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:

November 1, 2016

RE:

September 2016 Monthly Permit Reports

 

The Building Safety Division issued 230 building permits in September, with total construction for the month valued at $45,109,527.  Total permit fees assessed for the month were $245,702.  Permits were issued for thirty-eight (38) new residential projects, including five (5) single-family dwellings and thirty-three (33) multi-family dwellings with 762 dwelling units.  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

5

128

33(762)

73(1,191)

230

2,002

$45,109,527

$190,692,482

$245,702

$1,090,592

2015

11

181

0(0)

7(467)

193

1,756

$7,069,337

$194,878,592

$50,114

$821,257

2014

11

77

0(0)

3(83)

198

1,440

$17,158,914

$78,564,707

$96,770

$499,264

2013

8

129

0(0)

23(374)

148

1,545

$5,463,587

$153,480,748

$41,806

$709,787

2012

13

92

0(0)

22(184)

137

1,834

$6,598,503

$75,433,838

$52,953

$559,520

2011

4

80

9(300)

19(363)

218

1,676

$33,189,510

$95,257,493

$164,554

$565,145

2010

31

128

1(124)

6(220)

194

1,715

$17,423,379

$81,711,164

$96,996

$502,240

2009

7

85

0(0)

15(172)

167

1,487

$2,774,787

$54,224,268

$26,037

$430,227

 

Permits were issued for twenty-eight (28) City projects in September, including renovations of emergency department space for crisis stabilization upgrades at Lawrence Memorial Hospital, 325 Maine Street, valued at $169,806; installation of electrical equipment for holiday lighting in Robinson Park, 4 W. 6th Street, valued at $11,000; and twenty-six (26) inflow and infiltration program projects by the Utilities Department at various locations with valuation totaling $75,056.

 

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)

97.1%

2.3

93.3%

7.3

2015

94.7%

2.6

88.8%

7.9

2014

95.5%

2.5

96.0%

6.2

 

In September, staff completed 110 of 115 residential reviews within 5 business days (95.6%), and 70 of 92 commercial reviews within 15 business days (76.0%).  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%

127

108

8.4

84.9%

May

146

139

2.8

95.2%

105

104

4.5

99.0%

June

172

172

1.3

100%

161

161

3.7

100%

July

103

98

2.1

95.1%

105

105

6.5

100%

Aug

124

122

2.5

98.3%

81

74

6.3

91.3%

Sept

115

110

2.1

95.6%

92

70

9.1

76.0%

Oct

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nov

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dec

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

YTD

1,107

1,075

2.3

97.1%

1,224

1,142

7.3

93.3%

 

Permit reports for September are attached.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Top Projects for 2016:

Rank

Construction Valuation

Project Description

1

$26,486,063

The Links at Lawrence Apartments, 5400-5401 Rock Chalk Drive

2

$14,400,000

Alvamar Apartments, 1575-1675-1775 Birdie Way

3

$14,229,107

West End Apartments, 5400 Overland Drive

4

$8,350,000

Village Cooperative, 5325 W 6th Street

5

$6,000,000

Bauer Farms Residential, 4541 Bauer Farms Drive

6

$5,937,631

Maple Street Pump Station, 547 Maple Street

7

$5,700,000

Pinckney Elementary School addition and renovations, 810 W. 6th Street

8

$5,518,200

Bethel Estates of Lawrence, 2140 E 25th Terrace

9

$4,000,000

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

10

$3,965,500

KU Tennis Facility, 6100 Rock Chalk Drive

11

$3,879,000

Clinton Water Treatment Plant improvements, 2101 Wakarusa Drive

12

$3,350,000

Sunflower Elementary School renovations, 2521 Inverness Drive

13

$2,886,000

Growing Smiles Dental Office, 4320 W 6th Street

14

$2,725,000

Douglas County Fairgrounds Open Pavilion, 2120 Harper Street

15

$2,000,000

525 Wakarusa Retail, 525 Wakarusa Drive

16

$1,866,200

Lawrence Paper Company Addition, 2801 Lakeview Road

17

$1,560,000

Regal Cinema Southwind Stadium renovations, 3433 Iowa Street

18

$1,527,000

Clinton Raw Water Pump Station improvements, 1316 E 902 Road

19

$1,304,804

Popeye’s Restaurant, 2540 Iowa Street

20

$1,079,000

Broken Arrow Elementary School renovations, 2704 Louisiana Street

21

$1,023,761

Mid America Credit Union, 550 Wakarusa Drive