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Home My WebLink AboutPCD 2021-05-03 Item 1D - Discussion - Development Review Permitting Statusof Tukwila Allan Ekberg, Mayor INFORMATIONAL MEMORANDUM TO: Planning and Community Development Committee FROM: Nora Gierloff, DCD Director CC: Mayor Ekberg DATE: April 27, 2021 SUBJECT: Development Permit Volumes, Review Status and Recommendations ISSUE Timelines for review and issuance of both construction and land use permits have increased over the past year. BACKGROUND Permits related to construction include development (building), mechanical, plumbing, electrical, land altering, public works, and fire permits and are the focus of this memo. The Planning Division also processes land use permits, which include conditional use, design review, SEPA environmental review, special permission, and critical areas approvals which are facing many of the same processing challenges as described in this memo. The graphic below shows that the number of mechanical and plumbing permits applied for was quite stable from 2016 through 2020. Building and electrical permit applications were fairly consistent, but then dipped in 2020. Building permit valuation showed a strong increasing trend through 2019 before dropping back to 2017-18 levels in 2020. This volatility is often driven by the timing of one or more large projects such as the Dermody Oxbow and Prologis warehouse developments. Permit Trend by Permit Type 2016 - 2021 $200,000,000 $180,000,000 $160,000,000 $140,000,000 $120,000,000 6100,003,000 $80,000,000 $60,004000 $40,000,000 $20,000,000 $o 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 - Value bldg $62,522,529 590,338,910 $107,177,700 5174,296,492 $98,709,745 $25,208,366 - Value meth $8,222,986 $8,570,133 $10,892,939 $19,197,011 $8,317,111 $1,812,801 - Value dumb $9,321,296 $2,925,137 $5,330,971 $10,651,064 $4,722,584 $436,413 ill Value elect $13,626,845 $20,412,867 $27,015,631 $35,826,473 $24,159,775 $5,014,219 - Issued bfdg 311 342 319 345 225 83 Issued meth 192 197 169 174 165 34 Issuedplumb 185 165 161 159 133 41 T Issued elect 1175 1046 1108 986 875 233 1400 1200 1000 800 600 400 200 0 PERMITS ISSUED 39 PG: 49 PLUMBING PERMITS 5:19 SIGN PERMITS 40 INFORMATIONAL MEMO Page 2 The number of permits issued from January through April 2021 is similar to the pre -pandemic numbers for that period in 2019 and 2020. 2019-2021 COMPARISON JANUARY 1— APRIL 20 2021 ISSUED PERMITS • LAST UPDATED 9/2o/2021 Select Dara Range: ' PERMITS ISSUED 621 AVG DAYS TO ISSUE 42.3 DAYS TO ISSUE AVG DAYS TO APPROVE 30.7 DAYS TO APPROVE PERMIT JOB VALUE $44,297,962 PERMIT FEES PAID $1,006,141 D: 94 DEVELOPMENT PERMITS PW: 37 PUBLIC WORKS PERMITS EL: 287 ELECTRICAL PERMITS PWF: 16 FRANCHISE PERMITS M: 49 MECHANICALPERMITS F. 67 FIRE PERMITS 2020 ISSUED PERMITS Select Dare Range: PERMITS ISSUED 548 AVG DAYS TO ISSUE 28.7 DAYS TO ISSUE AVG DAYS TO APPROVE 21.5 DAYS TO APPROVE PERMIT JOB VALUE $39,590,743 PERMIT FEES PAID $1,233,263 D: 68 EL: 262 DEVELOPMENT PERMITS ELECTRICAL PERMITS PW: 33 PUBLIC WORKS PERMITS M: 35 MECHANICAL PERMITS PWF: 47 FRANCHISE PERMITS F: 45 FIRE PERMITS PG: 40 PLUMBING PERMITS S. 17 SIGN PERMITS 2019 ISSUED PERMITS Select Date Range: 'v a/gZ019 PERMITS ISSUED 659 AVG DAYS TO ISSUE 29.6 DAYS TO ISSUE AVG DAYS TO APPROVE 16.6 DAYS TO APPROVE PERMIT JOB VALUE $80,560,819 PERMIT FEES PAID $2,140,329 D: 107 :>EVELOPMENTPERMITt, PW: 42 JBUC WORKS' EL: 332 _ECTRICAL PERMITS PWF: 46 RANCHISE PERMITS M: 54 MECHANICAL PERMITS F: 0 FIRE PERMITS PG: 51 PLUMBING PERMITS 5: 25 SIGN PERMITS The 2019 permit valuation and revenue numbers were outliers from Tukwila's trends. 2021 numbers are on track to be near the average levels seen in prior years. 2019-2021 COMPARISON JANUARY 1 - DECEMBER 31 (`2021 UPDATED TO APRIL 20, 2021) 2021 ISSUED PERMITS LAST UPDATED 4/20/2021 Select Date Range. PERMITS ISSUED 621 AVG DAYS TO ISSUE 42.3 DAYS TO ISSUE AVG DAYS TO APPROVE 30.7 DAYS TO APPROVE PERMIT JOB VALUE $44,297,962 D:94 II EL:287 DEVELOPMENT PERMITS IIPW: 37 PERMIT FEES PAID $1,006,141 PUBLC.'.ORKSPERM'. S ELECTRICAL PERMITS PWF: 16 FRANCHISE PERMITS M: 49 MECHANICAL PERMITS F: 67 FIRE PERMITS PG: 49 PLUMBING PERMITS 5:19 SIGN PERMITS 2020 ISSUED PERMITS Select Date Range: Inrm2o. 12n1/2(129 - = PERMITS ISSUED 1,916 AVG DAYS TO ISSUE 41.6 DAYS TO ISSUE AVG DAYS TO APPROVE 32.2 DAYS TO APPROVE PERMIT JOB VALUE $258,764,984 PERMIT FEES PAID $4,208,085 D: 257 DEVELOPMENT PERMITS PW: 117 EL: 861 ELECTRICAL PERMITS PWF: 133 FRANCHISE PERMITS M: 164 MECHANICAL PERMITS F: 205 FIRE PERMITS PG: 129 PLUMBING PERMITS S: 42 SIGN PERMITS 2019 ISSUED PERMITS Select Date Range: PERMITS ISSUED 2,155 AVG DAYS TO ISSUE 29.3 DAYS TO ISSUE AVG DAYS TO APPROVE 17.9 DAYS TO APPROVE PERMIT JOB VALUE $ 217,446,717 PERMIT FEES PAID D: 372 DEVELOPMENT PERMITS EL: 1,030 ELECTRICAL PERMITS $7,380,632 PW: 153 PWF: 148 PUBLIC WORKS PERMITS FRANCHISE PERMITS