Regulatory Expedition

Although by necessity this aspect of any project runs concurrent with the design development, it warrants special focus. With the increased public concern over aesthetics and environmental and health issues along with the continued growth of municipalities, government oversight has had a major impact on project budgets and, more significantly, on schedules. The Regulatory process has become much more cumbersome as city and state submission requirements increase, review staff/committees are requiring more time for reviews, and design elements that were formerly reviewed and addressed by municipal staffs are now requiring Planning and Zoning Board input. In many localities, storage tanks, road access, and utilities access now need state review and approval in addition to local review and approval. Because of these increased pitfalls, management of this process is critical. If deadlines are missed or submissions are not complete, delays of weeks or even months can be experienced in projects. Although, the design team has ongoing involvement in this process, someone needs to manage the flow of information to make sure deadlines are not missed, liaise with the governing entities to keep relationships running in a positive light, and provide gentle prodding when necessary to keep the review process on track; this is where RKL Construction Consultants comes in. We familiarize ourselves with the regulatory requirements; get to know the regulatory agencies and their agents to try to understand their areas of focus, and then manage the team to try to minimize the invariable hiccups. Many projects nearing completion of the design phase have faced major schedule and budgetary setbacks due to regulatory delays that could have been avoided with proper attention.