The 2020 Unified Development Code (UDC) amendment cycle will officially kick off on Oct. 1, 2021, following the postponement due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The UDC is amended every five years, as required by the code, and allows our stakeholders, citizens, neighborhood groups, and the development community to propose amendments to clarify development regulations, decrease development costs, and address changes in state laws.

The application window for amendments will be open from Oct. 1, 2021, through Feb. 1, 2022. During this time the Development Services Department will meet with our stakeholders and community groups through a series of presentations and DSD Academy sessions to explain the amendment process.

To learn more about the UDC process, join us at the Oct. 16 DSD Academy. This in-person session starts at 9 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 16, in the DSD Board Room (1901 S. Alamo - first floor), and is free of charge.

For more information about the process, please visit the UDC website.

Development Services has re-deployed a tool for building code inspections (Route Optimization) that helps optimize daily inspector routes and notifies customers via email/web of inspection activity.

Last month Development Services shared a training survey asking customers which BuildSA topics they were most interested in learning about. One of the top choices was How to Submit a Commercial Application and Combination Permits. On Sept. 9, we hosted the first of several upcoming training sessions, to review the various aspects of a commercial application, including how to submit a Commercial Application. In case you missed the training session, we’ve included a link to the power point presentation and the questions and answers here.

In October, an invitation to register for the session on How to submit a Residential Building application will be sent to all registered Accela Citizen Access portal users.

If you have not received the notifications and are interested in knowing more about upcoming training events, please email us.  

The 2021 International Code Council (ICC) building, fire, and property safety codes and the 2020 National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) National Electric Code (NEC) process will officially kick off on Oct. 1, 2021, after being on-hold last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2021 ICC and NFPA have a three-year cycle for updating the building codes adopted by the Development Services Department (DSD). The family of I-Codes, to include the Building, Existing Building, Fire, Mechanical, Plumbing, Fuel Gas, and Energy, and the NEC 2021 and 2020 editions, respectively, will be adopted and amended as part of Chapter 10.

The Building-Related and Fire Codes Appeals and Advisory Board (BRFCAAB) advises DSD and the Building Official on the adoption of the codes and recommends amendments to each code. Throughout the process, DSD will hold stakeholder meetings for each adopted code to review the significant changes and how these changes will impact each industry specifically. All stakeholders are invited to attend BRFCAAB Committee and Board meetings and are provided drafts of the proposed amendments for review and comment. The BRFCAAB Committee meetings are set to begin late 2021. At the end of all committee meetings, the full BRFCAAB board will meet to vote on the adoption of all codes with amendments approved through the committee process.

The process for adopting the I-Codes and NEC with proposed amendments will be open to all citizens and stakeholders and DSD will work to achieve the support and approval from stakeholders. It is our goal to complete the adoption process and present to City Council in late spring 2022.

The Noise Ordinance Task Force first met on June 1, 2021 and has held seven meetings and three community meetings. Meetings have been both in person and virtual (WebEx), giving residents an opportunity to identify major topics for discussion. On Sept. 7, the task force agreed to await the conclusion of the six-month pilot program, announced at the City’s budget meetings, where Code Enforcement will be responding to all citizen noise call complaints. Once concluded, the task force will evaluate the ordinance and assess if code changes are needed, or if increased enforcement and education through Code Enforcement’s team meets the needs highlighted by the task force. 

On Sept, 16, City Council approved the city budget authorizing overtime for Code Enforcement to pilot a Noise Ordinance Pilot Program team during the first quarter of FY 2022; the new pilot is scheduled to start Oct. 7, 2021.

The demand for additional lighting throughout the city has continued to be topic of conversation. With the 2022 budget, two new streetlight positions are being added to the existing DSD Street Light Team. The two additional positions will be a Senior Engineering Associate and a Senior Engineering Technician.

The three streetlight team members will be responsible for conducting a city-wide street light gap analysis of all residential streets within the city limits. The new team will also be working directly with COSA residents and CPS to manage the repair, installation and follow up with our residents.

The DSD team will take a proactive approach in evaluating city existing streets based on the Unified Development Code for streetlight spacing and identify all areas that currently do not meet code. This partnership with CPS will create a brighter San Antonio.

With the passing of the FY22 budget, a new Housing Team will be created in Plan Review. The team will be led by a Project Manager and will consist of a Senior Plans Examiner and four Senior Inspectors.

This new team will coordinate with the Neighborhood and Housing Services Department on City funded initiatives and will work with customers on all affordable housing projects. The Housing Team will perform reviews and inspections for residential single-family homes and commercial inspections for multifamily projects.

The Housing Team will meet the department’s performance measure expectations for reviews and inspections and will also work to expedite affordable housing projects in order for projects to meet ambitious deadlines.

Join our team! Please review the City Career Center web site for new job opportunities at DSD. Many of the openings are related to the FY 2022 budget that was approved on Sept. 16, and a couple of openings are vacancies needed to be filled.

On Sept. 16, 2021, City Council adopted the $3.1 billion FY 2022 City of San Antonio Budget.

Some highlights of the newly approved budget include a new approach to responding to crises; restoring cuts and investing in infrastructure; investing in the public health of our community; addressing immediate community needs; and adding resources for community priorities.

“As we head into the next fiscal year, the budget provides us a roadmap to address the community’s immediate needs, while also focusing on long-term transformational initiatives,” said City Manager Erik Walsh. “I want to thank the thousands of residents who participated in the budget development process and City staff, especially the Office of Management and Budget, for their work on crafting this balanced budget.”

In line with the new budget, DSD’s enterprise fund was approved to add 29 new positions (19 permanent and 10 temporary), all of which are currently posted. The general fund will have no cuts and overtime will be available to Code Enforcement staff to support the Noise Ordinance pilot by responding to loud music calls.

DSD has several new initiatives lined up for FY 2022 including to update the building and property safety codes, Sign Code, Unified Development Code, and city codes for large area re-zonings just to name a few.

The FY 2022 city budget will run Oct. 1, 2021, to Sept. 30, 2022.

For more information about the Fiscal Year 2022 Adopted Budget, visit www.sanantonio.gov/budget, or read the city’s press release.

Watch this quick video to see how easy it is to participate!

To view the performance measures in its entirety visit, Development Services Department Performance Measures.