West Annie Street

…let us get our certificate of occupancy. We are scheduled to move in this Saturday (!!!) and we still need to have the final inspection by the City inspector and process the final bank draw request and get the bank inspector to sign off too. How did we come to cut it so tight? Why didn’t we give ourselves some wiggle room?

Well, have you ever noticed that whatever time you are given to complete a task you do it in that time? It’s like some kind of law or something.

Oh, we went to our first Bouldin Creek Neighborhood Association meeting last night. They have their s*** together, boy. They are ORGANIZED! They have sector reps (we are in the yellow sector), website, steering committees, many other committees, officers, etc. Last night the City of Austin Clean Water Program department was the main attraction, and when I say the department I mean like all of them came. It was all about the sewer line replacement program and it was pertinent to us because one of their major line replacements skirts right along our new house. If they time it right it could be happening exactly when we have my family in town for Christmas. Yay!

Here are some pictures:

The wood panels next to the door and the railing are temporary and the concrete planters and path up to the house are still to come. Oh, and the carport too - which is one of the main reasons we went to the BCNA meeting. We need to get a variance to put up the carport.

Entry - paper still covers the concrete floor at the Entry.

Hallway w/ LIGHTS!!!

And last, the chrome doorknobs by Baldwin Brass. They are just adorable - I want to wear them as earrings.

**8/17/07 Update: We got our CO! We got our CO!

I really mean it.

So a small portion, about 2ft, of the front of our lot is clipped by the 100 yr flood plain, and because of this, in order to obtain our building permit the plans have to be approved by the Flood Plain Reviewer at the City.

Last week the reviewer tells me that I have two choices, get an elevation certificate from a surveyor OR get a copy of the original subdivision map from the County Clerk’s office to prove that the lot was platted before 1983, in order for him to sign off on the application. I said, of course it was platted before then, it’s one of the oldest subdivisions in the City, but no…. he needs his piece of paper. I say, Fine, you need what you need and I will get it for you. I schlep myself down to the clerk, find the map in microfiche, get a print, scan it, stitch it together and email it to him on Friday of last week.

Then… nothing. He goes into hiding - phone calls and voicemails not answered. That’s Monday, Tuesday. This morning he leaves a voicemail saying “Hey, I got your email and messages, that plat map looks good. You were right it being platted before 1983 (note: the lot was platted in 1888) Um, the only thing is, upon closer look we are going to require that you get that elevation certificate from a surveyor.” Ha Ha. Didn’t need the map after all. Not only that, I could’ve been working on getting the survey certificate all this time!

I don’t know if any of this makes any sense but I am just very disgusted right now. I may be overreacting… I don’t know.

This is a train that has officially left the station. woo hoo! I submitted the permit application to the City of Austin last Friday. They say it should take 7 days - we shall see, we shall see.

Some people were complaining in the building dept’s waiting room because the tv was set to “The View”. They don’t know how good they have it - there are tvs, magazines (good ones, like Bazaar, New Yorker, Newsweek, etc.), and an electronic queue showing you exactly where you are in line. It’s a cush set up here in Austin.

Yes… he was invaluable during the whole process.