Following years of complaints from Dallas builders and contractors about long delays for construction permits, the permit office is launching reforms.
Dallas officials insist they are reforming the building permit office that’s been plagued by years of complaints about long delays from builders and contractors.
A pledge of friendly service and Saturday pop-up permitting are examples they say.
At the Dallas building permit office at 320 East Jefferson Boulevard in Oak Cliff, customers waiting Wednesday declined to speak on TV for fear it might hurt their permit chances. One customer said he had only words that could not be on TV about his past service.
Department of Development Services Strategic Business Unit Manager Carolina Yumet said a new director has emphasized efficient service with a smile.
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“Our customers need to feel that they are welcome, that they are heard,” she said. “We are fully aware of the impact this office has on the development of the City of Dallas and that's why we are working hard at improving in any way possible.”
For the second month in a row, and every month to come, the office will be open on the third Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. to help homeowners and contractors with quick over-the-counter permits for things like fences and home remodeling.
More employees are being hired and third-party firms are being used on bigger plan review matters to boost turnaround time from application to permitting.
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Homebuilder Kevin Hemphill said he finally received a permit to build a home on a lot on Poplar Street in South Dallas that NBC 5 reported on earlier in August. The application had been filed five months earlier. The permit came with $3,900 in additional fees for utility connection on the lot where Hemphill said a home one stood before.
“I can't keep my pipeline depending on a permitting process that doesn't support the work we are doing,” Hemphill said.
He said he has completed 70 affordable homes in South Dallas and wants to build more. He said the permit for one more lot on Eugene Street is still tied up in red tape at the permit office from a January application.
Officials at the permit office said that lot is not properly platted and has no utility service installed.
Hemphill said he was told he would have to pay for new utility lines which he has declined or wait for the city to install lines more than a year from now.
Hemphill said he has not seen the improvements officials claim at the permit office.
“They have been a consistent source of inefficiency,” Hemphill said.
Dallas City Councilman Jaime Resendez said contractors may just do jobs without permits to avoid the hassle of dealing with the permit office and that could lead to shoddy work.
“We want the projects to be safe for the community and to be done correctly,” Resendez said. “If we don't get this right, people are not going to want to do business in the City of Dallas. They'll go to the suburbs or other areas. So, that's why the mayor, the city manager, the city council, we're all committed to making sure we get this right.”
Resendez said the Dallas City Council has committed to providing the necessary resources to fix permitting problems.
