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Council approves second 180-day extension for 3352 Chaparral building permit in 3-2 vote
Summary
The City Council voted 3-2 to approve Resolution 2025-9, granting a second 180-day extension of a building permit for a single-family residence at 3352 Chaparral Drive; the mayor recused and the council heard questions about fees, timelines and cause of delays.
City of Farmers Branch City Council on Tuesday approved Resolution 2025-9, granting a second 180-day extension for a building permit to construct a single-family residence at 3352 Chaparral Drive.
Danielle Summers, director of community services, told the council the permit had expired on Oct. 7 after an initial 180-day extension by the building official and that the contractor requested another 180 days, extending the permit to April 7, 2025. "Ordinance 3793 requires... the building official to extend a permit for 180 days after a permit is expired. Once that 180 days has expired, ... the next extension ... would be approved by city council," Summers said.
The nut graf: Council members pressed staff and the contractor on the reasons for the delay, the fee structure and alternatives if the extension were denied, then voted 3-2 to approve the requested extension. Mayor Pro Tem Roman presided over the item after the mayor recused himself.
Council members asked for clarity on the original permit length and fees. Summers said the initial new-construction permit term for a single-family home is 18 months and that the ordinance calculates extension fees by prorating the days requested against the original fee. She said the extension charge is computed by dividing the requested days by 365 and applying that fraction to the original permit fee.
Builder Tom Cusick of 3901 Midway Road told the council the remaining work is largely specialty items on back order. "We're still trying to get a few products in that... we've been told are gonna arrive here in the next week or two," Cusick said, adding he was confident the house could be finished within "60 days-ish" if the parts arrive.
Council members asked what would happen if the extension were denied; Summers said the ordinance would require the property owner to apply for a new construction permit, and that cost would "probably be about the same, possibly more." Council questions established the typical extension fee in this case was around $4,000 based on staff materials.
A motion was made and seconded to approve Resolution 2025-9 as presented. The motion passed with a 3-2 vote.
Ending: The mayor had recused earlier in the discussion and filed a conflict of interest statement; the council recorded no additional conditions to the extension. No further action related to the item was reported from executive session.
