Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Development Insight November 2015








November 2015 



Development Services 


Roderick J. Sanchez
AICP, CBO-Director
210.207.8259




2015 UDC Proposed Updates are underway


Visit  the Codes and Ordinances web page for more information. 




Check out 
the latest 
to learn more about the 
top 5 violations


Upcoming City Holidays

- Nov. 26 & 27 - 
Thanksgiving Holiday

- Dec. 24 to 31 - 
Winter Holiday

- Jan. 1, 2016 - 
New Year's Day

 - Jan. 18 - 
Martin Luther King


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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IAS

DSD Holiday Schedule

Development Services will follow the City holiday schedule and close Nov. 26 - 27 for Thanksgiving.

This year's winter holiday schedule is outlined below. Like last year, the office will open two days during the winter break to ensure your customer needs are met. 

Please note the Development and Business Services Center will open Dec. 29 and 30 with
limited staff from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The office will close for lunch from noon to 1 p.m. 









































Additional holiday schedule changes to note:

Planning Commission
  • Meetings scheduled for Nov. 11, Nov. 25, Dec. 9 and Dec. 23, 2015 are canceled
  • New meeting dates are Nov. 18 and Dec. 16 (deadlines subject to change) 
Zoning Commission
  • Meetings scheduled for Nov. 20, Dec. 18, and Jan 5, 2016 are canceled
  • New meeting dates are Dec. 1, Dec. 15, and Jan. 19, 2016 
Recordation
  • Recordation date of Nov. 27 will be moved to Nov. 30 (deadline will be Nov. 25 at noon)
  • The last regular recordation opportunity for this year is Dec. 18, 2015
  • Regular recordation will resume Jan. 8, 2016
  • The regular recordation schedule will be suspended during the winter break.
  • Out-of-sequence recordation options are available 
Building Standards Board
  • Meeting dates are Dec. 3 and 10 
Board of Adjustment
  • Meeting dates are Dec. 7 and Dec. 21 

For more information, visit the online holiday schedule.


Facilitation at its Finest

The Development Services Department (DSD) regulates land and building development, while enforcing property maintenance and building-related codes to help maintain a safer San Antonio. In line with this effort, DSD supports a customer service philosophy of facilitation, meaning DSD will coordinate with other City departments and outside agencies to help residents, commercial entities, and business owners complete their projects both timely and effectively.

"As facilitators for Development Services and the City of San Antonio, it is our job to help make the process easier for our customers and look for ways to say 'yes'," said Rod Sanchez, DSD Director.

DSD has helped facilitate many projects throughout the building, inspection, and permitting process.
 
The Barn Door Fire Damage
In March 2014, the Barn Door Restaurant had a grill fire where an ember got caught in between a wall and main charcoal cooking grill's chimney; the chimney was built in the 1950's. While quickly extinguished, the fire damage created the need for restoration. With the fire out, and everyone safe, the restaurant reopened the next day with the help of the Barn Door staff and city inspectors; however, the extensive fire damage was still a problem.

"We were advised by the architect and engineers hired for the restoration that we had a major problem on our hands and the restaurant may not survive," said Ken Gindy, from the Barn Door. "The building, which is over 15,000 square feet (with the fire effecting about 500 square feet) had not had significant remodeling work in more than 20 years and we were looking at major reconstruction to bring the entire building up to current code."

After spending several weeks with the contractor, architect, and engineers on the issues, Randy Stokes, Barn Door Owner, contacted the DSD Director, who suggested that he and his staff inspect the building with the restaurant owners, and their design team.  

Upon completing the walk through, Rod and his team explained the City of San Antonio adopted the Existing Building Code, allowing for all new work to be restored to the current building code while the undamaged portions of the building did not have to be touched. During the rebuild, the fire place and grill were completed to meet current fire code standards, and retained the historic look and feel of the restaurant. City staff met with the team often, addressing specific questions while the plans were being prepared for the temporary grill in the kitchen and restoration of "Sonny's" dining room cooking grill.

Some issues were not found until something else was opened; for example, before the fire there was no significant vent or make up air system for Sonny's grill. The City worked with the Barn Door by allowing an installation of a single make up air system for the temporary grill installed in the kitchen, and then using the same basic system for the permanent grill restoration. 

"Our overall experience with DSD was excellent!" said Randy. "DSD's procedure of working with the property owner to keep the business open was essential for us. If we found a problem meeting a current code requirement, DSD promptly reviewed the situation and offered alternatives to ensure the integrity of the code without endangering public safety."

Throughout the restoration, DSD helped facilitate the project and offered alternatives and guidance; inspections were completed timely and performed on a schedule that allowed the kitchen to remain open.

 "Facilitation is key," said Rod. "With the right people in the right place, we can do amazing things and make the development process easier for our customers."




BuildSA - on Target 













As previously shared, the BuildSA Project kicked off in July 2015 with the goal to develop a new system that will replace DSD's 4 core systems (LDS, TPLT, Hansen and ECCO) and allow for information-sharing across all DSD services and external city partners.

The project will be deployed into 3 Groups, as outlined below:
           
Functional Group 1:  Land Development
Functional Group 2:  Permitting, Plan Review, Licensing and Inspections
Functional Group 3:  Code Enforcement

The project timeline below shows the targeted dates for each group.

What has the BUILDSA Team completed?
To date, the BuildSA team has validated the requirements from the business and technical staff; completed an impact assessment of the affected stakeholders; and established an Organizational Change Management (OCM) Team and strategy with the mission to educate, enable and empower BuildSA users to confidently deliver high quality service. In addition, the OCM team has created a new email specific for BuildSA; all questions and feedback regarding BuildSA should be directed to BuildSAOCMTeam@sanantonio.gov.


