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Dallas planning and permitting overhaul credited with shorter permit times and new digital tools
Summary
City officials described a post-merger Planning and Development Department’s progress — a drop in median permit issuance times across categories, new process teams, virtual inspections and a pending software replacement — and outlined priorities including zoning reform and staffing.
Dallas planning leaders on Wednesday credited a recent merger of planning and development services and a series of process changes with sharply reducing permit issuance times and improving customer service, while warning that staffing shortages — especially plumbing inspectors — remain a constraint.
Emily Liu, director of planning and development, said the merged department is focusing on three priorities this year: development-code reform, process innovation and customer-service culture. “Together, we're planning and building a better Dallas for all,” Liu said as she introduced a report of 2024 accomplishments.
Deputy director and chief building official Sam Eskander detailed specific performance improvements tied to process changes such as a Lean Six Sigma review with Toyota Production System Support Center, a predevelopment strike team, consolidation of the Q Team review pathway, and the introduction of virtual inspections. Eskander presented dashboard metrics showing the median time to issue commercial new-construction permits dropped from 276 days in 2023 to 189 days in 2024; commercial remodels dropped from a median of 21 days to 12 days; commercial additions from 111 to 54 days; and residential median issuance improved from 68 days in 2022 to 14 days in 2023 and 8 days in 2024.
Eskander also said staff identified roughly 11,000 stale applications inactive more than 180 days in September 2024 and has closed about 8,300 of those; the team continues to review outstanding applications. He said the predevelopment strike team and Q Team changes standardize requirements, add case managers and increased Q Team submissions after the August 2024 changes.
Vernon Young, deputy director for customer experience and team excellence, highlighted call-center improvements (about 99,000 calls in fiscal year 2024; abandonment rate down from 21% to 4%) and the continued transition to paperless submittals. Young said the department is in the testing phase for “Dallas Now,” a replacement permitting system that will integrate zoning and board-of-adjustment workflows currently handled on paper.
Staff acknowledged workforce gaps: Liu and others said the department needs roughly 18 plumbing inspectors but currently has about five; virtual inspections launched in September 2024 have completed more than 100 plumbing inspections and are part of a strategy to increase capacity.
Council members praised the results and asked staff to prioritize digital launch timing, outreach on zoning-code reform and attention to conservation-district processing and enforcement of unpermitted construction. Council members also discussed parking rules, neighborhood engagement timing for rezoning, and the need for enforcement against unpermitted or “bootleg” construction in neighborhoods.
Staff said key deliverables this year include launching Dallas Now, advancing the Dallas Development Code reform, continued permitting process improvements and expanded virtual inspections. Council did not vote on any ordinance or rule at the briefing; staff will return with ordinance text and implementation plans where applicable.
