Dallas’ building permit department reported a reduction in single-family permit activity in December, closing out 2022 with little quantifiable difference in performance from the previous year.

The building permit process in Dallas is managed by the City’s Development Services Department (DSD), overseen by City Manager T.C. Broadnax. DSD is responsible for processing, reviewing, approving, and issuing residential, multi-family, and commercial construction permits.

In December, Development Services took longer and issued fewer new single-family (NSF) permits than the month prior, according to the department’s January newsletter, sent via email.

DSD processed a total of 111 NSF permits in December, a 3% decrease compared to the previous month and the lowest number of permits created since November 2021.

In terms of the department’s cycle times, DSD took six days longer to issue an NSF permit than in November, according to the newsletter. The average number of days DSD took to issue an NSF permit rose from 43 days in November to 49 days, a nearly 14% increase month-over-month.

In the last 15 months, DSD only had four other months where turnaround times were higher than December’s 49-day reading. These included October with 50 days, July with 58, June with 55, and December 2021 with 58 days, according to a year-to-date comparison of permit activity found in DSD’s January newsletter.

DSD has not published its January newsletter online, but available newsletters can be found here.

Despite the City of Dallas hiring Andrew Espinoza as its new chief building official and DSD director last June, permit backlogs and holdups have remained a persistent and prevalent issue, as shown in ongoing reporting by The Dallas Express.

This was especially the case toward the end of 2022, when application totals dwindled lower and cycle times crept higher. During DSD’s best-performing years — prior to the COVID-19 shutdowns — the department was able to issue NSF permits in less than a week, with typical turnaround times averaging around three days in 2019, historical permit data shows.

In some cases, DSD’s monthly newsletter has been filled with incorrect entries or metrics, which has disrupted The Dallas Express’ ability to effectively track and report on fluctuations in DSD building permit activity.

For example, DSD claimed it saw a 15% “increase” in permit activity in November 2022. In reality, the department experienced a 15% decrease during the month, according to DSD’s December newsletter, which has yet to be updated with the correct language.

To consolidate residential permit data into one central location, DSD announced the launch of its new Residential Permit Activity Dashboard, which provides in-depth permit metrics relating to NSF permit activity in Dallas — partially resolving the department’s transparency problem, but leaving the backlog and sclerotic processes in place.