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:

December 8, 2017

RE:

November 2017 Monthly Permit Reports

 

The Building Safety Division issued 197 building permits in November, with total construction for the month valued at $15,085,681.  Total permit fees assessed for the month were $101,705, and total review fees assessed were $9,130.  Permits were issued for thirteen (13) new residential projects, including nine (9) single-family dwellings, three (3) duplexes and one (1) multi-family dwelling with eight (8) dwelling units.

 

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

167

1(8)

1(8)

197

2,197

$15,085,681

$160,871,827

$9,130

$101,705

$1,048,998

2016

13

166

1(14)

74(1,205)

202

2,395

$11,749,957

$210,843,199

$0

$83,265

$1,244,524

2015

15

226

0(0)

7(467)

171

2,175

$9,436,297

$216,416,450

$0

$61,274

$979,674

2014

13

101

0(0)

3(83)

157

1,778

$5,602,393

$91,013,969

$0

$52,737

$607,210

2013

20

156

0(0)

23(374)

161

1,850

$6,757,219

$163,338,042

$0

$56,792

$796,713

2012

15

121

0(0)

22(184)

174

2,212

$10,015,240

$91,802,763

$0

$74,550

$693,093

2011

3

93

0(0)

19(363)

176

2,032

$7,858,197

$108,564,090

$0

$51,956

$659,972

2010

6

147

0(0)

6(220)

173

2,060

$2,774,797

$97,566,533

$0

$28,150

$599,455

2009

5

108

0(0)

15(172)

152

1,826

$4,014,786

$69,866,422

$0

$34,497

$519,433

 

Permits were issued for seventeen (17) City projects in November with total valuation of $50,270, including replacement of heating and cooling equipment at 1600 Haskell Avenue Apt. 157 for the Lawrence Douglas County Housing Authority, valued at $3,800; Replacement of a water heater at 1600 Haskell Avenue Apt. 127 for the Lawrence Douglas County Housing Authority, valued at $500; replacement of a water heater at 1600 Haskell Avenue Apt 161 for the Lawrence Douglas County Housing Authority, valued at $500; and fourteen (14) inflow and infiltration program projects by the Utilities Department at various locations with valuation totaling $46,470.

 

The largest projects for the month included the new Don & Beverly Gardner Center for Great Futures at 2910 Haskell Avenue, valued at $2,800,000; a new single-family dwelling at 1743 Lake Alvamar Drive, valued at $1,200,000; a new multi-family dwelling at 1741 Kentucky Street, valued at $1,100,000; and a new retail shell building at 565 Wakarusa Drive, valued at $1,050,000.

 

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)

94.1%

2.8

85.4%

8.1

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 November, staff completed 97 of 104 residential reviews within 5 business days (93.2%), and 60 of 68 commercial reviews within 15 business days (88.2%).  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

123

115

2.9

93.5%

162

120

9.9

74.0%

Nov

104

97

2.6

93.2%

68

60

7.4

88.2%

Dec

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

YTD

1,345

1,266

2.8

94.1%

1,302

1,112

8.1

85.4%

 

Permit reports for November are attached.

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

Rank

Construction Valuation

Project Description

1

$10,741,000

Best Western Plus, 6101 Rock Chalk Drive

2

$4,000,000

Tru by Hilton, 510 Wakarusa Drive

3

$3,591,000

Oread storage tanks and booster pump, 1220 Oread Avenue

4

$3,900,000

Country Inn and Suites, 2176 E 23rd Street

5

$3,696,313

Connect Church, 3351 W 31st Street

6

$3,228,133

USD #497 Facilities and Maintenance complex, 711 E 23rd Street

7

$3,000,000

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

8

$2,807,626

Bioscience & Technology Business Center renovation, 2029 Becker Drive

9

$2,800,000

Don & Beverly Gardner Center for Great Futures, 2910 Haskell Avenue

10

$2,462,000

RP Lawrence building addition and improvements, 1217 Biltmore Drive

11

$2,233,645

Alvamar Wellness, 1840 Birdie Way

12

$2,200,000

API Foils building addition, 3841 Greenway Circle

13

$2,102,588

Fields & Ivy Brewing Company, 706 E 23rd Street

14

$2,000,000

Corpus Christi Education Center addition, 6001 Bob Billings Parkway

15

$1,800,000

Retail Building renovation, 3311 Iowa Street

16

$1,750,000

Single-Family Dwelling, 1722 Lake Alvamar Drive

17

$1,700,000

Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity, 1505 Sigma Nu Place

18

$1,489,800

RP Lawrence LLC building addition, 1217 Biltmore Drive

19

$1,290,000

Single-Family Dwelling, 129 N Wilderness Way

20

$1,221,222

Single-Family Dwelling, 224 N Running Ridge Road

21

$1,200,000

Single-Family Dwelling, 1743 Lake Alvamar Drive

22

$1,103,871

Capitol Federal addition and renovation, 1025 Iowa Street

23

$1,100,000

Multi-Family Dwelling, 1741 Kentucky Street

24

$1,081,000

Kaw Water Treatment Plant basin repairs, 720 W 3rd Street

25

$1,050,000

New Retail Shell, 565 Wakarusa Drive

26

$1,000,900

Hobby Lobby tenant renovation, 3311 Iowa Street

27

$1,000,000

Indoor Aquatic Center energy improvements, 4706 Overland Drive

28

$1,000,000

Single-Family Dwelling, 140 N Wilderness Way