Crafting Community Growth: Ramey Hammonds on Urban Planning, Strategic Projects, and Enhancing Sanger's Charm

Join us for a captivating discussion with Ramey Hammonds, the dynamic Director of Development Services for the city, as we explore the bustling world of urban planning and community growth. Ramey unveils the intricacies of her role, from managing planning and zoning to collaborating with third-party engineers. You'll gain insights into exciting new projects, including a 50,000-square-foot grocery store set to anchor a vibrant mixed-use development. These initiatives promise not just to transform the city's landscape but also to boost its economy, enriching the community with a blend of residential and commercial spaces.

Ever wondered how new developments cleverly blend into an existing community without causing chaos? Ramey shares her expertise on the importance of comprehensive plans and navigating the complexities of city growth. We tackle the real challenges faced by the engineering sector, the misunderstandings with developers, and the meticulous planning required to ensure utilities and drainage systems do not negatively impact existing properties. This episode offers a fascinating look into the nuanced world of city planning, where careful strategy meets community objectives.

Sanger, a small town with a big heart, takes center stage as Ramey reflects on its unique charm and tight-knit community spirit. Discover the vital role of code enforcement in preserving Sanger's quality of life and how the city prioritizes compliance over citations to maintain high community standards. We celebrate the camaraderie that defines Sanger, inviting you to become part of this welcoming community, where cooperation and support are woven into the town's fabric. Whether you're a resident or just passing through, this episode highlights the developments that promise to enhance Sanger's environment and foster an even stronger sense of togetherness.

You have been listening to The 266 Express, the official podcast of Sanger, TX.  IF you have comments or suggestions, please send them to dgreen@sangertexas.org

Transcript

Speaker 1 0:07

Welcome to the 266 Express. I'm John Knoblet, with my co-host, donna Green, donna, who we got with us today.

Speaker 2 0:14

Today we have Ramey Hammonds. She's the Director of Development Services for the City.

Speaker 1 0:19

Hello Ramey.

Speaker 3 0:20

Hi guys, how are y'all?

Speaker 1 0:22

Good, and how are you?

Speaker 3 0:24

Doing good. Good How's development going right now Crazy busy.

Speaker 1 0:28

Good. Well, we have a lot of questions for you today.

Speaker 3 0:31

Perfect.

Speaker 1 0:34

First off, could you tell us a little bit about your role? I mean, you're Director of Development Services. Not a lot of people may understand what that is, and kind of let them know what it is that development services director, what your role is, and then what a typical day might look like for you.

Speaker 3 0:53

Okay, under development services we currently house the planning and zoning department, the building inspections department, the code enforcement department and we also oversee health as a add-on to that. We don't have a city engineer, so we use engineering. We're the overseer of the engineering, third-party engineers.

Speaker 1 1:17

Yeah, and we did a lot of people don't know that, but we use we use a third-party engineering group for civil plans and things of that nature, which you'll probably talk about a little bit later. I will yeah which is always good, because we're only paying them when we're using them right.

Speaker 3 1:31

Exactly.

Speaker 3 1:31

We only pay them for the services that we use them for and they've done a great job for us. So typically in a day we could deal with any one of those departments or all of them, depending on what we have going on in the city. We meet with potential developers, we review zoning, plats, cases, variances. We look at all of those things. We go back and forth with our applicants to make sure they stay informed and that we're relaying information back and forth between also the engineers, the developers, anybody that's involved in that process. We want to make sure we keep the applicants informed on that. We use all the city departments parks, public works, electric Parks, public works, electric water, sewer anything that touches a development we deal with in some way. We also work with the building official and the building inspections department to make sure the construction plans and the buildings are built according to minimum code and that we are following everything that we need to follow for those. So a day can be a variety of different things in our department, just depending on how the morning opens.

Speaker 1 2:50

It's probably pretty fair to say, I would think, that pretty much everything that the city does, development typically touches, because it is the driver of infrastructure use, infrastructure growth. It is the basis for a large portion of our financials, when you get into property taxes and the ad valors related to sales and use that business brings. So I mean that's a very broad scope that you're in charge of and you do a great job with it and we appreciate it.

Speaker 3 3:27

Well, thank you, and you are correct. It touches pretty much every part of a development, from conception through opening day, even to follow-up inspection, sometimes after, depending on what type of business it is Right.

Speaker 1 3:44

It doesn't always stop right, Doesn't?

Speaker 3 3:45

always stop. It doesn't always stop when businesses change.

Speaker 1 3:47

You know there's there's things that your office has to do.

Speaker 2 3:51

Correct. So, um, I'm sure everybody wants to know, and you. There's lots of things you can't say. But what are some of the current development projects that are happening in the community now and how will they impact our residents?

