INSIDE
Have a coffee and get a permit

by Meg Olson

“This is a love issue, not a practical business decision,” said Deb Hart, surrounded by the chaos of remodeling the old Blackberries building at the corner of Gulf Road and Marine Drive. “I love Point Roberts and I want to operate out of here.”

After several years of going back and forth Hart has dismantled the Seattle office of her company, Northwest Permit, and is moving it to Point Roberts. “I still have three subcontractors in Seattle, two in San Francisco and there will be three of us running it from here,” she said.

Hart provides building and land permitting facilitation to everyone from private homeowners to large-scale developments, acting as an experienced pilot through the bureaucracy of a long list of counties and municipalities. “It’s like hiring someone to do your taxes,” she explained. “Sure you can do it yourself but you’ll spend weeks learning what they already know because they’ve done it for years.” Mistakes can lead to costly and frustrating delays.

Hart, a volunteer firefighter, donated her services to obtain a conditional use permit and building permit for the new Wellness Center. “Whatcom County is a cakewalk compared to King County,” she said, adding she looked forward to helping more local projects make it through the bureaucratic maze. She also plans to be a reference point for people starting on a project, with information on which local tradespeople and building professionals are available.

The company can operate as well in Point Roberts as anywhere, Hart said, because the bulk of their work can be done by computer, fax and phone. “We basically are the company of the future,” she said. One of Northwest Permit’s primary clients is Quadrant Homes, a division of Weyerhauser Real Estate Company. “We get 100 to 200 single family home permits from them a month,” Hart said. They also do a brisk trade in mechanical permit applications, handling 500 to 700 a month. “Once a permit’s applied for we can track it online and we’ll be updating our own website for clients.”

Northwest Permit’s Point Roberts office won’t fit the standard business mold, since Hart plans to merge it with an Internet café and small store. “Here I have a five person office I moved up, so I might as well use it,” she said. “Think Starbucks meets Kinkos. Come in, use the postage meter, copier, color printers, all the office things you don’t have in your home, and have a latte.” There will be two stationary computers for internet access and two laptops connected to a wireless network for customers to rent time on.

As part of the café Hart wants to offer a showcase for the people and products of Point Roberts, offering local jams, baked goods and eggs, and a few specialty products she misses from living in the big city. “Eventually I’d like to sell fresh bread,” she said.

Hart expects the store and café to have a soft opening this winter and be in full swing next summer, though Northwest Permit continues to operate during construction.

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