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A TREMENDOUS BACKLOG IN
BUILDING PERMITS IS
HANDCUFFING AUSTIN HOMEOWNERS.
HOMEOWNERS.
THE CITY'S PLANNING
AND REVIEW DEPARTMENT HAS HAD
75-PERCENT STAFF TURNOVER IN
THE LAST YEAR, AND NOW
INEXPERIENCED EMPLOYEES ARE
DEALING WITH A MOUNTING
WORKLOAD. BRIAN SANDERS
HAS MORE ON POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
TO THE PROBLEM.
PROBLEM.
IT'S A STRESSFUL JOB THAT WILL
LIKELY GET WORSE BEFORE IT
GETS BETTER.
BETTER.
DON BIRKNER\CITY OF AUSTIN
PLANNING & REVIEW DEPARTMENT10
38 30 - 10 38 37IVE BEEN IN
THE BUSINESS 35 YEARS, I'VE
NEVER SEEN ANYTHING EXACTLY
LIKE THIS.A SHORT-HANDED
INEXPERIENCED STAFF IN THE
CITY OF AUSTIN'S RESIDENTIAL
PERMITTING OFFICE IS
OVERLOADED WITH WORK.
WORK.BRIAN SANDERS\CENTRAL
AUSTIN10 50 38 - 10 50 50THIS
IS A LOOK AT THE CITY OF
AUSTIN RESIDENTIAL REVIEW
BACKLOG THAT DATES BACK TO
LATE SEPTEMBER. THEY'RE ABOUT
650 CASES BEHIND RIGHT NOW,
AND THAT NUMBER COULD JUMP TO
ABOUT 1000 BY THE FIRST OF THE
YEAR.IN A RECENT LETTER TO THE
MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL, THE
DEPARTMENT REQUESTS AN
IMMEDIATE NEED FOR 2 FULLTIME
PLANNERS, 2 SENIOR PLANNERS,
AND AN EXTRA LARGE SCANNER.
BUT, IT'S NOT A QUICK FIX.
DON BIRKNER ESTIMATES IT COULD
TAKE 3-6 MONTHS.10 34 40 - 10
34 52EVEN IF THE COUNCIL
APPROVES SOMETHING TODAY, IT
TAKES ME 30 DAYS TO ADVERTISE,
ANOTHER X AMOUNT OF TIME FOR
PEOPLE TO GET HERE, TIME TO
TRAIN THEM.OTHERS SAY THERE'S
A BIGGER PROBLEM.BILL MOORE
DECIDED TO MOVE HIS BUSINESS
HERE, OVER PALO ALTO
CALIFORNIA. HE'S TRYING TO
RENOVATE THIS 1922 HOUSE WEST
6TH STREET INTO OFFICES, BUT
HIS EMPLOYEES ARE WORKING FROM
HOME BECAUSE OF PERMITTING DELAYS.
DELAYS.BILL MOORE\BUSINESS
OWNER11 40 22 - 10 40 31THE
PROBLEM HAS BEEN A SEQUENCE OF
HASSLES, AND WE HAVE NOT YET
(3 MONTHS INTO IT) EVEN BEEN
ABLE TO APPLY FOR A PERMITAND
IT DOESN'T STOP THERE.
CONSTRUCTION WORKERS ARE
SITTING IDLE WITHOUT A
PAYCHECK.PETER PFEIFFER IS AN
ARCHITECT THAT THINKS THE
PERMITTING OFFICE CAN USE GOOD
JUDGMENT AND COMMON SENSE OVER
STRICT GUIDELINES AND
QUESTIONING TO ALLEVIATE THE PROCESS.
PROCESS.PETER
PFEIFFER\ARCHITECT11 51 36 -
11 51 46HOW CAN WE HANDLE
SITUATIONS WHERE THE PROCESS
DOESN'T MAKE SENSE, WHERE THE
LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE DOESN'T
REALLY APPLY APPROPRIATELY
HERE, THAT'S THE BIGGER
QUESTION THAT NEEDS TO BE
ASKED.UNTIL THEN, THE ANSWER
IS TO CROSS THE T'S AND DOT
THE I'S, BECAUSE INCORRECT
APPLICATIONS CAN GET LOST IN
THE SHUFFLE. BRIAN SANDERS,
KXAN NEWS.
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