Work record / Stories

Permitting a category that did not exist yet

There was no permit path for axe throwing in Costa Mesa, so I built the case myself.

My plan was to open the first axe-throwing venue in Southern California, inside a Costa Mesa warehouse I already had. The city's use code had never anticipated the category, so no permit path existed.

Waiting for another city to set the example was not my approach. I pursued a first-of-its-kind use permit head on and argued that this use fit within a code that never named it.

Arriving early to a category means the rules have not caught up. Either you wait for someone else to create the precedent, or you take on the job of proving the case to the regulator. I took the second path, the same instinct that put me ahead in green building and search marketing.

The use permit was approved by Costa Mesa. In a warehouse I converted myself, the venue opened among the first of its kind in the region. Starting from nothing, it generated almost $89,000 in sales across its first four months, and the business sold within about a year of opening.

With no permit path for a category, somebody has to make the case to the regulator and not sit waiting. That meant convincing a room of public officials who had never evaluated anything like it. The negotiation depended on preparation and credibility, not on precedent.

Story details

All stories · Work record