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:

January 17, 2016

RE:

December 2016 Monthly Permit Reports

 

The Building Safety Division issued 183 building permits in December, with total construction for the month valued at $10,314,001.  Total permit fees assessed for the month were $66,934.  Permits were issued for six (6) new residential projects, including four (4) single-family dwellings and two (2) duplexes.  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

6

171

0(0)

74(1,205)

183

2,577

$10,314,001

$220,882,200

$66,034

$1,310,559

2015

14

239

0(0)

7(467)

153

2,320

$11,944,652

$227,899,792

$71,651

$1,050,479

2014

15

116

3(60)

6(143)

152

1,930

$8,693,934

$99,707,903

$62,561

$669,545

2013

10

165

0(0)

23(374)

135

1,984

$9,172,804

$171,995,682

$58,458

$850,052

2012

5

126

0(0)

22(184)

165

2,377

$8,853,368

$100,656,131

$42,470

$735,564

2011

6

99

0(0)

19(363)

140

2,172

$7,172,022

$115,736,112

$45,201

$705,173

2010

9

156

0(0)

6(220)

195

2,255

$4,296,103

$101,862,636

$33,733

$633,188

2009

18

126

0(0)

15(172)

172

1,998

$5,510,022

$75,376,444

$46,092

$565,525

 

Permits were issued for seventeen (17) City projects in December, including renovations in the emergency room lobby and triage at Lawrence Memorial Hospital, 325 Maine Street, valued at $987,461; remodel of the physical therapy suite at Lawrence Memorial Hospital, 325 Maine Street, valued at $70,000; a new wall sign for the Household Hazardous Waste Facility at 2201 Kresge Road, valued at $3,500; and fourteen (14) inflow and infiltration program projects by the Utilities Department at various locations with valuation totaling $38,270.

 

The largest projects for the month were a new PetSmart at 4820 Bauer Farm Drive valued at $2,333,952; renovation of the Marsh Building at 623 Massachusetts Street valued at $1,400,000; and a KU Golf practice facility at 1610 Birdie Way valued at $1,071,500.

 

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

96.5%

2.3

92.2%

7.2

2015

94.7%

2.6

88.8%

7.9

2014

95.5%

2.5

96.0%

6.2

 

In December, staff completed 64 of 64 residential reviews within 5 business days (100%), and 149 of 153 commercial reviews within 15 business days (97.3%).  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%

246

242

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

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

93

82

2.9

88.1%

128

96

8.2

75.0%

Nov

103

99

2.6

96.1%

67

63

5.8

94.0%

Dec

64

64

2.0

100%

153

149

6.5

97.3%

YTD

1,367

1,320

2.3

96.5%

1,570

1,448

7.2

92.2%

 

Permit reports for December 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

$2,333,952

PetSmart, 4820 Bauer Farm Drive

16

$2,000,000

525 Wakarusa Retail, 525 Wakarusa Drive

17

$1,866,200

Lawrence Paper Company Addition, 2801 Lakeview Road

18

$,1,766,000

826 Pennsylvania Brewery + Apartments, 826 Pennsylvania Street

19

$1,560,000

Regal Cinema Southwind Stadium renovations, 3433 Iowa Street

20

$1,527,000

Clinton Raw Water Pump Station improvements, 1316 E 902 Road

21

$1,400,000

Marsh Building Renovation, 623 Massachusetts Street

22

$1,304,804

Popeye’s Restaurant, 2540 Iowa Street

23

$1,170,000

Wakarusa Township Fire Station #1, 300 W 31st Street

24

$1,079,000

Broken Arrow Elementary School renovations, 2704 Louisiana Street

25

$1,071,500

KU Golf Practice Facility, 1610 Birdie Way

26

$1,023,761

Mid America Credit Union, 550 Wakarusa Drive