Local insurance agent: UDOT obstructs small businesses State agency should streamline permit process, he says CO ERIN HOOLEY/Standard-Examiner Jay Carnahan stands in front of his State Farm Insurance sign and signs for Interstate 15 in front of his business on 12th Street in Marriott- Slaterville, not far from the Ogden border. Carnahan wants the Utah Department of Transportation to move the signs and streamline the permit-approval process for owners of small businesses. By MITCH SHAW Standard-Examiner Davis Bureau mishaw@standard.net MARRIOTT-SLATERVILLE — The Utah Department of Transportation's red tape is hurting small businesses, one local businessman says. Jay Carnahan recently opened a State Farm Insurance office at 1294 W. 12th St., near the Ogden border. The 63-year-old building is a former farmhouse that Carnahan's grandfather Leon built in 1948. Because the property is on 12th Street, a state-owned road, Carnahan had to gain approval from UDOT for access to his business. UDOT approved the request in the fall, but Carnahan said that, as a small businessman with limited time, money and resources, getting the approval from the state's transportation department was a hassle. "Without a doubt, the process I went through with UDOT was the biggest obstacle for me as a small businessman," Carnahan said. The story begins when Carnahan first bought the property from family in July 2008. His original plan for the property was to turn it into a carwash. Carnahan obtained all of the proper UDOT permits, including a traffic study on how many vehicles would enter the carwash each day. When Carnahan changed his business plan, he had to start the process all over again, he said. "I had to resubmit everything. I even had to do a new traffic study, even though I had already done one and the insurance office would have far less traffic than the carwash." As part of the access-approval process, December 27, 2011 139