 Hi, I'm Brandon Burnett, Development Center Administrator for the City of Columbia, and here in the Development Center we handle permitting for projects within the city limits of the City of Columbia. We handle permit questions and intake, and make sure the right city departments are at the table when it comes time for your pre-development questions and permit reviews. That means that here in the Development Center we provide one point of entry for construction staff, and our staff coordinates plan reviews among various city departments. While a lot of what we do deals with processing permits from application to CEOs, I'd like to focus on an early and very important stage for the permitting process, the pre-application conference. Here in the Development Center we regularly help schedule pre-application conferences which provide an opportunity for developers and city staff to discuss projects in the early permitting stages and help us provide critical information about permitting stages and time frames. Here in the Development Center we regularly help schedule pre-application conferences which provide an opportunity for developers and city staff to discuss projects in the early planning stages and they help us provide critical information about permitting stages and time frames, what to anticipate in the review process, design considerations, and also to answer any early questions the development team may have. While pre-application conferences can be helpful for developers at various stages prior to submittal for a permit or site plan, we found that they are most fruitful before the majority of design work has already occurred. These early conversations can help streamline a developer's design process and project management. That's one of the reasons why an updated code requires pre-application conferences for certain types of applications prior to submittal. Pre-application conferences are required for major site plans, preliminary plots, zoning map amendments, plan development applications, both new applications and applications to revise as well as development agreements and again for new applications and to revise existing ones. That being said if a pre-application conference isn't required for your application we still encourage you to take advantage of this process and we're more than happy to help get one scheduled for you. Pre-application conferences are optional for the following, administrative adjustments, variance requests from zoning or land development regulations, tree removal permits, conditional use permits, forestry permits, sign permits, temporary use permits, zoning permits, minor site plans and minor subdivisions, sketch plans, final plots for major subdivisions, minor and major certificates of design approval for historic properties and architectural reviews and special exception permits. If and when you and your team are ready to schedule a pre-application conference please feel free to give us a call at 803-545-3420 or email us at developmentcenter at columbiasc.gov again developmentcenter at columbiasc.gov and we'll be happy to get the right folks at the table for your meeting.