8/12/22
TO: COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC FROM: Chris Burton
DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
SUBJECT: SEE BELOW DATE: August 8, 2022
Approved Date
SUBJECT: CITY INITIATIVES ROADMAP: DEVELOPMENT SERVICES PROCESS
IMPROVEMENT AND DASHBOARD REPORT
RECOMMENDATION
Accept an update on metrics and dashboard data that detail bottlenecks in the development process, as well as recommendations for short and long-term improvements.
BACKGROUND
On January 18, 2022, the Mayor issued a memorandum to the Joint Meeting of the Rules and Open Government Committee and Committee of the Whole recommending an addition to the Community and Economic Development (CED) Committee Work Plan to include a status update of metrics and dashboard that provides insights to the bottlenecks in the development process along with recommendations for improvements.
The introductory update was presented to the CED Committee on February 28, 2022, introducing the Planning, Building and Code Enforcement (PBCE) Development Services Dashboard. The dashboard highlighted 18 unique metrics that provide insights into three main phases of the development process: (1) intake, (2) plan review, and (3) issuance/inspection. Each metric presented a snapshot of the most recent monthly data available and a historical reference of the metric information from the past five to twelve months. In addition to the dashboard overview, staff provided an overview of the Building intake process to illustrate the four main service lines available for customers submitting applications for review.
During the May 22, 2022, Dashboard update at the CED Committee, staff provided a more indepth analysis of three key operations of the Development Review process: (1) Planning Permit Center, (2) Building Plan Review, and (3) Building Inspection. The Planning Permit Center presentation focused on the staffing impacts the team has experienced in the first half of FY22- 23 including the loss of both Planning Technicians who are primarily responsible for responding to customer email inquiries. The May 2022 Dashboard indicated that the total number of inquiries had significantly dropped since PBCE began tracking the data, but this was likely CED AGENDA: 8/22/22
FILE: CC 22-189
ITEM: d(2)
COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
August 8, 2022
Subject: Development Services Dashboard Update
attributed to the reduction of email “back-and-forth” since there was less staff to respond. A similar reduction in intake backlog was realized since the Planning staff renewed their focus on application review as opposed to email inquiry responses. The Building Plan Review presentation focused on the vacancy rate for Plan Review Engineers and some potential mitigations to reduce the workload on the undersized team. The presentation on the Building Inspection process highlighted the seasonal summer surge of requests for inspection services.
ANALYSIS
The August 2022 update of the PBCE Development Service Dashboard features the same 18 metrics with updated data for May, June, and July where the data was available. The updated August dashboard is included below in Figure 1 with detailed descriptions of each Dashboard metric included in Attachment A. The full-size Dashboard is included in Attachment B.
Figure 1: August PBCE Development Service Dashboard
Most of the measures from the past several months appear to be relatively stable; however, two measures stand out and are worth noting:
• Metric #2 Email Inquiries – At the last quarter update, staff shared that email inquiries have been trending downwards likely due to both Planning Technician positions being vacant for the Planning Permit Center Team. Both positions have been filled and the team has caught up on the email inbox resulting in an average backlog of fewer than ten emails
COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
August 8, 2022
Subject: Development Services Dashboard Update
which are responded to within one to two days. This measure will likely transition in the future away from the number of total inquiries to a more outcome-focused measure around the timeliness of the responses.
• Metric #5 Total Applications Complete – Planning applications for ministerial actions have remained relatively stable but those applications requiring discretionary action took a steep decline in July. This is a seasonal change that is largely due to discretionary bodies taking a summer recess during July that prevents these projects from closing out.
To help provide additional insights into how the measures above relate to different parts of the development services process, the next two subsections will provide information on :1) processes for a typical Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Building Permit, and 2) Building Inspection operations.
