2020-019 Development Review Development ServicesDate: February 28, 2020 Report No. 2020-019
INFORMAL STAFF REPORT
TO MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
SUBJECT: The purpose of this Informal Staff report is to provide clarification to a Development Services and
Engineering Development Review Informal Staff Report (2020-012) included in the February 14,
2020 Friday Report.
BACKGROUND: On February 14, 2020, staff submitted an Informal Staff Report (ISR) providing a financial update of Development Services (Planning/Building Inspections) and Engineering Development Review.
As a follow-up to this ISR, staff would like to provide clarification on actual revenues, expenses and operational trends in development activity. To date, Development Services is meeting budget expectations with 33% of budgeted revenue thus far, while Development Review is at 27%. Much of the variation in Development Review revenue is due to projects that were under review prior to
the new fees taking effect. Those percentages indicate a percentage of overall budget, and are
roughly in line with expectations at this point in the fiscal year. Given the fee changes this year,
we’re paying close attention to revenues each month. This will be a point to highlight during the budget process, and we’ll have a more complete picture of revenues during those discussions over the summer.
On October 1, 2019, the new development fee schedules became effective, to date, we have not seen decrease in either building permits issued or development project submitted as compared to the first quarter of prior years. Building permit issuance and construction value has been increasing steadily over the last 3 years as well as development projects. In addition, we have also seen an increase in pre-application conferences held over prior year Q1 (pg. 4) which shows a continued
interest in developing in the City of Denton. Civil Engineering Plan projects and preliminary and
final plat submittals, an indication of imminent construction are trending comparable to prior years. This increase in development projects and building permits is occurring while the department continues to make progress in improving service delivery as shown by the steady decrease in review times for both.
STAFF CONTACT: Nick Vincent Assistant Director of Finance, (940) 349-8063 nicholas.vincent@cityofdenton.com
REQUESTER: Staff initiated
PARTICIPATING DEPARTMENTS: Finance, Development Services (Planning/Building Inspection), Engineering Development
Review
STAFF TIME TO COMPLETE REPORT: One hour
Date: 02/28/2020
Building Permits
Permits Issued
FY 2016 - 2017 FY 2017 - 2018 FY 2018 - 2019 FY 2019 - 2020
Qtr 1 1409 1898 1838 1861
Qtr 2 1728 2382 2079
Qtr 3 2184 2064 2433
Qtr 4 1962 2346 2356
Average Review Days
Date: 02/28/2020
Development Projects
Projects Submitted
FY 2016 - 2017 FY 2017 - 2018 FY 2018 - 2019 FY 2019 - 2020
Qtr 1 117 112 144 158
Qtr 2 137 113 156
Qtr 3 144 155 140
Qtr 4 120 129 153
Average Review Days
Date: 02/28/2020
Pre-application Conferences
Preliminary, Final Plat, and Civil Engineering Plans