City officials are trying to make Dallas’ commercial permitting process easier to understand.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, the Development Services Department (DSD) under City Manager T.C. Broadnax has suffered periodic backlogs and various inefficiencies in operations that have cost builders and inhibited development projects.
The DSD has now released a Development Quick Guide (DQG) for customers and stakeholders, providing a streamlined overview and comprehensive breakdown of the City’s commercial development process.
“While there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to permitting, our goal with this guide is to outline the common steps involved when developing a property in the city of Dallas,” DSD said in the DQG.
Dallas’ commercial development process comprises a 5-stage workflow, including 1) an optional pre-development meeting; 2) the application intake and prescreen; 2A) an optional site permit plan review; 3) a building permit plan review; 4) DSD inspections; and 5) certificate of occupancy approval.
In addition to providing stakeholders with a step-by-step breakdown of Dallas’ commercial development process, the DQG also offers helpful tips, detailed explanations for each stage, a directory of contact information, and more.
A commercial building permit is issued after a comprehensive review is completed and construction plans are checked for compliance with City standards and land use protocols. DSD currently offers two alternative plan review teams, or Q-Teams, to help ensure faster commercial permit review turnaround time.
One of the most critical stages in the commercial development process is the intake or pre-screen process. During this stage, DSD screens all permit applications for accuracy and completeness and confirms that the minimum documentation has been submitted.
“We understand your time is valuable, and our goal is to partner with you to make our permitting process as efficient as possible,” DSD said in the DQG. DSD also asked customers to complete a commercial permitting checklist before submitting their applications for approval. The department said the checklist will help ensure a complete applications are submitted “one time” so DSD can be “on time.”
A key focus for development officials in 2024 is to speed up turnaround times for commercial permits, considering DSD spent the whole of last year trying to get residential permitting times down.
