Dallas’ Development Services Department saw substantially lower permitting process times for single-family projects over the last year, a change of pace from the backlogs and delays common to the department under City Manager T.C. Broadnax.
DSD issued building permits for approximately 1,277 residential additions and 3,467 residential remodels in FY 2022-23. According to DSD’s annual report, the estimated economic impact of these permits was $833 million.
Accelerating permitting times associated with new single-family projects was one of DSD Director Andrew Espinoza’s top priorities when he took over as Dallas’ chief building official in the summer of 2022.
Since then, DSD has eliminated its residential backlog and reduced its permitting process times by more than 50% from the previous fiscal year.
“One of the strategies we implemented was to establish clear performance goals to ensure we held ourselves accountable and let our customers know when they could expect their project approvals,” Espinoza wrote in the report.
“Therefore, we set our new residential prescreen performance goal at five days and our initial review time at 15 days. These goals were not only met but exceeded as the team ended the year with an average prescreen time of two days and initial review time of eight days,” he explained.
DSD also decided to add two new project coordinators to its residential team to help facilitate faster permitting turnarounds. Espinoza said these new coordinators are the departments permitting concierges, ensuring customers receive a favorable “service first” experience.
“We look forward to continuing to serve our residential building community and thank our customers for their continued support!” Espinoza said.
A fast building permit process is essential for Dallas’ economic development. However, slow review times and permit turnarounds were significant points of contention for builders and developers under the city manager, who announced he would be resigning after seven years at the helm, during which Dallas residents saw increases in crime, City spending, and taxes, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
