Memorandum
City of Lawrence
Planning & Development Services
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TO: |
Thomas M. Markus, City Manager |
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FROM: |
Barry Walthall, Building Codes Manager |
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CC: |
Scott McCullough, Planning and Development Services Director Amy Miller, Planning and Development Services Assistant Director |
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Date: |
February 6, 2019 |
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RE: |
January 2019 Monthly Permit Reports
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The Building Safety Division issued 227 building permits in January, with total construction for the month valued at $21,675,885. Total permit fees assessed for the month were $102,949, and total review fees assessed were $13,772. Permits were issued for 10 new residential projects, all of which were for single-family dwellings.
Comparison to the previous five (5) years for monthly and year-to-date statistics for number and valuation of new construction and City project building permits issued; total number and valuation for all building permits issued; and total building permit and plan review fees collected will be tracked throughout 2019 in the following table[1].
In addition to tracking the above statistics, the chart below tracks and compares the numbers of permits issued year-to-date over the last 10 years for new one- and two-family dwellings, new multi-family dwellings, new commercial buildings, and the total number of permits issued.
Permits were issued for 52 City projects in January with valuation totaling $176,317, including electrical work to install a new three-phase service at the Wakarusa WWTP Vehicle Storage building at 2300 E 41st Street, valued at $16,397; demolition of the pedestrian canopy in the 800 block of Vermont Street, with no construction valuation; electrical work to install a sign circuit and timer at the new City Hall Riverfront (CHR) space, 1 Riverfront Plaza Suites 310 and 320, valued at $1,000; new wayfinding signs and wall sign at City Hall, 6 E 6th Street, valued at $8,915; wall signs at the new CHR space, valued at $4,775; electrical work to add electrical outlets for a training room in the lower level of the Community Building at 115 W 11th Street, valued at $1,400; and 46 inflow and infiltration program projects by the Municipal Services and Operations Department at various locations with valuation totaling $143,830.
The largest projects for the month were for interior and lighting renovations for West Middle School, 2700 Harvard Road, valued at $8,460,000; interior and lighting renovations for Liberty Memorial Central Middle School at 1400 Massachusetts Street, valued at $3,800,000; a Sterile Processing addition for Lawrence Memorial Hospital at 325 Maine Street, valued at $3,000,000; and construction of a new clubhouse building for Hawker II Apartments at 1011 Missouri Street, valued at $1,166,200.
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 five (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 2018 calendar year, staff achieved these goals for 95.3% of all residential permits with an average review time of 2.6 days; and 80.6% of all commercial permits with an average review time of 9.0 days. For comparison, the following table provides data from 2014 (the first full calendar year for which data is available) as well as 2019 year-to-date performance.
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Year |
Residential % |
Residential Average (# of Days) |
Commercial % |
Commercial Average (# of Days) |
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2019 |
85.5% |
2.3 |
83.8% |
9.0 |
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2018 |
95.3% |
2.6 |
80.6% |
9.0 |
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2017 |
94.3% |
2.7 |
85.9% |
7.9 |
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2016 |
96.5% |
2.3 |
91.6% |
7.3 |
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2015 |
94.7% |
2.6 |
88.8% |
7.9 |
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2014 |
95.5% |
2.5 |
96.0% |
6.2 |
In January, staff completed 59 of 69 residential reviews within five (5) business days (85.5%), and 78 of 93 commercial reviews within 15 business days (83.8%). The following table tracks performance in meeting these objectives.
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Residential Permits |
Commercial Permits |
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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 |
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Jan |
69 |
59 |
2.3 |
85.5% |
93 |
78 |
9.0 |
83.8% |
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Feb |
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Mar |
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Apr |
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May |
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June |
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July |
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Aug |
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Sept |
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Oct |
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Nov |
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Dec |
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YTD |
69 |
59 |
2.3 |
85.5 |
93 |
78 |
9.0 |
83.8% |
Permit reports for January are attached.
Top Projects for 2019:
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Rank |
Construction Valuation |
Project Description |
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1 |
$8,460,000 |
West Middle School renovations, 2700 Harvard Road |
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2 |
$3,800,000 |
Liberty Memorial Central Middles School renovations, 1400 Massachusetts Street |
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3 |
$3,000,000 |
LMH Sterile Processing addition, 325 Maine Street |
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4 |
$1,166,200 |
Hawker II Clubhouse, 1011 Missouri Street |