Greensburg now has contracts with two third-party companies to handle building permits and inspections.

The city is asking developers to choose which they’d prefer working with — Millvale-based Code.sys, which has handled inspections since 2015, or the newly contracted Code Enforcement Agency (CEA) of Jefferson Hills.

“We’re shifting from bossing people around to saying, ‘Here are your options,’ ” said Jeff Raykes, the city’s planning director.

Before 2015, the city handled building permits and inspections. It brought in Code.sys after the retirement of code enforcement officer Les Harvey.

Last year, city officials were thinking about switching companies, replacing Code.sys with CEA. However, Raykes said he thought the city would be better off retaining both companies.

“It’s to everyone’s advantage to have two competent third-party agencies available,” he said.

This change won’t cost the city any money. Instead, CEA and Code.sys keep a majority of the fees for the permits they issue.

Code.sys President Peg Russell said she’s not aware of any other communities with a similar situation. She has no problem working with CEA, especially since the alternative was losing her company’s contract with the city, she said.

“We got the letter that our contract was canceled, then I got an email from Jeff asking if we’d be willing to work with CEA,” she said. “Of course I’m not going to say no to that.”

She said she is concerned that the companies’ different processes may lead to confusion, for developers and for city staff, but so far there have been no issues.

Suzanne Ward, co-owner of City Cribs LLC, said this move will benefit property owners and developers.

Her company worked over the last year to renovate the building at 136 S. Pennsylvania Ave., and she believes having two companies vying for developers’ permit fees will lead to better service.

“I think it was smart for the city to do that, to allow the developers to be able to choose,” she said. “Things are going a little faster now, when you go to get things reviewed.”

Lee Calisti, a Greensburg architect, is worried the change could cause confusion. He said he’s not aware of any other municipalities that have two code enforcement companies. He’s worked with both CEA and Code.sys, but said developers don’t have enough information to make an informed choice between them.

“My concern is, how does one choose?” he asked. “On what basis does one choose? Is it based on knowledge, is it based on rumor, is it based on reputation, or legend?”

He’s also concerned that having two companies could create conflicting standards for code enforcement.

“How do we know that this isn’t going to cause a mom-versus-dad situation, ‘mom said it’s OK, and dad said it’s not?’ ” he said.

According to Raykes, a resident or developer will choose a company at the beginning of their project and stay with the same company throughout the project.

Each company has its own processes and sets its own fees. Raykes said he could not provide information on cost differences between the two companies because each project is different depending on size and scope.

Residents can find information and permit application paperwork at the planning department at Greensburg City Hall, regardless of which company they choose.

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