Pleasant Grove was awarded the grade of “A” and an “A-“ for providing outstanding service to developers seeking to build office and industrial spaces in the City.  The awards were given recently by the Utah Chapters of the NATIONAL Association of Industrial & Office Properties (NAIOP) and the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors© (SIOR).

The high marks were based upon an annual survey by the two real estate development associations which contracts with Brigham Young University’s Field Studies department.  The group “shopped” twelve cities in Utah County.

In order to receive an A grade a City had to demonstrate outstanding “friendliness, efficiency, and knowledge” when assisting commercial developers.  In addition, cities had to score highly on the following “Best Practices:”

Having a “front-line person who is generally always available  ... to answer all incoming preliminary questions from developers.”
Having knowledgeable people available during regular business hours.
Having centrally located departments which office in the same building.  Sort of a “one stop shop” which can readily and thoroughly answer developer’s questions.
Having printed documentation as hand-outs and having the same information available on the Internet.
Having reasonably-priced developer fees.
Offering quick-turnaround times for entitlements.

Pleasant Grove was singled out several times in the NAIOP/SIOR report for providing quality service.

“The general experience in Pleasant Grove was positive. While their office was busy, they had most of their fees laid out in a straight forward manner and we were able to get most of the information we needed in one place and fairly quickly. I walked in and talked to the receptionist who called the chief building official. This person was able to calculate all of the fees and estimate timelines right at the front desk.”  p.19.

“My visits with Pleasant Grove went very well. The first time that I went in asking for information on the industrial property, I was greeted by a receptionist who seemed to know almost everything that I needed to find out. There were several fee schedules available, which were given to me, and this person offered to calculate some costs in order to apply the fees to the individual project. I was informed that in order to get the building permit information, I would need to speak with an engineer or building official, who was not available at the time.

“The second visit that I paid to Pleasant Grove was even better. I was greeted at the front desk by the chief building inspector, who welcomed me into his office. He then calculated what the building permit fee would be, line by line, to my satisfaction. I did not have to make any follow-up calls or emails after these two visits. The building official reiterated his enthusiasm for development in the city, let me know that the proposed industrial building would be welcome in the city, and asked if there was anything else that could be done in order to help.” p. 33.