All You Need to Know about Velocity Track Permit Approval from DCRA Currently, DCRA (District of Columbia’s Department of Consumer & Regulatory Affairs) is providing a velocity track permit, which is a fast-track permit review program for the building owners. This endeavor is taken by the DCRA for streaming the construction plan reviewing and the permitting processes in Washington DC. The velocity track review program abides by the goal of accelerating building plan reviews and getting faster permit approval for construction, including different types of building projects. 2 levels of the Velocity Track Program in DC The Velocity program of DCRA is divided into 2 levels of services including Velocity and Expedition.
Velocity Service is meant for the customers whose building design concepts and plans are completed and ready for submission. Expedition Service is intended for the clients whose plans are currently in the design phase. Meetings coinciding with the typical milestones of an architectural development encompass 30%, 60%, 90% & 100% drawings. These are alike the Velocity Service in that all Registered Design Professionals should attend and partake as a state of acceptance. Likewise, all the plans attended by the examiners, problems related to the discuss code, and potential code violations should be amended before the subsequent meeting.
Fees for the Velocity & Expedition Program in DC The Velocity and Expedition programs entail a separate fee over the typical DCRA permitting fees, which is calculated as per the size of the construction project. Expedition suite starts at $12,500 and the velocity track program starts at around $50,000. Process of Submitting Building Projects for accepting into Velocity Track Program for Permit Issuance A plan submitted for review through the Velocity program often gets approved from DCRA within a day. Nevertheless, there is a procedure for submitting a building project to be accepted into the Velocity program. They include Consultation, Payment of Fees, and Pre-Submittal Review Meeting.
Consultation – During the consultation stage, you have to discuss the scope of the building project submitted along with the timeline, and the budget individually, through a web conference or over the phone. Sometimes, you may need to submit an application and a detailed project description at this time. As soon as the consultation is undertaken by the building project, the DCRA advises whether the project can be applied for the Velocity program. Payment of Fees: Just the once the project is accepted in the Velocity program, a $5,000 needs to be deposited for proceeding the program. Pre-Submittal Review Meeting: The Velocity program involves a pre-submittal Review Meeting with DCRA plan reviewers, entailing the presence and partaking of all design professionals working on the building project. Second Plan Review Session: As soon as the comments are addressed by the design professionals from the Pre-Submittal Review Meeting, a second plan review session is conducted, at the end of which the DCRA approves all the plans.
