Heat Rises on Dallas as Permitting Progress Fizzles
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From The Dallas Builders Association
Frustration among builders in the City of Dallas is rising with the summer temperatures as permitting review times lengthen and inquiries to the city go unanswered.
As of July 27, the average time from submittal to permit issuance is five weeks, with many Dallas Builders Association members reporting much longer waits. The Oak Cliff Municipal Center, originally set to reopen for in-person consultations on July 6, remains largely off-limits to applicants.
Unable to find answers in person, builders are forced to send emails and make calls that largely go unanswered. Inquiries within the much-maligned ProjectDox system often suffer the same fate with applicants often not being notified when revisions or additional documentation are required if permits have progressed in the process.
“New requirements are starting to pop up again without any notice or notification until you find out the hard way,” said Alan Hoffmann of Hoffmann Homes. “A grading waiver that wasn’t required on my last two permits now suddenly is on the third. I’m at six weeks and counting.”
Jeff Dworkin of JLD Custom Homes added, “they are now asking for an American Institute of Architects (AIA) numbering scheme and for certified plats again.”
The certified plat requirement was modified at the onset of the pandemic in favor of an online system and an architect is not required for residential projects.
City leadership is taking notice but has yet to take decisive action on this long-standing problem. Mayor Eric Johnson has made permitting a priority in his “back to basics” approach for the new city council. He has tasked newly-minted Mayor Pro Tem Chad West to get the council on board with proposed solutions.
“I’m encouraged that this is now a top priority for the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem,” said Dallas Builders Association Executive Officer Phil Crone. “Of all of the major problems facing the city, this is the easiest to solve if there is a political will to solve it decisively.”
In February, Dallas began working with third-party plan reviewers and progress soon followed as 15 week review times were reduced to 3 or 4 weeks by late spring. However, during the same time, the timelines for commercial projects lengthened, forcing city staff to attend to that issue.
“Privatization has to be part of the solution at least for residential and small commercial projects,” Crone added. “It is abundantly clear that things cannot continue as they are and with more key permitting staff leaving or retiring, inaction will only make it worse.”
Dallas Builders Association members experiencing delays or frustrations with permitting in the City of Dallas are urged to reach out to the association via email at [email protected] and to contact their councilmember.
Members can find council members by address at this link and locate emails for council and their administrative staff here.
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Privatizing permitting and inspections will work about as well as privatizing electricity rates or the grid! Builders want it privatized so that they can more easily cut corners. The loser is the consumer that purchases a home expecting it’s been built to the structural standards of a licensed architect and insured by construction quality inspections! Privatizing it will make that consumer protection a joke and we will have homes fail just like the condo building in Florida! We cannot let the builders dictate the solution to a problem they created….the need for substantive over-site!
Mr Jones’ opinion is simply uninformed. Builders don’t wish to cut corners but only want efficient processes that serve everyone. Cities don’t take responsibility for the building permits they approve and homes they inspect, if there is ever a problem the liability comes back to builder.