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 15, 2017

RE:

April 2017 Monthly Permit Reports

 

The Building Safety Division issued 193 building permits in April, with total construction for the month valued at $11,764,165.  Total permit fees assessed for the month were $74,910, and total review fees assessed were $4,704.  Permits were issued for fifteen (15) new residential projects, including ten (10) single-family dwellings and five (5) duplexes.

 

Comparison to previous years will be tracked throughout 2017 in the following table:

 

 

One- & Two-Family Permits

Multi-Family Permits

(New Units)

Total Number of Permits

Total Valuation

Plan Review & Permit Fees

Year

Month

YTD

Month

YTD

Month

YTD

Month

YTD

Review Fees (Month)

Permit Fees (Month)

Total Fees (YTD)

2017

15

78

0(0)

0(0)

193

714

$11,764,165

$50,533,653

$4,704

$74,910

$356,742

2016

17

53

0(0)

39(377)

188

765

$9,068,686

$77,781,967

$0

$206,147

$393,593

2015

11

49

0(0)

2(351)

177

629

$8,026,146

$89,314,543

$0

$114,350

$252,894

2014

11

42

0(0)

0(0)

181

497

$7,974,683

$25,758,663

$0

$81,170

$153,189

2013

17

59

11(88)

23(374)

179

613

$19,842,958

$54,826,597

$0

$79,437

$234,098

2012

9

39

22(184)

22(184)

236

769

$19,790,910

$33,607,547

$0

$36,690

$121,218

2011

14

35

0(0)

10(63)

196

652

$5,536,213

$19,479,026

$0

$60,031

$118,149

2010

8

56

0(0)

0(0)

155

607

$12,605,541

$28,772,687

$0

$66,457

$126,587

2009

6

21

2(16)

15(172)

169

565

$6,482,254

$28,256,184

$0

$86,271

$146,783

 

Permits were issued for thirty-three (33) City projects in April, including installation of solar photovoltaic panels at the Fire Administration Building (Fire Station 5), 1911 Stewart Avenue, valued at $165,894; replacement of heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment at fifteen (15) City buildings with valuation totaling $828,865; one temporary sign at the Fire Administration Building, 1911 Stewart Avenue, valued at $250; one temporary sign at Sports Pavilion Lawrence, 100 Rock Chalk Lane, valued at $0; and eighteen (18) inflow and infiltration program projects by the Utilities Department at various locations with valuation totaling $57,482.

 

The largest projects for the month include a building addition for API Foils, 3841 Greenway Circle, valued at $2,200,000; and a building addition for RP Lawrence LLC, 1217 Biltmore Drive, valued at $1,489,800.

 

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 2016 calendar year, staff achieved these goals for 96.5% of all residential permits with an average review time of 2.3 days; and 91.6% of all commercial permits with an average review time of 7.3 days.  For comparison, the following table provides data from 2014 (the first full calendar year for which data is available) as well as 2017 year-to-date performance.

 

Year

Residential %

Residential Average

(# of Days)

Commercial %

Commercial Average (# of Days)

2017 (YTD)

93.5%

2.8

80.2%

8.3

2016

96.5%

2.3

91.6%

7.3

2015

94.7%

2.6

88.8%

7.9

2014

95.5%

2.5

96.0%

6.2

 

In April, staff completed 139 of 150 residential reviews within 5 business days (92.6%), and 73 of 113 commercial reviews within 15 business days (64.6%).  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 (Days)

Percent of Reviews Completed within 5 Business Days

Total Number of Reviews

Number of Reviews Completed within 15 Business Days

Average Review Time (Days)

Percent of Reviews Completed within 15 Business Days

Jan

135

134

2.5

99.2%

117

114

6.6

97.4%

Feb

131

130

2.8

99.2%

52

36

8.5

69.2%

Mar

128

106

3.2

82.8%

129

107

8.5

82.9%

Apr

150

139

2.8

92.6%

113

73

9.5

64.6%

May

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

June

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

July

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aug

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sept

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oct

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nov

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dec

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

YTD

544

509

2.8

93.5

411

330

8.3

80.2%

 

Permit reports for April are attached.

 

Top Projects for 2017 ($1,000,000 valuation or greater):

Rank

Construction Valuation

Project Description

1

$3,900,000

Country Inn and Suites, 2176 E 23rd Street

2

$3,000,000

St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church addition, 1208 Kentucky Street

3

$2,233,645

Alvamar Wellness, 1840 Birdie Way

4

$2,200,000

API Foils building addition, 3841 Greenway Circle

5

$1,489,800

RP Lawrence LLC building addition, 1217 Biltmore Drive