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Partnering with our community to build and
maintain a safer San Antonio
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In this Issue:
· Now Accepting 2018 PCTAC Applications
· Master Development Plan Validity
· New Background Checks Effective April 1
· BuildSA Survey
· DSD Academy - April 21
· Scheduling Inspections
· Online Resources
· Performance Measures
· Department News
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Now Accepting 2018 PCTAC Applications
The Planning Commission Technical
Advisory Committee (PCTAC) is accepting applications. There
are six positions open for the following areas:
· Development/Real Estate Professional (1
position)
· Registered Professional Engineer (1 position
and 1 alternate)
· Planning Professional (1 position)
· Community at-Large (2 positions)
The Technical Advisory Committee
advises the Planning Commission on the Major Thoroughfare Plan
and Unified Development Code amendments and meets as often as
necessary.
For questions, please contact
Yvette Thomas, Senior Planner, at 210-207-8214.
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Master Development Plan Validity
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Master Development Plan (MDP) is
an essential process that takes place when a developer/owner
requests subdivision plat approval for an entire property that
will be subdivided through phase development. Set criterion
within the Unified Development Code (UDC) necessitates each
accepted MDP be validated at specific times to confirm each MDP
remains valid. Land Entitlement personnel last conducted
extensive validity checks in 2009.
In the past two months, in
preparation to migrate data to the forthcoming BuildSA system,
Land Entitlement personnel are methodically conducting validity
process checks. Currently, Land Entitlement staff estimates
that there are more than 330 MDPs needing validity. Staff
anticipates a completion date of mid-April for these checks.
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At the completion of this
validity process, each MDP will have an appropriate letter sent
to the engineer of record confirming validity or invalidity of
the project at no cost to our customers. In the case of
invalidity, the engineer of record will be afforded 30 days to
submit a rebuttal to staff findings.
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National Background Checks for Home Builder and
Home Improvement Contractors effective April 1, 2018
"This change is intended to
help better protect our citizens from fraudulent
contractors," said Michael Shannon, DSD Director. "By
ensuring that registered contractors successfully go through a
National background check, homeowners can be assured they are
choosing a quality contractor for their project."
Today, local criminal background
checks are required to get a license with DSD; this Information
Bulletin expands the requirement to a National level.
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Please Take our BuildSA Survey
As we continue to prepare for
the deployment of our new Land Development System (BuildSA),
Development Services is seeking your input. Starting in the fall
of 2018, BuildSA will be the new system for processing Land
Development applications.
To help with the transition, we
are interested in hearing your ideas with regard to the training
method you would prefer when learning the new system. For
example, do you like self-help training tools or hands on
training workshops? Please let us know by taking this short
survey; the survey will close on April 25. Survey Link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2PLS5HN
Development Services is busy
planning for the training that will help customers perform a
variety of functions and help make using our online system
easier. This training will include setting up an online portal
account, delegating access to others so they can log in and
perform functions on your behalf, submitting and managing
applications, electronic document submission, making online
payments and viewing the status of your application.
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We are extremely excited about
offering online services for Land Development. Services such as
platting and zoning applications, certificate determination,
zoning verifications, rights determination, and traffic impact
analysis will all be available to you from your home or office,
24/7.
BuildSA has been a huge
undertaking and although we don’t anticipate an impact to the
services we provide our customers, we do believe that training
plays a vital role in making this a smooth transition for
you.
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Next DSD Academy is Scheduled for April 21
Our next DSD academy is scheduled
for April 21 at 9 a.m., and will cover 'How and when to get
permits for work in your home - A Homeowner's Guide to
Permitting.'
Developed to enhance the
partnership with our community, DSD Academy is comprised of a
series of informative sessions for residents. Meetings are held
once a month, on Saturdays, in the Board Room, at the Development
& Business Services Center, 1901 S. Alamo, 78204.
There may be changes to this
schedule, so check our DSD Academy web
site regularly, like us on Facebook or
follow us on Twitter and Nextdoor.
