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:

July 11, 2017

RE:

June 2017 Monthly Permit Reports

 

The Building Safety Division issued 258 building permits in June, with total construction for the month valued at $9,208,142.  Total permit fees assessed for the month were $72,664, and total review fees assessed were $3,026.  Permits were issued for twelve (12) new residential projects, including eleven (11) single-family dwellings and one (1) duplex.

 

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

12

104

0(0)

0(0)

258

1,204

$9,208,142

$71,647,071

$3,026

$72,664

$527,611

2016

20

90

0(0)

39(377)

264

1246

$20,966,390

$118,526,548

$0

$109,156

$671,233

2015

67

138

0(0)

3(428)

272

1101

$21,979,458

$155,907,364

$0

$132,184

$592,738

2014

6

57

0(0)

0(0)

191

879

$14,810,081

$46,390,081

$0

$78,618

$319,765

2013

13

87

0(0)

23(374)

194

1005

$4,270,471

$75,195,014

$0

$41,975

$444,817

2012

16

65

0(0)

22(184)

223

1203

$7,856,740

$49,302,405

$0

$66,744

$368,185

2011

8

59

0(0)

10(63)

233

1044

$9,255,167

$49,822,200

$0

$45,052

$308,785

2010

5

75

0(0)

0(0)

232

1031

$4,137,672

$47,621,371

$0

$41,357

$285,410

2009

7

38

0(0)

15(172)

192

890

$6,506,035

$38,711,384

$0

$53,086

$286,232

 

Permits were issued for twenty-seven (27) City projects in June, including a mobile unit for temporary housing of Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical personnel at Fire Station 1 at 746 Kentucky Street, valued at $66,520; replacement of a boiler at the Lawrence Douglas County Health Department at 200 Maine Street, valued at $185,900; and twenty-five (25) inflow and infiltration program projects by the Utilities Department at various locations with valuation totaling $75,705.

 

The largest projects for the month were new single-family dwellings at 129 N Wilderness Way, valued at $1,290,000; and 224 N Running Ridge Road, valued at $1,221,222.

 

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)

94.9%

2.7

84.0%

7.9

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 June, staff completed 124 of 126 residential reviews within 5 business days (98.4%), and 106 of 114 commercial reviews within 15 business days (92.9%).  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 (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

105

103

2.4

98.1%

145

127

7.8

87.5%

June

126

124

2.4

98.4%

114

106

6.7

92.9%

July

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aug

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sept

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oct

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nov

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dec

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

YTD

774

735

2.7

94.9%

671

564

7.9

84.0%

 

Permit reports for June 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

$2,807,626

Bioscience & Technology Business Center renovation, 2029 Becker Dr.

4

$2,233,645

Alvamar Wellness, 1840 Birdie Way

5

$2,200,000

API Foils building addition, 3841 Greenway Circle

6

$1,489,800

RP Lawrence LLC building addition, 1217 Biltmore Drive

7

$1,290,000

Single-Family Dwelling, 129 N Wilderness Way

8

$1,221,222

Single-Family Dwelling, 224 N Running Ridge Road