Dallas’ Development Services Department is scheduled to host several community events over the next few weeks on tree preservation, residential and commercial code provisions, engineering processes, and permitting pre-screening.
The first event, scheduled for June 17, features arborists with DSD who will talk about tree protection at construction sites, the impact of soil compaction, and Article X — the ordinance regulating tree preservation.
“Quality of life in our city is enhanced when we have a canopy of trees shading our homes and streets, mitigating stormwater effects, providing energy savings, and improving property values,” reads the City’s website.
“As forests, greenbelts, and open wooded land in the Dallas metroplex become more fragmented, we lose a significant amount of the ecosystem services that wooded areas provide, such as stormwater and flood control, and mitigation of greenhouse gases. Site development planning prior to site disturbance should include identifying tree protection zones for all trees designated for retention.”
The information session is set for noon.
Another event, scheduled for June 21, will see City staff provide an overview of the Green Building Program. It will focus on the permitting process, the third-party provider program, and residential and commercial code revisions. The program began accepting third-party plan review and inspection results in September 2011.
This event is scheduled for noon.
Next, engineers will discuss water, wastewater, paving, and drainage processes at noon on June 28.
The final series event is planned for July 1. It will inform contractors and developers how to efficiently complete a certain phase of the City’s cumbersome permitting process.
As The Dallas Express has reported, DSD has been criticized for its periodic permitting backlogs, lengthy turnaround times, and other inefficiencies under former City Manager T.C. Broadnax, who left his post earlier this month to become Austin’s city manager.
Members of DSD’s Q-Team, which is tasked with overseeing a “fee-based, expedited plan review process that allows applicants to receive a personalized plan review with the possibility of permit issuance on the same day as the review meeting,” will explain to stakeholders everything they need to pass through the pre-screen successfully.
DSD is hosting all four events at 400 S. Zang Blvd.