Building Permit Process for an ADU
The process of obtaining a Building Permit for an ADU is representative of how typical homeowners experience the process and helps to demonstrate the relationship with the measures in the “Building” section of the PBCE Development Services Dashboard. There are four main stages of the process that align with the measures in the dashboard: 1) ADU project scoping, 2) preparing and submitting the application package, 3) plan review, and 4) construction and inspection. The full process always starts before the formal intake process, when a homeowner is considering constructing an ADU on their property. Most often the process happens without the homeowner working with the City; however, PBCE has established the ADU Ally position to help customers with these early-stage questions that can make major differences in the success of their project. PBCE has also created a robust library of resources on the City’s website that aims to answer the most frequent questions and pitfalls in the process.
Constructing an ADU is often the largest project a homeowner will embark upon on their property, and the specific design is often specialized to them and how they plan to use the unit.
This process is an illustrative example of what happens for many of the Building Permit applications that involve homeowners. While the ADU process includes an internal Ally to help customers start their process, the many other Building Permit types do not have such a customer champion to provide information. Even with the ADU Ally, many customers do not find the resources they need either because they did not know where to look or what to ask. The email inquires metric (number 9) only captures the main [email protected] email address and does not include ADU-specific questions sent to the ADU Ally. This inbox is closely monitored by staff who are experts in ADUs and can respond to inquiries usually within 24 to 48 hours.
The second stage of the process also involves a process that precedes formal engagement with the City’s permitting process: preparing the submittal package. After the homeowner scopes their project, they find a qualified and quality professional to create their plan and application package. Often homeowners opt for the lowest priced bidder who may or may not have experience building ADUs in San José. To support professionals creating plans, the City has
COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
August 8, 2022
Subject: Development Services Dashboard Update
produced Plan Review and permit process documents including the list of ADU submittal application requirements that are comprehensive to include requirements for all Development Services Partners. Even with these documents online, many submittal packages are missing documents or include incorrect or incomplete forms. PBCE has further strived to make this process easier by dramatically expanding the number of pre-approved ADUs which currently includes 24 approved plans for customers to select. However, since launching the program in late 2019, only 41 customers have submitted plans using one of these pre-approved plans. While the introduction of the pre-approved program appeared to address a significant pain point in the process, many customers chose to customize their ADU due to the unique requirements and vision they have for their property. Similar programs for other Building permits would likely face similar issues of unique characteristics for a project that would diminish the applicability of a generic pre-approved plan. Staff continues to encourage customers to use the pre-approved model as those who apply with it are generally successful in their application process.
Another effort to accommodate the large demand for ADU applications is the creation of a dedicated intake line for ADU submittal customers. Carving out a specific staff member to help customers with their submittals enables an expert to review the packages and find any common errors before it reaches the plan review stage. This dedicated staff person also ensures that there are available appointments for ADU customers within one to two weeks. Since the standard plan review submittal available appointment is several weeks further out than ADU appointments (see metric 10 – Days until Next Appt Available), staff have started to share the ADU dedicated resource temporarily to support customers in that line as well.
The third stage is the Plan Review process when ADU plans are reviewed by a City engineer for conformance to Building Code. The ADU plan review process is included in the four-dashboard metrics in the middle Plan Review phase. The popularity of the program and readily available intake staff means that customers can submit applications, but there are limited plan review engineers as discussed in the May 2022 Dashboard presentation to the CED Committee.
However, even with these limitations staff were able to permit a historic number of ADUs in the first two quarters of 2022, exceeding all ADUs permitted in either 2019 or 2020, and is on pace to exceed 2021’s record amount by over 25%. Still, many of the customers who do get a permit often have to go through multiple rounds of reviews. If plans that are initially submitted do not adhere to building codes or are not ready for plan review, they often can take several rounds of review and more staff time than is allocated for their permit fees. Since the Building Permit process is cost recovery, once an applicant exceeds their plan review hours, they must purchase additional review hours to cover the staff time required to review their plans. The customer that reviews online guides and examples early in the process tends to proceed smoothly through the application process, but customers who attempt to complete initial plans and resubmittals generally require more rounds of review.
