West Hartford Has Building Permit Glut

WEST HARTFORD, CT — Town officials have announced Wednesday the West Hartford Building Inspection Division will be closing to the public at 1 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Staff members, however, will still be present as the early closure will allow for them to catch up on handling building permits.

Employees will continue to be in the office until 4 p.m. those days and will be available to take phone calls, according to a Town of West Hartford announcement.

"The Building Office is experiencing a record high number of permits," Town of West Hartford spokesperson Renee McCue said via e-mail Wednesday afternoon. "By changing the service hours, staff will be able to process permits more quickly and efficiently."

As of this week, the new office hours are Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

And, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, office hours are 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Tim Mikloiche, West Hartford's chief building officials, said the town averages between 6,500 and 7,500 permits per year and summer, the height of construction season, is especially busy.

He said the town is experiencing an uptick in multiple types of development, from new businesses to infrastructure to residential home improvements.

"We've never really had a permit slowdown," Mikloiche said.

In addition, the building inspection division’s service window will close on Tuesday, July 5, until further notice.

All transactions will take place in West Hartford Town Hall, 50 S. Main St., Room 208. Access for customers is through the town hall main entrance.

Local officials also have announced a means for building permits to be obtained online, but that process hasn't been finalized just yet.

Mikloiche said when online permit records become operational, it will be a benefit to the department and the town.

"It'll be automated and I'll be able to utilize resources in a different way," Mikloiche said. "When we go online, I'm going to be very excited."

For more information on the Town of West Hartford's Building Inspection Division, click on this link.