In this Issue:
- Introducing Contractor Connect
- BuildSA Updates
- St. Mary's Panel Discussion
- Council Approved Ordinances
- Legislative News
- Apply for PCTAC Positions Today
- SABCA Success
- Online Resources
- Performance Measures
- Department News
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Coming Soon - Contractor Connect
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May is Building Safety Month! In line with this month-long observance, Development Services is excited to announce our new program, Contractor Connect.
Today, customers are responsible for ensuring the contractors they hire for their home projects are registered with the City of San Antonio prior to work being done at the property. To assist with this effort, Contractor Connect will provide an enhanced search tool that allows residents to select from a list of registered home builder and home improvement contractors based on the type of work (roofing, fences, foundations, etc.) needed for the project, along with the category-level of Registered, Registered Plus, or Premier. The criteria for contractor registration categories is outlined below:
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Currently, the City of San Antonio has nearly 2,000 registered contractors in good standing, all of whom are available for the Registered category.
Contractors eligible for Registered Plus and Premier categories are asked to submit an application with supporting documents to
DSD.License@sanantonio.gov. Please note approval could take u
p to 10-business days, and is determined by the City of San Antonio’s
Building Official.
The new easy-to-use search tool will be located on the Development Services website, along with the program overview, an information bulletin and application, and a list of home builder and home improvement contractors whose licenses have been suspended or canceled for not complying with the city’s building codes.
We are pleased to offer this invaluable resource and look forward to your support in maintaining a safer San Antonio.
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The Latest on Release 2
Progress continues for BuildSA Release 2. The project is on track to offer two enhancements this summer. Escrow accounts are coming and, in addition, customers will now be able to apply for garage sale permits on line.
Escrow Accounts
This summer escrow accounts will be available for our Land Development records! Although escrow accounts have long been used on the Plan Review side of Development Services, they are a customer service enhancement for our Land Development customers.
How does an escrow account work?
- Escrow is essentially an agreement to put money in an account that will be deducted from at a later time to settle application or permit fees.
Who manages the escrow account?
- The escrow account owner creates and manages his escrow account; however, occasionally DSD staff may create the account for the customer and withdraw or transfer funds and/or close the account.
What are the benefits of an escrow account?
- An escrow account is a service provided to our customers to help manage and budget their projects.
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Garage Sale Permits Coming Soon to the Online Portal
BuildSA teams are working to ensure an online application and permit process for
Garage Sale Permits
is ready to go-live this coming summer.
Having a Garage Sale Permit application available online saves our customers time and makes purchasing the permit convenient.
Customers will have the ability to create the application, pay the fee and print their permits from the convenience of their homes. Of course, our customers are always welcome to visit us at Development Services Department, 1901 S. Alamo and purchase their garage sale permits.
We are excited about the opportunity of making
Garage Sale Permits
so easy for our customers to obtain!
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As we get closer to summer, look for more information on the E
scrow Accounts and Garage Sale Permits in our upcoming newsletters. You may also reach us by email at
buildsaocmteam@sanantonio.gov.
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Land Development News
New Report Now Available
There is a new report available in the Citizen Access Portal that answers the question: Is my Plat on the list for recordation?
Often our customers call us to find out whether their plat records have made the Thursday noon cut-off for Plat Recordation. Report 020 is now available and ready for your use! The report lists all plats ready for recordation on the Friday of each week.
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Above: Image of Report 020-Plats Ready for Recordation
Report 020 is accessible from the Citizen Access Portal even when you are not logged in to your portal account. However, the Reports drop-down menu (#1 shown below) only displays when user is in a record. After clicking on the drop-down menu arrow, a list of the available reports display (#2 shown below). Select Report 020 Plats Ready for Recordation to display the report.
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New Record Search Enhancement
Records in the Citizen Access Portal are now searchable by the project name. Understandably, it was cumbersome to search through several records before arriving at the desired project or record. Users are now able to get to their records much quicker simply by navigating to the
General Search
and typing the project name in the
Project Name
field.
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Accela Citizen Access returns all records matching your search by Project Name.
Note
: Users do not have to be logged in to use this functionality. However, if logged in, users are able to select the
Search my applications only
box as in the example shown.
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If you have any questions on either of these enhancements, or need assistance, please contact
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Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Panel Discussion
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Director Mike Shannon, PE, CBO, served on a panel discussion at St Mary’s University on March 4, 2019, alongside several professors. The panel focused on the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire that occurred in 1911 in New York City. This tragic event resulted in the deaths of nearly 150 garment workers, mostly young women, who were unable to evacuate the 10-story building where they worked.
Mike explained the types of code violations that would have been identified at that time – locked exit doors, lack of fire sprinklers, and doors which should swing outward – as improvements that have been made to the codes of today. Mike also answered questions related to code adoption in different cities and noted the Shirtwaist Factory fire was the impetus for the most important fire standard used today: the National Fire Protection Association’s life safety codes.
All attendees walked away with a better of understanding of building safety codes.
In the month of May, join DSD in celebrating Building Safety Month, with the theme of “No Code. No Confidence.”
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Regularly updated codes such as those adopted here in our City ensure that individuals are safe where they live, work, or play, a confidence that was lacking when the fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory took place over 100 years ago.
