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Building permits surge prompts city officials to propose expanded permit, inspection and planning staff; UDC update continues
Summary
City planners and building officials presented data showing a sharp increase in permit volumes and asked council to add permit technicians, inspectors and planners over several years while completing a unified development code rewrite already under contract.
Temple — City development and building officials told the council that permit and inspection volumes have surged and that the department needs additional staff and back‑office support to maintain review timelines and public service levels.
Officials presented permit counts from recent years showing a rise from earlier five‑ to six‑thousand‑permit years into a high‑volume stretch, including storm‑recovery work, that produced nearly 19,318 total permits in FY24. Staff said that a single inspector can be asked to complete more than 30 inspections a day at times, a level that is above industry best practices, and proposed phased additions of permit technicians, inspectors and plan examiners to close the gap.
The building department proposed accelerating positions that already appear in the multi‑year business plan: permit technician hires and an inspector added in FY26, with recurring additions every two to three years matched to projected workload. Staff also proposed reclassifying an existing development coordinator role and creating a second planner‑level business navigator to manage predevelopment reviews, zoning and developer coordination.
Separately the city’s unified development code (UDC) rewrite — a consultant contract of roughly $250,000 — remains under way. Planning staff committed to delivering the UDC update to council for consideration and said that, even after consultant work ends, staff will need an on‑hand code specialist to implement clarifications, handle subsequent code amendments and shepherd ordinances into the city’s permitting systems.
Ending: Councilors asked for more detail on timing and hires and directed staff to return with costed options and a hiring/phasing schedule tied to permit volume trends. No action was taken; the briefing will inform FY26 staffing deliberations.
