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County planners report steady permit volumes, prefab panel tenant at mill and rise in illegal shop-to-housing conversions
Summary
County building and planning staff reported permit activity near seasonal norms, a new tenant proposing insulated prefabricated wall panels at the Mill redevelopment, groundwater issues at Madras Highway apartments and a steady flow of unpermitted shop-to-housing conversions requiring enforcement.
County building and planning staff updated commissioners on May 28, reporting permit activity near typical volumes for the season and several notable development items under review.
Randy, who presented the building update, said the county is "averaging almost again back up to a thousand inspections of the month" and described a large project at the Mill: an applicant has sought approval to manufacture insulated concrete or insulated wall panels (for use in tiny-home and other prefabricated construction) in roughly 23,000 square feet of rehabilitated Mill space. Randy said the panels would be factory-produced and that state factory-built or modular inspection programs may apply.
Staff also reported continued groundwater problems at the Madras Highway Apartments project and activity at a new data center site where site work and foundations are beginning. Randy said the data center's first phase includes about 60,000 square feet for an administration area and a first data hall with provisions for future expansion.
Bryce and planning staff said planning application volumes had dipped in April, giving staff a chance to catch up after a very busy period, and reviewed several land-use matters in process, including a small subdivision in Juniper Canyon Road, a solar project (Moffett Road Solar) with hearings continued to June, and a proposed DOD military overlay code amendment that will return to the board for discussion in July or August.
Both building and planning staff emphasized an on-going enforcement workload tied to unpermitted conversions. "We've actually got an application clients in for a, concrete and foam wall construction for, like, tiny homes... The other challenge Terry and the team's dealing with is I think we've got, like, 16, 18 illegal houses or renovations or conversions that... they're plumbed, wired, built," Randy said, explaining that staff are pursuing inspections and, where required, third-party certifications or open-wall inspections to bring structures into compliance.
Staff said the department is examining code housekeeping changes and will present planning-commission recommendations to the board in coming weeks; planning commissioner interviews were scheduled the evening of the work session.
