A bill targeting long wait times for construction permits was recently introduced in the Texas House of Representatives.
House Bill 14, introduced by Rep. Cody Harris (R-Palestine), would require local authorities to conduct inspections for construction permits within 15 days of the prescribed deadlines. Otherwise, the required inspection may be conducted by local or non-local review staff as well as any licensed engineer in the state of Texas.
In general, HB 14 is designed to streamline the approval process for development projects and building reviews. It aims to do so by requiring cities and counties that fail to complete such projects in a timely manner to utilize third-party reviewers.
If the third-party reviewer does not approve the application, then the applicant can appeal within 15 days of the reviewer’s decision. If the governing body’s regulatory authority does not affirm the reviewer’s decision within 60 days, the development permit is deemed “approved.”
The proposed bill has received strong support from House Speaker Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont), who added HB 14 to his list of “broader legislative priorities” for the ongoing 88th Texas Legislative Session.
“The Texas Legislature must continue to support our state’s rapidly-increasing demand for internet, water, and housing, and I appreciate Representatives Ashby, King, and Harris for filing legislation that would lay the necessary foundations to continue fostering those efforts,” Phelan said in a Texas Business Roundtable news statement.
In Dallas, it is the job of the Development Service Department (DSD) to issue local construction permits and oversee sustainable land development throughout the city. DSD is managed by the city’s Chief Building Official, Andrew Espinoza, who is responsible for providing responsive customer service, reducing permitting times, and adopting a facilitative approach to business.
By allowing for alternatives to construction permit review procedures, Dallas’ development community may finally start to see a drop in the allotted cycle times required to approve local building permit applications.
Dallas’ reputation for having slow turnaround times is a notorious and burdensome issue for those in the local development community. This is particularly true for those who rely on swift turnaround times to keep their projects on schedule and within budget.
Issues with long turnaround times aren’t just confined to Dallas, though. Many municipalities in North Texas are subject to delays in the approval process.
The problem gathered enough steam recently that DSD directors representing Dallas, Irving, Celina, and Denton recently met at a Dallas Builders Association (DBA) panel for a more comprehensive discussion on the matter.
The average time to approve a single-family building permit in Dallas dropped slightly from 32 days in January to 27 days in February. This is still nearly double the department’s 15-day performance goal, according to DSD’s permit activity dashboard.
Dallas’ slow building permit process has gone a long way to weaken the city’s strong reputation among the development community. In addition, it gives City Manager T.C. Broadnax a bad look for his failed promise to end the delays early last year.
The department’s transition to cloud-based permitting software at the start of the pandemic seems to have triggered the problem. Prior to this, DSD was regularly capable of issuing certain construction permits on the same day staff received the application or no more than 3-5 days after the application was submitted, The Dallas Express previously reported.
HB 14 was filed on March 6. On March 28, the bill was reported favorably without amendments, meaning a majority of the Land & Resources Management Committee recommends that the House consider and pass the measure.
I hope the Bill passes. If our City Council won’t do anything to shorten the time to allow permitting then maybe this will do it. Broadnax and Espinoza should have been fired last year but nothing was done. It’s pretty embarrassing that Dallas has let this issue continue and that it might take a Bill to get this done!