The resubmittals described above are counted as an additional “Plan Received” in metric #9 in the Development Services Dashboard. Both resubmittals and initial submittals are counted in this metric. As a greater ratio of customers require more rounds of review, the total number of plans received increase causing the total backlog of plans (metric #14 “Plan Review Backlog”) to
COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
August 8, 2022
Subject: Development Services Dashboard Update
increase. Resubmittals are generally quicker to review which can cause the rate of plan reviews completed on time (metric #13) to increase. However, if customers can submit quality plans initially, resubmittals and total workload in the pipeline could decrease, saving the City and customers resources.
After the customer receives their Building Permit, they may start construction and when ready schedule an inspection to confirm the construction was built safely. During this stage, contractors build the ADU and call for inspections before they reach certain milestones so inspectors can see the different components of the work (foundation, electrical, plumbing, etc.). Most ADUs are allotted five to six hours of inspection time for inspectors to visit at different phases of the construction process. On some occasions, the contractors are not prepared for inspections or do not schedule the inspections at the appropriate milestone in the process. This can add delays and additional inspection trips to certify that the construction is safe. The Building Division structures the inspection team with Field Coordinators for every area of the City that can work with customers to conduct “pre-field site inspections” that help contractors map out how to proceed through the inspection phase correctly. The Field Coordinator can be found on the Building Permit card and is assigned by geographic area which creates consistency and familiarity with customers.
This review of the ADU process provides insights into common issues that Building Permit customers encounter along with examples of solutions that have proved successful. The ADU example is emblematic of other Building Permit types that proceed through each phase of the dashboard.
Building Inspection
Building Inspection is the largest team within the Building Division and encompasses one of the most complex portions of the process involving over 40 inspectors deployed throughout the City to visually check construction projects and their adherence to approved Building Permit plans.
This operation covers dashboard metrics 17 and 18 involving the total amount of inspection and the inspections available within 48 hours of the desired schedule date. To help provide insights into this critical operational stage, this section of the memorandum will provide an overview of the inspection process including scheduling and the daily cadence of the inspection team.
To schedule a building inspection, contractors will call or book online when they reach certain milestones that will allow them to proceed or complete the construction project. Inspections are scheduled based on a complex sequence of inspector specialty and geographic area assignment.
Geographic specialization allows for project familiarity and getting the same inspector for a simple project over multiple inspections while complex projects will assign an expert (e.g. mechanical, electrical, etc.) to complete the inspection. Inspections are generally split 60% for small projects (e.g. single-family home projects) and 40% for major projects (e.g. large new construction). Inspections are scheduled in 30-minute increments called “counts” and are budgeted for individual permits based on the complexity of the project and how much total time is required for the inspection.
COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
August 8, 2022
Subject: Development Services Dashboard Update
Each morning inspectors receive their assignment inspection sites and coordinate with the project point of contact to prepare for their anticipated inspection window. Each inspector is assigned 11-13 counts based on the number of small inspections, as many small inspections require additional travel time. Currently, the team averages a little more than 40 inspectors deployed in the field every day out of 63 budgeted positions. There are currently 14 vacant positions on the team with three retired-rehired staff. There are an additional eight staff assigned to the Plan Review to help manage the influx of application plan sets being submitted.
The above procedures identify the regimented process design to maximize the inspectors’ time in the field. Deviations from this model including trainings and other activities directly impact metric #17 “Inspections Conducted” and the overall capacity of the Inspection team.
With the increase in inspection demand, discussed in the May 2022 dashboard presentation, the inspections available within 48 hours (metric #18) have decreased below the targeted goal.
Customers who are able to plan ahead tend to schedule an inspection within 48 hours of their desired inspection date especially when it is outside of 48 hours of the moment they schedule their inspection. This planning ahead strategy is supported by the tactic discussed regarding ADU customers reaching out to a Field Coordinator to help map out their inspection needs for their project. While urgent requests for immediate inspection services are often unavailable, staff are able to assist the majority of customers (72% in July) with finding inspection availability at the right time for their project.
