Planning Commission by the Numbers: Quarterly Updates

For the last few years, the second quarter of the year typically marks the increase in construction projects in our community. This season begins the peak development time period that tends to start in the warmer months and April, May, and June. While it is common to see a down tick in the local report numbers in March and April due to weather related delays, the quarter will typically end with an increasing pattern of development. However, this year, the number of development projects for review and the submittal of permits to the City and County was down by 22% from April of the year before.

 

The months of May and June then saw a gradual increase from the previous month’s slowdown and marked an annual increase from the 2019 numbers. Site Development Plan approvals remained consistent with the previous quarter in 2020, the numbers were nearly down 50% from the previous year. Looking back on specific approvals from 2019, there were a significant number of subdivision site plan approvals in the County. While no new subdivision approvals were given in the second quarter of 2020, the development of those previously approved subdivisions is reflected in the actual building permits that were submitted.

 

For now, it is unclear if the beginning of the 2nd Quarter experienced the typical decline in numbers due to annual trends or the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic response. April was a time that businesses had started closing their doors in an effort to flatten the pandemic curve. It could very well have been the testing period to see what types of work could have been safely performed under special guidelines that were set by the state and federal government. While the start of the construction season in our community began abnormally slow, the end of the quarter saw numbers increase beyond the typical trend.

 

For more information how COVID-19 has affected construction and development nationally, you can visit the link below:

 

https://www.construction.com/news/construction-starts-post-small-gain-may-202