What’s in a Word: Guarantee
People often ask us if we can "guarantee" an approval. Our answer is simply "no".
Many small, or 1st time developers, believe once they pay their money, they should get approval (aka pay fee = entitled). Unless you’re a professional developer, they normally don't understand that even a small request is still development is not guaranteed.
Let’s look at the definition of “guaranteed”:
Guaranteed, adj. (Merriam-Webster)
guar·an·teed | \ ˌger-ən-ˈtēd
assured with a guarantee; protected or promised by a guarantee
certain to have a specified result or effect
We ARE land use specialists, yet we CANNOT guarantee success. We CAN however improve your chances of being approved, by helping to translate what the municipality wants and helping you understand how to do it. We’re also in the business of managing risk and expectations, doing our best to ensure that your final result is desirable and achievable.
Despite our best efforts, a project may not get approved. Our results can never be certain. Sometimes a survey is off, or our analysis raises questions with the municipality. When this happens, we balance competing demands in order to meet your goals, while answering stakeholder questions. Most of the time, we’re successful. Sometimes, we’re not. We make your project our own, so we celebrate success while embracing and learning from Failure (ed: the dreaded “F” word. Look for a future blog?!?) .
Our job, as planners, is to negotiate on your behalf. Sometimes this is as simple as answering questions of the municipal planner. Other times, it could be a matter of meeting and formally negotiating with the municipal planner, when a contentious issue is identified with the application.
A useful analogy: When you buy a car, does the shop guarantee the car will work?
No. But they will warranty it for 30, 60, 90 days or up to 10 years, depending on new/old/make, which will help give you peace of mind. Thus, you’re taking a calculated risk when buying a car that it will work, with minimal/no trips to the mechanic for a period of time. That’s NOT a guarantee!
Here’s another one: If you build a house, is it guaranteed to provide you with a safe home?
No. If it is built to Building Code standards or better, by a qualified contractor (rather than you as the contractor), and is inspected by a qualified Building Inspector, chances are it will be guaranteed by Tarion to stand for at least 5 years. BUT you must pay for the qualified contractor, the inspector and the Tarion warranty. So, nothing is really guaranteed; r Rather, you’re insured against certain losses. Consider this next time you decide to save a few dollars by being your own general contractor.
In the world of land use planning, you as a homeowner wanting to sever your lot are treated, by the law, the same as a subdivision builder. You’re both held to the same standard, which is fair, as this is what ensures consistency across the planning process. The difference is that the builder has done this a few times before so they know what to expect. You, by contrast, haven’t.
