The Development Permit

Now that you’ve acquainted yourself with your fellow townsfolk, it’s time to go about your mayoral duties. This chapter covers all aspects of being the mayor, from earning your development permit to enacting town ordinances and organizing public works projects.

Before you can do much as mayor, you need to earn your town-development permit. This important permit will only be issued to you after you’ve earned a 100 percent approval rating from the local citizens.

Earning a 100 percent approval rating takes a bit of effort. To discover your current approval rating, take a seat in the big chair behind the town hall’s service counter. This is the mayor’s chair, and Isabelle offers to tell you your current approval rating when you sit here.

Isabelle can also give you tips on how to boost your approval rating. Pay close attention to her advice—or simply take a gander at this helpful list:

• Design a new town flag (ask Isabelle for help).
• Compose a new town theme song (ask Isabelle for help).
• Water flowers around town.
• Pull weeds around town.
• Write messages on the bulletin board.
• Donate fossils, fish, and bugs to the museum.
• Sell items at Re-Tail.
• Fish up garbage from ponds, rivers, and the sea, and then recycle it at Re-Tail.
• Mingle with the citizens (talk to them, send them letters, help them out, give them gifts, etc.).

  

It takes time to earn your development permit because your citizen satisfaction rating peaks each day. Keep checking in with Isabelle, and when you notice that your rating isn’t improving, feel free to quit working toward this goal and simply enjoy the rest of your day.

When you’ve at last attained a 100 percent approval rating, Isabelle informs you that she’ll submit your application for the town-development permit right away. It’ll take a day or two before you receive your permit, but the hard part is over!