Third Party Plan Reviewers Get to Work as Dallas Responds to Permit Backlog
By Phil Crone, Executive Officer, Dallas BA
Starting on Thursday, Feb. 4, third party plan reviewers including representatives from SAFEbuilt and Metrocode received more than 50 of the 400 homes awaiting plan review in the City of Dallas. As was reported in prior weeks, the Dallas BA’s advocacy and leadership from the city council enabled this positive first step to take place. As of Feb. 1 total average time from plan submittal to permitting stands at 8 weeks, down from a high of 15 weeks a month ago.
Our goal is to get to a consistent turnaround time of 2-3 weeks. I would love to be back to the days of same day permitting, but at least this would finally put Dallas on par with the timelines experienced in other cities and this would not be such a costly crisis for the city and businesses trying to operate within it.
Through November, we estimate the delays prevented Dallas from growing its tax base by as much as $382 million and kept nearly 800 homes from being built. Those were just conservative estimates that have surely grown much higher by now. These are workers missing out on work, city improvements that depend on tax base growth, especially in a budget crunch, not occuring, and families not having a place to live at a time when home has never been so important.
Customer service has suffered as well. Several council members repeatedly expressed frustration with the lack of call backs and applicants who have no idea where their home is in the permitting process and when approval can be expected. That too has seemingly improved.
I’ve noticed a marked change in the city’s response time to the inquiries I’ve received or seen council members receive, especially in the last few days. Development Services Director Kris Sweckard deserves credit for this and has led by example. I hope it keeps up.
I also hope the third party plan reviewers will receive the rest of the 300+ homes remaining in the cue immediately. One vendor alone has the capacity to get through all of them in a week and get the city finally back on track.
We’ll continue to keep members informed on this situation. Please continue to be advocates for your projects by reaching out to city staff and letting us know if there are any new challenges to the 2-3 week timeline we are striving for.