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Scheduling Inspections Sequence
To help expedite project
completion, Development Services counter staff, planning and the
inspection team is currently working on a solution to assist our
customers with scheduling inspections in a proper
sequence. When the Frame inspection is scheduled
before the trade permits have been inspected and approved, the
probability of a failed inspection and a re-inspection fee is
highly possible. This is due to over boring and over
notching in critical areas of the frame structure while
installing large HVAC ducts, Plumbing (gas, water, drain, and
vent lines), electrical conductors and other trade components.
(See IRC 602.6.1)
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Rough-in / Frame Stage
This inspection is scheduled
after all stud walls, siding, roofing and windows are installed
and the electrical/mechanical rough-ins and the plumbing top-out
inspections have passed. The frame inspection consists of all
minimum Code requirements. Common items include proper
connections of structural members, grade and span of lumber, fire
resistance construction, wall construction, life safety and
roofing material. At the time of the frame inspection, if
the engineers foundation letter does not address both the floor
joists and sub flooring this will also be inspected at the same
time.
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Tips
· If the plans require gypsum board wall bracing,
this will be inspected prior to taping and floating.
· The Electrical inspection may include the wiring
methods, branch circuits and feeders, devices and luminaries,
power and lighting distribution, and grounding methods.
(Rough-in)
· The Plumbing inspection may include pipes in
walls, ceilings and attics for proper venting, connections, type
of materials, clean-outs, proper pipe size, water test, gas
piping pressure test, and water heater installation. (Plumbing
Top Out) (Gas Rough-in)
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· The Mechanical inspection may include heating and
cooling equipment, exhaust systems, duct system, combustion air
and pipe size. (Rough-in)
· The insulation installation is inspected prior to
interior drywall installation (Before covering walls)
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Online Resources
The following Information
Bulletins (IB) were updated:
This revised bulletin will assist
customers with determining occupant load with the International
Building Code (IBC). Section 1004 of the IBC lists requirements
for determination of the occupant load of a building/space. The
occupant load is used to determine design requirements such as
occupancy classification, means of egress, required fire
protection systems, etc. This IB was updated to include
an application in preparation for on-line submittal through
BuildSA.
With this update, the IB
clarifies the information concerning requests for Permit Ready
letters, and includes a new, fillable application.
This IB was revised to reflect
the updated fees as listed in the DSD fee schedule.
For a complete list of resources,
visit the following sites:
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Performance Measures
The complete Performance
Measures report is available online.
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What you said about us...
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Anthony
Ortiz, Plumbing Inspector, Building Inspections, Field Services
Anthony did an outstanding
job. Passed along some information regarding tunnel work; he
was prompt and courteous and knowledgeable.
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Carlotta
Garcia, Development Services Specialist, Plan Review Carlotta was professional. She went the extra mile
to make sure she provided excellent customer service. It is
people like her that make Development Services better than what I
expected my experience to be. Her attentiveness stood out.
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Angela
Cardona, Planner,
Land
Development
Angela Cardona was extremely
helpful during the zoning process. She was always willing and
able to help and answer any questions, and did so in a very
courteous and professional way.
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Rupert
Tovar, Maintenance
Worker,
Graffiti, Field Services
Rupert was very nice and helpful
and left his number if I had any questions or concerns. I
did not even know of this program, I was so happy he stopped by
and took the graffiti off my office. It looks so nice now! Thank
you.
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Debbie
Gaitan, Planner,
Land
Development
Debbie was very knowledgeable and
helpful. We had an unconventional request and her response was on
point.
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Robin
Loyd, Plans Examiner II,
Plan
Review
Robin Loyd is always very
accommodating and helpful with any problems and questions that I
have regarding tree permits. Extremely knowledgeable of her job.
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New Hires
Please welcome our newest team
members to DSD!
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Certifications
Congratulations to our DSD
employees who received the following certifications:
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Looking for a Career with DSD?
We are recruiting for the
following positions. Apply online, at the City's Career
Center.
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Development Services Department
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Development Services Department | City of San
Antonio | P O Box 839966 San Antonio 78283
Office Hours: 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday - Friday
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For comments or suggestions regarding the
Development Insight Newsletter, contact Kathy Quinones.
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