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Partnering with our community to
build and maintain a safer San Antonio | Sept. 2017
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Development Services Department
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Mike Shannon, PE, CBO
Director
210.207.8259
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Development &
Business Services Center
Main Address:
1901 S. Alamo San
Antonio, TX 78204
Office Hours:
7:45 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Monday - Friday
Mailing Address:
PO Box 839966
San Antonio, TX 78283
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FY 2018 City Budget Approved
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On
Sept. 14, 2017, City Council adopted the FY 2018 City of San
Antonio Budget. The new budget will be effective on Oct. 1,
2017.
The
Development Services Department's budget was approved for two new
positions in the Land Development section - 1) Southern Edwards
Plateau Manager and 1) Planning Coordinator for Neighborhood
Conservation Districts. The department is pleased to share there
will be no
increased fees. Additionally, there are no
reductions to the General Fund or Development Services Fund.
For
more information regarding the Adopted FY 2018 budget, visit the
Office of Management and Budget website.
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BuildSA
Brief
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Have you been wondering about the status of BuildSA? Perhaps,
you've been waiting for information on an estimated launch date?
Well, we have updates and information to share with you.
The
latest and most important event that occurred is that the City made
a decision to partner with a different software integrator. After
experiencing several project delays, the City decided it was time
to take a different approach to effectively complete the
installation of Accela Software. We are pleased to share that plans
are well underway and work is in progress with a new vendor, GCOM
Software Inc. (GCOM). Our new vendor will complete the
implementation of the Accela Software for Land Development.
GCOM
is not new to our project. They were a subcontractor on
BuildSA last year, working closely with us on data migration and
integration. GCOM is the largest Accela Certified Partner and holds
extensive experience in the implementation of business processes
and systems.
Land Development
An
anticipated launch date for Land Development, Functional Group 1,
is the fall of 2018.
Building Development
and Code Enforcement
The
City is issuing a solicitation for implementation services for
Functional Groups 2 and 3, Building Development and Code
Enforcement in December 2017. Functional Groups 2 and 3 will
now be known as Phase 2 of the project.
Watch
for future newsletters to bring you more updates and information on
BuildSA.
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Tree Discussions and H.B. 7 News
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Tree Discussion Meeting at DSD
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On
Tuesday, September 12, the Development Services Department (DSD)
hosted its second Tree Discussion meeting with stakeholders and
customers. At the meeting, City Arborist Mark Bird reviewed the
outcome of the recently completed Special Session of the Texas
Legislature, previous topics from the first Tree Discussion meeting
plus current topics of interest related to DSD processes for
implementation of the tree and landscape ordinances.
The House of Representatives and the Senate passed H.B. 7 in the 2017
regular legislative session; however, Governor Abbott vetoed the
bill. During the Special Session, a modified version of the bill was
passed and signed into law. The bill will go into effect Dec. 1,
2017.
The
bill should have no impacts to the current or past tree ordinances
since the San Antonio tree ordinance does not apply to existing
residential one-family or two-family dwellings. That is, no
permits or coordination with the City are required by owners to
remove a tree on a residential property (when construction is
complete). In addition, the 100% credit for mitigation tree
planting offered by the City is above what is granted by H.B. 7 (50%
for residential and 40% commercial).
Additional
topics covered at the tree discussion meeting were the latest on tree
notes that identify master tree permits and tree save areas on plats,
a Plat Note Committee update, and Information Bulletins related to
Root Protection Zone and Tree Applications for Geotechnical site
work.
To
learn more about the City of San Antonio's tree preservation
policies, visit our website.
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The
latest Rule Interpretation (RID) and Information Bulletins (IB) are
provided below:
DSD
developed this revised IB to describe the process and the minimum
requirements for permitting uncovered residential decks. The bulletin
has been revised to clarify permitting, document submittals, and
inspection requirements. This will help ensure that your deck is
built per code and passes the applicable building inspections.
IB
564 - Garage and Setbacks and Resolving Violations, posted 9/12/17
IB 564 provides
customers clarification on measuring setbacks for front entry garages
and carports, the department policy on current carports constructed
within setbacks, and, if determined to be in violation, how to
resolve setback violations. Note: this IB replaces IB 158 and IB
515.
