City creates building department
The Olney City Council approved the creation of a city building department to streamline the permitting and building process to try to attract more builders to town to build much-needed housing.
The OEDC board of directors pressed the Council at its Oct. 14 meeting for a dedicated employee to work with builders as a central point of permitting and knowledge about City procedures.
The Council voted unanimously at its Oct. 28 meeting to create a full-time position to handle what the City hopes will be an influx of construction in the coming years.
City Administrator Simon Dwyer said the position likely will be filled by a current City employee who already has experience in code enforcement and permitting.
The OEDC reported that the lack of a building department has caused significant delays for developers, including Crombie Properties of Jacksboro and Lance and Corey Groves of Possum Kingdom, who have been held up by financing issues because they cannot obtain the necessary permits. The Crombies, who had planned to build ten homes in Olney, abandoned their project after facing numerous obstacles with the city’s approval process, OEDC executive director Tom Parker said.
Part of the problems appeared to stem from employee turnover, with the departures of City Administrator Arpegea Pagsuberon, and the two Olney Police officers tasked with code enforcement, Cpl. Joe Logan and Sgt. Dustin Hudson, over the past year.
But an analysis by the Enterprise of permits issued to builders since Mr. Dwyer took office in May, as well as a conversation with Lance Groves, shows that the problem may not rest with City employees.
Of the 65 permits issued since May, 46 were approved the same day or the following day and all but 7 were issued within five business days, city records show.
Mr. Dwyer said that builders and citizens need only drop by City Hall, where he or his staff will help applicants with permits.
“We are completely functional in that regard,” he said. “There is no holdup or delay or reason why somebody in Olney cannot build a house or obtain a permit to get whatever they need done, up to and including inspections.”
Lance Groves of GrovesPK has completed one home and has two others under way.
He told the Enterprise that the first house he and his brother Corey Groves built “went really smoothly” but they have encountered “some obstacles” with the second build on West Howard Street. Those obstacles stemmed from the city’s outdated plat maps, lack of easements in some areas, and the Council’s new permit pricing structure - which makes building more expensive in a market with escalating building costs, he said.
The Groves’ first house, at 305 W. Oak St., was recently put on the market for $209,000. The company is building two homes of two bedrooms and two baths on a lot at 113 W. Howard St. had no access to sewer lines, he said.
“I bought the house behind it and we will bulldoze that house and put an easement on there,” he said. “But why would you sell a lot with no sewer access? And [the City] changed their fees for permitting and we went up from about $100 to about $1,400 for the second build.”
Mr. Groves said the process has improved since Mr. Dwyer took over but he plans to propose to the Council that the City waive permit fees for builders who commit to three or more homes.
“I think right now [the City] is on track now that they have Simon[Dwyer],” he said. “It’s a solid commitment level to the city – I think at some point we will present that to the city and to every town we work with.”
About 700 workers commute to Olney each day from surrounding communities because they cannot find housing in town, the OEDC’s Mr. Parker has said.