Memorandum

City of Lawrence

Planning & Development Services

 

TO:

Thomas M. Markus, City Manager

FROM:

Barry Walthall, Building Codes Manager

CC:

Scott McCullough, Planning & Development Services Director

Kurt Schroeder, Asst. Director, Development Services

Date:

May 23, 2016

RE:

April 2016 Monthly Permit Reports

 

The Building Safety Division issued 188 building permits in April, with total construction for the month valued at $9,068,686.  Total permit fees assessed for the month were $74,001.  Permits were issued for seventeen (17) new residential projects, including sixteen (16) single-family dwellings and one (1) duplex.  Comparisons to previous years will be tracked throughout 2016 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

2016

17

53

0(0)

39(377)

188

765

$9,068,686

$77,781,967

$74,001

$467,679

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 nineteen (19) City projects in April, including work on electrical systems at the Clinton Lake Softball Complex, 5101 Speicher Road, valued at $3,000; demolition of a single-family dwelling at 2632 Rawhide Lane that was damaged by fire, with no construction value; and seventeen (17) permits for inflow and infiltration program projects by the Utilities Department at various location with valuation totaling $45,410.

 

The largest projects for the month included a renovation of the Delta Chi Fraternity at 1245 West Campus Road, valued at $938,000; and a renovation of the Hampton Inn at 2300 W. 6th Street, valued at $825,000.

 

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 2015 calendar year, staff achieved these goals for 94.7% of all residential permits with an average review time of 2.6 days; and 88.8% of all commercial permits with an average review time of 7.9 days.  For comparison, the following table provides data from 2014 (the first full calendar year for which data is available) as well as 2016 year-to-date performance.

 

Year

Residential %

Residential Average

(# of Days)

Commercial %

Commercial Average (# of Days)

2016 (YTD)

97.0%

2.6

92.3%

8.6

2015

94.7%

2.6

88.8%

7.9

2014

95.5%

2.5

96.0%

6.2

 

In April, staff completed 136 of 141 residential reviews within 5 business days (96.4%), and 107 of 126 commercial reviews within 15 business days (84.9%).  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

66

65

2.3

98.4%

247

243

10.1

98.3%

Feb

88

85

2.6

96.5%

161

146

7.4

90.6%

Mar

152

148

2.8

97.3%

145

131

7.7

90.3%

Apr

141

136

2.3

96.4%

126

107

8.4

84.9%

May

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

June

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

July

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aug

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sept

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oct

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nov

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dec

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

YTD

447

434

2.6

97.0%

679

627

8.6

92.3%

 

Permit reports for April are attached.

 

 

 

 

 

Top Projects for 2016:

Rank

Construction Valuation

Project Description

1

$14,229,107

West End Apartments, 5400 Overland Drive

2

$6,000,000

Bauer Farms Residential, 4541 Bauer Farms Drive

3

$5,518,200

Bethel Estates of Lawrence, 2140 E 25th Terrace

4

$4,000,000

800 New Hampshire multi-family dwelling addition, 800 New Hampshire

5

$3,965,500

KU Tennis Facility, 6100 Rock Chalk Drive

6

$3,879,000

Clinton Water Treatment Plant improvements, 2101 Wakarusa Drive

7

$2,725,000

Douglas County Fairgrounds Open Pavilion, 2120 Harper Street

8

$2,000,000

525 Wakarusa Retail, 525 Wakarusa Drive

9

$1,560,000

Regal Cinema Southwind Stadium renovations, 3433 Iowa Street

10

$1,527,000

Clinton Raw Water Pump Station improvements, 1316 E 902 Road

11

$1,304,804

Popeye’s Restaurant, 2540 Iowa Street

12

$1,023,761

Mid America Credit Union, 550 Wakarusa Drive