IB
565 - Evolution of Setbacks for Primary and Accessory Structures -
1938 to present,
posted 9/12/17
This IB provides DSD staff with a central repository for all
applicable setbacks for different types of structures as well as the
evolution of setbacks from 1938 to the present. This will provide
clear development standards applicable at the time a given structure
was built. Structures built in accordance with the approved setbacks
at that time, but are no longer compliant with current standards, are
now nonconforming structures subject to Section 35-707.
This
RID is intended to provide clarification on the use of collectors or
arterial streets to meet secondary access and other sections of the
Unified Development Code (UDC) related to street network and
hierarchy requirements. Overall this RID clarifies 3 more basic
concepts: Honor Master Development Plan (phase development) related
to secondary access and phase construction of collectors and
arterials; maximum number of units on dead-end collectors to be 500
units, but overall developments in the ETJ cannot exceed 1000 units
without secondary access per fire marshal; and developments having
collectors not for secondary access purposes should extend them based
on capacity needs.
RID
2017-006 Building Setback Lines, posted 9/12/17
The intent of this RID provides clarification for customers and staff
on the interpretation of Chapter 35 of the City Code of San Antonio,
the UDC, as it relates to the enforcement of Building Setback Lines
(setbacks) placed on subdivision plats recorded prior to Dec. 2,
2002.
RID
2017-007 Secondary/Additional Access, posted 9/11/17
This RID clarifies the issue with developments having less than 400
feet of frontage and claiming secondary access did not apply. The UDC
clearly requires secondary access based on number of units built, not
based on frontage.
For a
complete list of resources, visit the following sites:
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Performance Measures - FY 2017
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The complete Performance Measures
report is available online.
Permit Activity
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Other Department News
- Customer
Comments, New Hires, Recognition and more
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Here's
what you said about us...
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 Al Niebruegge, Sr. Building
Inspector, Field Services
I have
worked with Al for over a decade and he has always been very
responsive. He has a gift with solving issues and communicating a
quick and effective path to resolution.
Dania
Aji, Plans Coordinator, Plan Review
Dania was
a pleasure to work with. She provided exceptional service to the
engineer and the property owner. She is a wonderful representation of
how all interactions with the City should be. I want to make sure she
is recognized for her hard work and great customer service.
Kayla
Leal, Planner, and Mariano Martino, Engineer, Land Development
I first
met Mariano a few years ago, and he has always been helpful. After I
contacted him, he quickly determined that Kayla was the zoning case
manager, and he copied her on the response back to me. Kayla also
sent me an email right away, offering her assistance; she responded
quickly to my questions and provided any relative data on the case.
While I did not interact with Kayla in person, she was friendly and
courteous in her email responses, and asked me to let her know if she
could assist with anything else. I thought the courtesy, speed of
response and professionalism was unexpected and worthy of mention to
their supervisors.
Mark
Celestino, Sr. Development Services Specialist, Plan Review
I have
been working with Mark Celestino and his associates for many years on
numerous City of San Antonio projects, but the service and attention
to detail I have received from Mark is exceptional and so
appreciated. He knows your procedures and will inform you if there is
an issue with the project, and he can always be reached by either
email or by phone.
Judy
Croom, Administrative Assistant, Building Standards Board, Field
Services
Out of
all the people I have talked to from the city she is by far the FASTEST
to respond and handle my issues. She was very nice and
informative, and truly seemed to care about taking care of my issues.
Excellent !!!!
Kimberly
Hopkins, Planner, Land Development
This was my first
experience with contacting your office regarding my special challenge
(Addressing). I do appreciate the promptness and particularly the
follow-up. I was communicated with on a timely basis and I am
satisfied with the professionalism of Kimberley Hopkins. Job well
done.
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Congratulations
to our DSD employees who received the following certifications:
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Development Services is recruiting for the following positions.
To learn more, or apply online, visit the DSD jobs at the City
of San Antonio Career
Center.
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For comments or suggestions regarding the
Development Insight Newsletter,
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Copyright © 2017. All Rights Reserved.
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