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:

October 26, 2017

RE:

September 2017 Monthly Permit Reports

 

The Building Safety Division issued 188 building permits in September, with total construction for the month valued at $19,291,213.  Total permit fees assessed for the month were $107,096, and total review fees assessed were $4,759.  Permits were issued for twenty-three (23) new residential projects, including sixteen (16) single-family dwellings and seven (7) 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

23

141

0(0)

0(0)

188

1,823

$19,291,213

$115,872,952

$4,759

$107,096

$790,000

2016

5

128

33(762)

73(1,191)

230

2,002

$45,109,527

$190,692,482

$0

$245,702

$1,090,592

2015

11

181

0(0)

7(467)

193

1,756

$7,069,337

$194,878,592

$0

$50,114

$821,257

2014

11

77

0(0)

3(83)

198

1,440

$17,158,914

$78,564,707

$0

$96,770

$499,264

2013

8

129

0(0)

23(374)

148

1,545

$5,463,587

$153,480,748

$0

$41,806

$709,787

2012

13

92

0(0)

22(184)

137

1,834

$6,598,503

$75,433,838

$0

$52,953

$559,520

2011

4

80

9(300)

19(363)

218

1,676

$33,189,510

$95,257,493

$0

$164,554

$565,145

2010

31

128

1(124)

6(220)

194

1,715

$17,423,379

$81,711,164

$0

$96,996

$502,240

2009

7

85

0(0)

15(172)

167

1,487

$2,774,787

$54,224,268

$0

$26,037

$430,227

 

Permits were issued for twenty-six (26) City projects in September with total valuation of $4,391,630 including a new Oread storage tank and booster pump station replacement at 1220 Oread Avenue, valued at $3,591,000; Kasold storage tank and booster pump station replacement at 1820 Kasold Drive, valued at $722,000; replacement of a rooftop mechanical unit at 1140 Haskell Avenue, valued at $12,800; and twenty-three (23) inflow and infiltration program projects by the Utilities Department at various locations with valuation totaling $65,830.

 

The largest projects for the month were the Oread storage tank and booster pump station replacement project at 1220 Oread Avenue, valued at $3,591,000; and an addition and renovation at 706 E 23rd Street for Fields & Ivy Brewing Company, valued at $2,102,588.

 

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)

94.2%

2.8

86.9%

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 September, staff completed 141 of 154 residential reviews within 5 business days (91.5%), and 104 of 118 commercial reviews within 15 business days (88.1%).  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

75

75

2.1

100%

172

170

7.8

98.8%

Aug

115

103

3.1

89.5%

110

93

8.3

84.5%

Sept

154

141

3.4

91.5%

118

104

7.5

88.1%

Oct

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nov

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dec

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

YTD

1,114

1,055

2.8

94.2%

1,070

930

7.9

86.9%

 

Permit reports for September are attached.

 

 

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

Rank

Construction Valuation

Project Description

1

$4,000,000

Tru by Hilton, 510 Wakarusa Drive

2

$3,591,000

Oread storage tanks and booster pump, 1220 Oread Avenue

3

$3,900,000

Country Inn and Suites, 2176 E 23rd Street

4

$3,696,313

Connect Church, 3351 W 31st Street

5

$3,000,000

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

6

$2,807,626

Bioscience & Technology Business Center renovation, 2029 Becker Drive

7

$2,462,000

RP Lawrence building addition and improvements, 1217 Biltmore Drive

8

$2,233,645

Alvamar Wellness, 1840 Birdie Way

9

$2,200,000

API Foils building addition, 3841 Greenway Circle

10

$2,102,588

Fields & Ivy Brewing Company, 706 E 23rd Street

11

$1,750,000

Single-Family Dwelling, 1722 Lake Alvamar Drive

12

$1,489,800

RP Lawrence LLC building addition, 1217 Biltmore Drive

13

$1,290,000

Single-Family Dwelling, 129 N Wilderness Way

14

$1,221,222

Single-Family Dwelling, 224 N Running Ridge Road

15

$1,103,871

Capitol Federal addition and renovation, 1025 Iowa Street

16

$1,000,000

Indoor Aquatic Center energy improvements, 4706 Overland Drive