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Council Approved Ordinances
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The following ordinances were adopted by City Council on April 11, 2019:
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Habitat Compliance Form (HCF)
The ordinance is effective immediately; as such, all applicable development projects submitted after April 11, 2019, are required to use the new HCF.
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The form is intended to be a communication tool that provides notification of development activity within the jurisdiction of the City of San Antonio to the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, and the Military for consideration.
For more information about the new form, please review
IB 520
or visit the
HCF website
.
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Mahncke Park
On April 11, 2019, City Council adopted the ordinance for the Mahncke Park NCD Design Standards.
Major updates to the design guidelines include Lot size coverage, Building/mass sizing, and Garages/carports.
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Atlas 14 Update
On April 11, 2019, City Council adopted Atlas 14 rainfall frequency estimates as best available data by means of amending Unified Development Code (UDC) Chapter 35, Appendix H (Ordinance #2019-04-11-0306). The amendment established five precipitation areas across San Antonio and Bexar County, and replaced the previous rainfall design data tables. As indicated in
IB 570
,
all plats receiving a plat number and permits receiving an application for permit number on or after April 14 must comply with the Atlas 14 rainfall data.
What is Atlas 14?
Atlas 14 is a study of rainfall frequency and intensity. The most recent study for Texas (Atlas 14, Volume 11) was published by NOAA in September 2018. The design rainfall depths based on Atlas 14 increased by about 10-30% when compared to previously accepted studies. The Transportation & Capital Improvements Department coordinated with the Bexar Regional Watershed Management and organized a Land Development Stake-holder Group to develop a framework for translating the Atlas 14 to be compatible with the City’s UDC.
For questions, please contact Jacob Powell, PE, CFM- TCI Storm Water Engineering Manager at
jacob.powell@sanantonio.gov
or (210) 207-0176.
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The 86
th
Texas Legislature, held in Austin, Texas, is currently in session and runs through May 27, 2019.
The Development Services Department (DSD), in partnership with the Department of Government and Public Affairs, is currently reviewing bills which may have an impact on Departmental operation. To date, Development Services has testified or sent letters on bills relating to Short Term Rentals, Tree Preservation, and Building Materials. DSD and Government Affairs are also lobbying the Legislature for an amendment to State Law that would allow our Code Enforcement Officers to be equipped with “bite sticks” to protect them from dog bites in the course of their duties.
DSD will continue to monitor bills as they are proposed and filed throughout the legislative process.
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Apply Today! PCTAC has Openings
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The Planning Commission Technical Advisory Committee (PCTAC) is still accepting applications. There are 8 positions open for the following areas:
- Development/Real Estate Professional (1 position)
- Registered Professional Engineer (2 positions)
- Registered Architect (1 position and 1 alternate)
- Community at-Large (2 positions)
- Environmental / Historic (1 position)
The PCTAC advises the Planning Commission on matters relating to the Unified Development Code (UDC), Major Thoroughfare Plan, Transportation Plan as well as other components of the City’s Master Plan. It consists of 18 members, 6 of whom actively serve on an official City board such as the Planning Commission, Zoning Commission, Board of Adjustment or Parks and Recreation Board. The remaining 12 members are “non-City Official” members representing a cross-section of community interests. Member terms are overlapping and up to 2 years in duration.
Visit
the
PCTAC web
page
to learn more about the Commission. If you are interested in joining PCTAC, please complete the
application
by the deadline, May 1, 2019.
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The Development Services Department (DSD) staff hosted the Spring San Antonio Building Codes Academy (SABCA) training sessions on March 25-26, 2019 focusing on One- and Two-Family Dwelling Electrical Systems. A second set of training was provided on April 8-9 with training on 2018 Braced Wall Provisions. The first and second training sessions for the spring sessions were successful with 417 attendees over the 4-day training period.
The training sessions were held at the Urban Ecology Center at Hardberger Park from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The March course was taught by Keith Lofland, Director of Education, Codes and Standards/Technical Editor, International Association of Electrical Inspectors (IAEI). The April 2019 course was provided by Todd Snider, PE, SE, CBO, who serves as the Plan Review Supervisors for West Coast Code Consultants Utah Operations. Both trainings were beneficial for DSD staff and customers as well.
Thank you to all who participated at the spring SABCA events. Be on the lookout for our fall sessions!
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The Information Bulletin (IB) and Rule Interpretation Determinations (RID) listed below are new; to learn more, select the link.
The adoption of Atlas 14, Volume 11 (A14) effects how adverse impact analyses, flood studies, and other storm water and floodplain analyses will be performed.
This amendment to the process will streamline and allow applicants to dedicate additional right-of-way width and to modify existing property lines adjacent to an existing street as part of an amending plat as per Section 35-441 of the UDC when such dedication is required elsewhere by the UDC, such as 35-506(g) - Major Thoroughfare Plan, and 35-502(d) - TIA and Rough Proportionality.
This RID is a clarification to address issues relating to "mobile retail," specifically the associated interpretations and business processes since Mobile Retail is not currently represented in the UDC.
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For a complete list of resources, visit the following sites:
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Performance Measures & Permit Report
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Performance Measures
The performance measures report is available
online
.
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Job Opportunities:
If you are interested in joining our department, apply
online
.
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For new hires and certification
news
, click
here
.
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City Holiday Announcement
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