

GJB Engineering, Inc.

Walter L. Phillips, Inc.

Greenhorne & O’Mara, Inc.

Wetland Studies and Solutions, Inc.

Harold A. Logan Associates, P.C.

Wiles Mensch Corporation

HNTB Corporation

William H. Gordon Associates, Inc.

Huntley, Nyce, & Associates, Ltd.

Zicht Engineering, Ltd.

J. William Ewing, P.E.

 

Jurisdictional Members

City of Alexandria - DOT&ES

Town of Herndon - DPW

Arlington County - DPW

Town of Leesburg

Fairfax County – DPE&ES

Town of Purcellville

City of Falls Church - DPW

VDOT

Loudoun County – DP&D

 

Sustaining Members

 

ESI by-laws limit membership to land development consulting firms, professional geo-technical and environmental consulting firms associated with the land development process, public agencies and quasi-public agencies, and individuals that prepare or review plans for residential, commercial and industrial builders/developers in Virginia and Maryland .