Keller staff detail permit, inspection volumes and planned UDC amendments for 2026

The city’s Community Development director provided a department update to council on Jan. 20, reporting staffing, permit volumes and planned code changes for 2026.

The director said the team is at 16 staff members and summarized 2025 calendar‑year outputs including '60 new homes, 85 remodels, and 59 accessory buildings' and 'a little over 4,700 inspections' on the building side, noting that many inspections are performed by third‑party contractors. The director added that 809 code compliance cases were opened in 2025 (including 160 later marked unfounded) and that citations resulted in 17 cases for the year.

Staff demonstrated the city’s new plans-and‑permit system (eP and L), Citizen Self‑Service and the public Citizen Connect map, which allow residents to search permits, view inspection information and set alerts for properties or areas.

Looking ahead, staff identified UDC amendment priorities for 2026: changes to the zoning protest process (to align with 2025 legislature), a broader vision discussion to inform design guidelines and use charts, fence code updates, clarifications for home‑occupation rules, and clean‑up items such as bookmarking definitions and removing obsolete application requirements from the code.

The director said staff are also awaiting a consultant report on development process improvements and will return with recommendations; staff emphasized voluntary compliance and working with property owners before issuing citations.

Next steps: staff will circulate the consultant report, proceed with public engagement for UDC amendments and bring draft amendments back to council as they are prepared.