https://tukwilawa.sharepoint.com/sites/mayorsoffice/cc/Council Agenda Items/DCD/PCD InfoMemo Permits 5-3-21.docx M: 192 V7 ECHANICAL PERMITS F: 1 FIRE PERMITS PG: 175 PLUMBING PERMITS S: 80 SIGN PERMITS INFORMATIONAL MEMO Page 3 DISCUSSION On February 29, 2020, Washington Governor Inslee declared a state of emergency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. On March 23, 2020, Governor Inslee issued a statewide "Stay Home, Stay Healthy" order which resulted in the closure of City Hall to the public and temporarily paused many construction projects. One of the ways that the permitting departments (DCD, Fire and Public Works) responded to the crisis was by accelerating the transition to online permit submittal and review so that we could accept and issue permits remotely. While this was a long planned for improvement to customer service, implementing it on an abbreviated timeline in the midst of the other disruptions of the pandemic was a major effort that pulled staff away from permit processing. As shown in the data above, permit volumes did not slow down significantly in 2020 and therefore this transition contributed to a backlog of permits waiting for review. Freezing the vacant Associate Planner position, staff furloughs, and letting go the extra labor planning intern were some of the measures taken in 2020 to reduce DCD's budgetary expenditures in response to the financial impacts of the pandemic. While these measures were prudent in light of the uncertainty around the financial impact of the pandemic, they have also contributed to the permit backlog and significantly impacted permit review times as anticipated in the 2021-2022 DCD budget narrative. f0 0 O 140 120 100 W00 80 40 20 0 2019-2021 Average Review Times 11 I IR 1 1 1 i— , id Development Electrical Mechancal Plumbing Fire PW Sgn Axis Title ■ 2019 ■ 2020 ■ 2021 These numbers show the overall time from permit application to issuance. For permits that require revisions in order to meet code requirements, some of that time is dependent on the applicant's response time to the City's correction letter(s). Architects, developers, and contractors have faced their own pandemic disruptions which in some cases has led to poor quality submittals or longer turnaround times. Another unexpected event was the departure of three of the five members of the DCD leadership team during the early months of 2021, with a fourth now out on extended medical leave. We have appointed two staff into acting roles as an interim measure but that leaves them trying to fulfill two roles at once. Reduced staffing levels have resulted in a reduction of services due to the team's reduced capacity. https://tukwilawa.sharepoint.com/sites/mayorsoffice/cc/Council Agenda Items/DCD/PCD InfoMemo Permits 5-3-21.docx 41 42 INFORMATIONAL MEMO Page 4 Proposed Solutions to Improve Customer Service • Allow DCD to rehire the frozen Associate Planner position • Retitle the Planning Supervisor position as Development Supervisor to reflect the transfer of PW Development Review Engineers to the DCD permit team • Recruit and hire for the vacant Deputy Director and Development Supervisor positions • Send some development permits out for building code review by a consultant when review times for that division exceed targets • Begin recruiting when notified of an impending vacancy rather than waiting to hire until the end of the vacation/sick leave cash out period, especially when we are "one deep" in that role • Continue to cross train staff and document procedures to improve resiliency to unexpected events • Continue to pursue agreements with neighboring cities for inspection back up to handle vacations and illnesses • Continue working with TIS to improve the online permit submittal experience • Improve the permit handouts and website to provide better direction to applicants • Rehire the extra labor Planning Intern position if/when the frozen planner position is refilled • Continue efforts to fill the vacant Building Division Plans Examiner and Inspector positions If we are successful in recruiting appropriate candidates in this challenging hiring environment we could have positions filled in approximately three months. Onboarding and training would take another two to three months before new staff would reach full productivity. We could expect a reduction in the permit backlog and an improvement in processing times within 5 to 6 months, assuming no additional vacancies. FINANCIAL IMPACT The proposed unfreezing of the vacant Associate Planner position would require applicable salary and employee related expenses to be added back to the DCD budget. Most of the other changes could be accomplished within the existing 2021 budget. RECOMMENDATION Information only. The Finance and Governance Committee held a discussion of service restoration priorities on April 26, 2021. https://tukwilawa.sharepoint.com/sites/mayorsoffice/cc/Council Agenda Items/DCD/PCD InfoMemo Permits 5-3-21.docx