What are we working on now?
The team is currently conducting work group sessions to discuss detailed requirements for the various application types received and processed by Land Development, while evaluating the other systems and tools used in the Land Development processes today.


What next?
OCM will be working toward building out screen samples to reflect Land Development business processes for the new BuildSA system. At the same time, the OCM team will develop a plan for communicating, managing, and measuring stakeholder change readiness.



2015 UDC Amendments Update
 
For the last several months, Unified Development Code (UDC) amendments have been reviewed and considered by several stakeholders and the Planning Commissions Technical Advisory Committee (TAC). DSD served as the administrator over this process and accepted more than 200 submissions.  

As the UDC amendment process continues, the timeline below outlines the actions that have occurred this year:  
  • May 1 - DSD received 260 amendment submittals by 30 internal/external agencies and/or private citizen
  • July - October - TAC has considered and approved over 200 amendments since the initial meeting
  • October - Consideration by Board of Adjustments, Zoning Commission, and Planning Commission
  • November - Consideration by Neighborhoods and Livability Committee 
The general next steps:
  • December 2015 - City Council public hearing and consideration
  • January 2016 - Amendments to be effective  
DSD, in coordination with the San Antonio River Authority and Transportation, and Capital Improvement (TCI), will also be moving forward with additional UDC amendments relating to Low Impact Development (LID) and Conservation Subdivisions. TAC considered the item at the Nov. 23 meeting, and now plans to move forward with briefings to Boards and Commissions in January, and Council Approval in February.

DSD will coordinate several training sessions after the New Year to get familiar with the adopted changes. We encourage you to sign up for training once the schedule is distributed.

Visit the Unified Development Code section on the DSD website to view a list of considered amendments and TAC Agendas. Once the 2015 UDC training schedule is available, it will be located on this site as well.

For more information about the UDC process, email Michael Dice, Policy Administrator, at michael.dice@sanantonio.gov.




Information Bulletins and Other Resources

For a complete list of Code and Rule Interpretations and Information Bulletins, visit the sites shared below:    
The DSD Resources website also offers more information, including Document Search, Forms and Applications, and Latest News.
 


Performance Measures - FY 2016

To view the performance measures in their entirety, visit
  
The October metrics are as follows:

Performance Measures


Permit Activity    

 


City News 

CITY ANNOUNCES THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY SCHEDULE

City Hall and most municipal offices will be closed to observe the Thanksgiving holidays Nov. 26-27, 2015.



SAFER RIDESHARING FOR SAN ANTONIO
New online video explains safer ridesharing for San Antonians where riders can choose drivers with SAPD-verified background checks.


FOLLOW US ON TWITTER
Stay connected with the City as we communicate and broadcast information to our residents. 


Other Department News
 - Customer Comments, New Hires, Recognition, etc.  
Here's what you said about us...
Melissa Ramirez, Cat Hernandez, Logan Sparrow, Land Development
I cannot say enough about how caring, and the professionalism all three employees showed. My only experience I had with zoning and development was when I built and developed my property in early 1990. I was treated real well back then and everyone was very helpful. I have heard nothing but horrible stories from different developers and attorneys on how I was going to have trouble with the city if I attempted to get changes made even though the city had errors on the maps. Attorneys that deal with the city on my problem wanted to charge me anywhere from 5K on up but I took it upon myself to deal with this department. I was referred to Melissa Ramirez by a person who knew her; and all I can say is that she is a big asset to the city. She returned my phone call on the same day I emailed her, at approximately 7 p.m. I am sure this was done on her own time. I can't say enough about her and what an outstanding city employee she is. The same applies to Cat Hernandez - she responded the same way Melissa did in returning my emails and phone calls; another outstanding employee. I never communicated with Mr. Sparrow but he also responded and took care of my problem in an outstanding time and manner. I will never let anyone talk bad about the service and employees of this department. I am sure that other departments also have outstanding employees. My experience with this department surpassed my expectations. If you ever need someone to state my experience please don't hesitate to contact me. Again outstanding job.

Mark Gonzalez, Plans Examiner II, Plan Review
Mark has always been helpful. Today I went to him on an item that we had been working on for a couple of days. In less then a few hours he helped us resolve our question/concern. He is reliable, helpful, and always willing to help where he can. The City is very lucky to have him on their team.

Olivia Rodriguez, Development Services Specialist, Plan Review
Great FAST Reviews!! Very knowledgeable staff.  She answers the phone and gives accurate information. I look forward to projects in San Antonio!

Denise Hastings, Code Enforcement Supervisor, Field Services
Denise has always been a professional. I had a concern on a tent camped as a residence at 13509 Babcock and Denise followed through. I like her work.

Ramiro Carrillo, Building Inspections Supervisor, Field Services
Mr. Carrillo was extremely helpful in helping us obtain our TCO by verifying our documentation and doing our inspections. He is extremely professional and a definite asset to your team. Working with his team has been a pleasure. 

Jacob Cuellar, Roland Resendez, Commercial Building Inspectors, Field Services
I have dealt with other municipalities and by far San Antonio has been the best to deal with.  Jacob and Roland have been very helpful during the inspection process at City Vista. We have hit a few snags along the way due to how we permitted the project and it presented a lot of challenges for the Development Services Team; however everyone that I dealt with was more than willing to help and provide insight as to how to get to the finish line for the project. I look forward to working with your team again in the future.


New Employees

 


Promotions

  


Certifications

  

Job Opportunities

Development Services is recruiting for the following position:
Apply on-line at:  jobs


Happy Thanksgiving



For comments or suggestions regarding the Development Services Newsletter, contact Kathy Quinones.





City of San Antonio, Development Services
| 1901 S. Alamo | San Antonio | TX | 78204