Memorandum

City of Lawrence

Planning & Development Services

 

TO:

David L. Corliss, City Manager

FROM:

Barry Walthall, Building Codes Administrator

CC:

Scott McCullough, Planning & Development Services Director

Kurt Schroeder, Asst. Director, Development Services

Date:

May 7, 2015

RE:

April 2015 Monthly Permit Reports

 

The Building Safety Division issued 177 building permits in April, with total construction for the month valued at $8,026,146.  Total permit fees assessed for the month were $67,439.  Permits were issued for 11 new residential projects, all of which were for single-family dwellings.  Comparisons to previous years will be tracked throughout 2015 in the following table:

 

 

One- & Two-Family Permits

Multi-Family Permits

(New Units)

Total Number of Permits

Total Valuation

Permit Fees

Year

Month

YTD

Month

YTD

Month

YTD

Month

YTD

Month

YTD

2015

11

49

0(0)

2(351)

177

629

$8,026,146

$89,314,543

$67,439

$320,258

2014

11

42

0(0)

0(0)

181

497

$7,974,683

$25,758,663

$58,863

$190,745

2013

17

59

11(88)

23(374)

179

613

$19,842,958

$54,826,597

$112,265

$348,060

2012

9

39

22(184)

22(184)

236

769

$19,790,910

$33,607,547

$119,012

$240,230

2011

14

35

0(0)

10(63)

196

652

$5,536,213

$19,479,026

$53,112

$171,261

2010

8

56

0(0)

0(0)

155

607

$12,605,541

$28,772,687

$41,878

$168,465

2009

6

21

2(16)

15(172)

169

565

$6,482,254

$28,256,184

$47,978

$194,760

 

Permits were issued for twenty-one (21) City projects in April, including a permit to update the physical mailing address for a Solid Waste Operations Building at 2215 Kresge Road, for which no construction value was assigned; electrical work to install power for window shades at Lawrence Sports Pavilion, 100 Rock Chalk Lane, with work valued at $4,000; and nineteen (19) plumbing permits for inflow and infiltration program projects by the Utilities Department at various locations with valuation totaling $47,540.

 

The largest projects for the month were a renovation project for the Dwayne Peaslee Technical Career Center at 2920 Haskell Avenue, with construction valuation of $1,045,000; a new Chick-fil-A restaurant at 2735 Iowa Street, valued at $700,000; a building addition for Ulta Beauty at 2727 Iowa Street, valued at $600,000; a new grain elevator for Ottawa Coop at 2001 Moodie Road, valued at $540,000; and a tenant finish for Port Fonda restaurant at 900 New Hampshire Street, valued at $500,000.

 

These statistics are of interest in tracking construction activity in the community, but only partially tell the story for staff workload and performance.  Staff has established performance goals of completing “initial” reviews for residential permits within 5 business days and for commercial permits within 15 business days of the application date.  An initial review is a comprehensive first review of an application and plans for a building project, and may include review work performed by staff from Planning and Development Services, Fire and Medical, Utilities and Public Works Departments, as well as other relevant review agencies (depending on the nature and scope of the project).  Initial and subsequent reviews and comments are tracked in the Innoprise permit tracking system from which reports may be extracted.  Development Services staff is responsible for coordinating review work and disseminating review comments to applicants.

 

During the 2014 calendar year, staff achieved these goals for 95.5% of all residential permits with an average review time of 2.5 days; and 96% of all commercial permits with an average review time of 6.2 days.

 

In April, staff completed 270 of 275 residential reviews within 5 business days (98.1%), and 112 of 113 commercial reviews within 15 business days (99.1%).  The following table tracks performance in meeting these objectives.

 

 

Residential Permits

Commercial Permits

 

Total Number of Reviews

Number of Reviews Completed within 5 Business Days

Average Review Time

Percent of Reviews Completed within 5 Business Days

Total Number of Reviews

Number of Reviews Completed within 15 Business Days

Average Review Time

Percent of Reviews Completed within 15 Business Days

Jan

90

71

3.4

78.8%

111

90

9.5

81.0%

Feb

99

79

3.8

79.8%

97

85

10.0

87.6%

Mar

147

136

2.8

92.5%

94

85

7.8

90.4%

Apr

275

270

2.2

98.1%

113

112

6.7

99.1%

May

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

June

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

July

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aug

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sept

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oct

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nov

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dec

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

YTD

611

556

2.8

91.0%

415

372

8.5

89.6%

 

Permit reports for April are attached.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Top Projects for 2015:

 

Rank

Construction Valuation

Project Description

1

$45,000,000

HERE @ Kansas Mixed Use Building

2

$18,756,680

100 E 9th Mixed Use Project

3

$1,045,000

Dwayne Peaslee Technical Career Center

4

 

 

5

 

 

6

 

 

7

 

 

8

 

 

9

 

 

10