McDonough presents 2025 development and building inspections report; housing study planned for 2026–27

City staff presented the 2025 annual development activity report and the building and inspections division’s year-end summary at the Feb. 5 City Council meeting, outlining permitting, code-enforcement activity and several planned projects for 2026–27.

The Community & Economic Development presenter described three report sections (rezoning activity, development permits, building permits), the recently adopted Chapter 17 zoning code update (adopted Jan. 2, 2025) and an ARC-funded master freight cluster study expected to begin later this year.

Building and inspections staff reported operational metrics and code-enforcement workload. "In 2025, the city of McDonough completed at least 2,945 inspections," the building official said, and staff logged 2,135 code-violation reports during the year; of those, the presenter said 1,234 were closed and 151 remained active at year-end. The presenter described a planned realignment to emphasize 'code compliance' rather than 'enforcement,' an effort to implement an online permitting interface (Tyler) and an update to Chapter 15 of the McDonough code of ordinances.

Councilmembers asked for more detail about the planned housing study. The presenter said the study will examine types of housing, homelessness and affordability, review the existing housing portfolio and assess alignment with the city’s comprehensive plan. A councilmember suggested considering developer incentives to encourage affordable housing production as part of the study’s scope.

Staff listed additional 2026–27 goals including tax-amendment preparation, community workshops, façade program revisions for Main Street, a town-center LCI update, a housing study, historic-preservation review and a master plan for Blacksville. The presenters said they will provide more detailed numerical exhibits in subsequent slides and follow-up documents to council.