Vacancy
As of the end of July, PBCE had an overall vacancy rate of 24.7%, slightly up from the previous quarter (22.1%). Vacancies in Planning Development Review were lower than average but higher for most of the Building Team. Figure 2 below shows the current vacancy rate by team which generally aligns with the dashboard phases columns. The largest vacancy change was in the Building Permit Center and the Planning Permit Center. For Building, the number of vacant positions increased from three to ten, however, five of those positions were newly created in the FY22-23 budget. Similarly, in the Planning Permit Center, of the three current vacancies, two of those positions were created in the most recent budget.
COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
August 8, 2022
Subject: Development Services Dashboard Update
Figure 2: July PBCE Vacancy
EVALUATION AND FOLLOW-UP
Staff will continue to monitor Development Services metrics and review how the existing 18 metrics relate to customer outcomes to identify potential improvements and replacements to the existing dashboard metrics. Staff expects to present these changes at the next scheduled Dashboard update currently scheduled for February 2023.
COORDINATION
This memorandum has been coordinated with the City Attorney’s Office. /s/
CHRIS BURTON
Director, Planning, Building
and Code Enforcement
For questions, please contact Alex Powell, Chief of Staff, Planning, Building and Code Enforcement, at (408) 535-1258 or [email protected].
Attachment A – Dashboard Metric Descriptions
Metric Phase Division Description
1 Intake Backlog Intake Planning
How many email inquiries for
application submittal for the Permit
Center to be assigned.
2 Email Inquiries Intake Planning
Number of emails completed + unread
at the end of the month (using the first
full week of the next month) for
[email protected]
3 30 Day letter Review Planning
Of the 30-day letters that were due
each month, how many did we send out
within the 30-day target.
4 Conformance
Reviews
Complete
Review Planning
How many Building Permit zoning
conformance (also referred to as
“EPR”) has been completed.
5 Total Applications
Completed Issuance Planning Count of number of Planning Folders had “Issued Date” in each month. 6 Days to Permit
Issuance Issuance Planning
Measures how long it takes to issue
Planning Permit from intake to
issuance (public hearing) date
7 Intake Appts Intake Building
Count of the number of appointments
held each month across the four main
intake lines (ADU, OTC Plan Review
and Simple)
8 Appts Booked Intake Building
Count of how many appointments
customers reserve each month (could
book appointments in future months).
9 Email Inquiries Intake Building
Number of emails received for
[email protected] and
does not include online permits,
targeted review, RS Resubmittals, or
Plan review email inbox.
10 Days Until Next
Appt Available Intake Building
When a customer booked an
appointment in a given month, how
many calendar days have to book the
appointment out into the future.
11 Plans Received Review Building
Count of how many separate Building
Plans (Structural, Mechanical,
Electrical, Plumbing) were submitted
each month, including both new
submissions and revisions/resubmittals.
12 Plan Check
Completed Review Building
Count of the number of separate plan
reviews/checks completed each month
for building structural, mechanical,
electrical, and plumbing. Including
both 1st submissions and
revisions/resubmittals.
13 Plan Review on
Time Review Building
Measures what percent of the plan
reviews completed were completed
within the target timeframe for that
particular type of review (based on
project type and revision cycle).
14 Plan Review
Backlog Review Building
By the end of the month, what was the
remaining number of Plan Review sets
that were still not reviewed including
carryovers from the previous month.
Includes both 1st cycle and
resubmittals.
15 Permits Issued
Online Issuance Building
Count of the number of Building
Permits were self-administered by
customers on SJPermits.org allowing
them to get their issued permit within
15 minutes on their own.
16 Permits Issued
Manually Issuance Building
Count of the number of Puilding
Permits that were manually intaken by
staff and required some review by staff
prior to issuance.
17 Inspections
Scheduled Inspection Building
Count of inspections that were
scheduled each month. This is nearly
synonymous with inspections
completed since inspections are almost
always completed within 3 days of the
date they are scheduled.
18 Inspection
Available within
24 Hours
Inspection Building
Measures the “backlog” of inspection
by looking at how many days out is the
next available inspection is based on
the date the customer tried to schedule
their inspection.