STUART, Fla. — Four months after sharing her permitting frustrations with WPTV, a Stuart business owner finally has the storage building she says her company desperately needed.
Janet Milici, co-owner of Natural Flow Impact Windows and Doors, first spoke with WPTV at our “Let’s Hear It” community meetup in Jensen Beach in May.
At the time, Milici said she and her husband had spent nearly two years trying to get a permit for a 30x40-foot storage building at their business.
Milici said the permitting process had cost the business nearly $40,000 and created significant frustration.
Four months later, WPTV reporter Brooke Chau returned to the business — and the building is finally complete.
“The building itself is awesome, but the process that we had to go through to obtain permitting and finally get the building in has been grueling,” Milici said.
The timing is especially important for Milici; with hurricane season underway, she says the new storage space will allow the business to better protect materials if a storm threatens the Treasure Coast.
“I have goosebumps right now because it's hurricane season and we have been very, very lucky so far because nothing has come up, but now if something happens I have the storage space,” Milici said.
The City of Stuart previously told WPTV that Milici's application went through multiple rounds of review and received several extensions.
Looking back, Milici said she wonders whether asking more questions earlier in the process could have made a difference.
“If maybe I looked into it a bit further and asked more questions, maybe it wouldn't have taken this long,” she said.
Milici said she hopes other small-business owners can learn from what she experienced.
“I am so thankful to you, and to News Channel 5, for bringing this to everyone's attention. I am not going to get my money back, but at least it's out there, and people know what to expect,” she said.
For Milici, the permitting battle is finally over — and the storage space is now ready to serve the business.
We want to be your voice and help you find solutions.
While we hold our monthly Let's Hear It meet-ups, we know many are not able to attend, but we still want to hear from you and start taking action to get you answers. You can e-mail us at LetsHearIt@wptv.com.
