Submitted by Chris Chiodini, Community Development Director, City of Grandview
You’ve always dreamed of owning your own business. You have always been the independent type of person and want to be in control of your own destiny. Now, the opportunity to start your business has finally come around and you’ve chosen Grandview, Missouri as your location.
Before you put “hang your shingle” and open your doors to that new business venture, have you thought about, researched and done the following things to make sure you are following all the rules of operating your business in Grandview?
1. Have you contacted the staff at the Grandview Chamber of Commerce (www.grandview.org or 816-761-6505) to learn all you can about the business environment in the City from the perspective of other business owners? This might include research on the demographics within the City, your potential market and potential competitors.
2. Is your business going to be operated from your home (a home-based business) or will you be leasing space or purchasing a building in the City from which you will operate your business?
3. If your business is designed to be a home-based business, have you spoken or visited with City staff in the Development Services Division (Sara Copeland at scopeland@ci.grandview.mo.us or 816-316-4822) to determine if your business is one that can be operated as a home-based business? The City’s Zoning Ordinance is very specific about which types of businesses can be operated from your home and the conditions under which they must be operated.
4. If your business will be operated from a location in the City outside your home, will you be leasing space or purchasing the building? This is very important because the City has different zoning districts throughout the City which control which type of businesses can operate in that specific zoning district. For example, you would like to operate a business that manufactures plastic and paper products from recycled materials. This type of business is only allowed in certain zoning districts.
5. Once you have the type of business and the allowable zoning district of the City, you can begin to narrow your search on available land and/or facilities to locate your business operation. Most business people are not experts at the finer points of real estate site selection, zoning or real estate transactions. Have you engaged the services of a commercial real estate professional and/or a real estate attorney to help guide you through this process such that you can locate the right piece of real estate, lease negotiations, purchase agreements or other real-estate issues?
6. Once you have located what you feel is the right piece of real estate in the proper zoning district, have you met with City staff to discuss your business idea and its physical layout requirements before purchasing the property? Many times, a piece of real estate is purchased prior to any meetings with City staff, and unfortunately, there are fundamental issues with the site and/or building that will not allow the prospective business owner to use the purchased property as intended. An example of this might be that your business, according to the building code, requires operational fire sprinklers installed in the building due to the nature of the business process or chemicals involved, and the building you bought has no fire sprinkler system and the water lines that provide service to the building do not have enough flow or pressure to support a fire sprinkler system.
7. The fire sprinkler system is just one of many performance-related issues that your prospective site must address in order for the business to locate and operate in that space. One very beneficial service provided at the City is weekly Pre-Application Meetings that any current or prospective business owner can have with City staff. There is no fee for these meetings and it gives the business owner the opportunity to discuss any and all issues with City staff that might affect their business such as off-street parking requirements, utility connections, building permit fees, inspections, site plans, building setbacks, building heights, perimeter fencing, landscaping, signage and screening requirements among other items. To set up a meeting, you would call Sara Copeland, City Planner, at 816-316-4822 or e-mail at scopeland@ci.grandview.mo.us.
As a current or future business owner, there are many issues you must deal with. The successful business owner will take the information presented above and study it, research it and contact City staff at every opportunity to insure that they are not only following the City’s rules, but doing so in a manner that saves them time, money and heartache. We wish you every success along the path of business ownership and stand ready to work with you here in Grandview, Missouri
Chris Chiodini
Community Development Director
City of Grandview, Missouri
(816) 316-4820
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