Speaker 3 4:07

We have a lot going on right now in the community and I think it's a lot of exciting things. Actually, the citizens have been really, really wanting a grocery store. We have that coming. They're getting ready to break ground on that. It's going to be a 50,000-square foot store, fully with a bakery deli the works. So it's going to be a store that we've never had before. So we're excited for that. As part of that, that is a part of a mixed use development that's coming in around it as well, which will include single family, multifamily, additional commercial sites, which could be anything from boutiques and stores to fast food, to restaurants. We also have a storage facility, a self-storage facility, that's coming in as part of that development. So that grocery store not only brings in the grocery store but it's bringing in a lot of other amenities for our citizens as well.

Speaker 3 5:07

We have another mixed-use development that's in the works currently They've already broke ground. It's the Lane Ranch development. It's going to have again, single-family, multi-family commercial sites, an area carved out for assisted living. So those two are really large developments that are coming in that will impact the city. This will also boost our tax base that we mentioned earlier. That will help the city with street funding and other things that it needs to to keep the citizens here in a nice city and a nice environment. We have an urgent care facility coming. We haven't had, really other than doctor's offices, any type of medical facilities here, so this will be our first medical facility and that will be located at the corner of Church Street and I-35. So you may have seen dirt's already moving in that area as well. So that's getting ready to go up, so that'll happen pretty quickly.

Speaker 3 6:12

We have a couple of more single-family developments. We have a multifamily development that's got 82 units coming in. We have several industrial sites that are coming. We have one that's a small industrial site that will have eight industrial buildings of about 6,000 square foot each, and then we have some larger industrial buildings that's 300,000 square feet or in between those. So we have a variety of different developments. We also have a retail development coming in on the south side of town near the trail dust that will have about five commercial pad sites on that as well. So we're getting development in all areas and all over the city, not just in one area, yeah, and that's tremendous.

Speaker 1 7:07

And I think probably what sometimes is difficult to relay, we see growth like this and a lot of people here out of economic development. Here's what we're doing and they're touching on a small portion of total development doing and they're touching on a small portion of total development, you know. So, where you see this business or that business with economic development coming through, five or ten businesses, there's probably actually 10 or 12 businesses in some portion of development, whether it be their first dip into the water to look at the market here in Sanger, or they're actually in planning, planning, plan review, that nobody ever hears about because that's not a project we incentivize, correct, correct. And so then we move into that next portion, which is not always that's not always understood as well, which is we don't always choose the businesses that are coming in to Sanger. A majority of those businesses are choosing us.

Speaker 1 8:09

There's some give and take, but you know, we notice a little bit of, we see all the feedback, but we notice, like the grocery, we're all excited to have a grocery, but we have noticed that some people are like I'm not sure about this grocer, why didn't you get another one? Well, the other one wasn't available to us, right, correct. So we push through these processes and we're trying to balance a lot of things and you're trying to balance a lot of things that come along with that, and that includes whether we're having apartments or townhouses or whether we're having estate lots or single family lots. But business is the big one. If you're going to open a business in Sanger, because it is a big undertaking, whether you're building new or you're expanding, like we've seen in the downtown with some of those deals, can you tell us the process that a person would go through or the first steps a person would go through, if they're thinking about opening a business in Sanger? What's it like to come to Sanger? What's that first walk in your door? How does that work?

Speaker 3 9:11

I would always suggest come in and meet with us, talk to us about what you're proposing, what you would like to do. If you have a lot in mind, then we can look at the zoning and check the zoning to make sure that the use that you have in mind is appropriate in that zoning district. We also check platting, because a lot's not developable until it's platted. So if you have a platted lot, you're a step ahead and you can move on to building construction. But if you don't have a platted lot, then you're going to need to plat that lot first and then move to your construction. But I would always recommend come in and sit down and talk with us. We can pull up the platting together, we can pull up the zoning together. We can look at everything.

Speaker 3 9:57

A lot of your larger businesses do this before they ever get to us, because they're used to doing that. That's what they do in every community they go to. So they already know if there's a zoning issue or if there's a platting that needs to take place. So, but for any other business, come and talk to us, and even the ones that know, come and talk to us. We'll sit down with you, we'll hold a pre-development meeting. We'll get all of the departments in there together to let you know is there water available? Is there sewer available? Is you know, do we see any problems? What kind of parks or trails we may need for that development? We look at all of that together and have a team meeting with the applicant to give them as much feedback as we can give them from the beginning so that they're going in knowing what they need to do.

Speaker 1 10:49

So whenever I walk in I say, hey, I want to talk to development or your development director. How much is the charge for that?

Speaker 3 10:56

Currently, we don't charge, no charge at all right.

Speaker 1 10:59

We're willing to have those conversations up front to expedite the processes and make sure everybody has a kind of a clean slate to start from right.

Speaker 3 11:07

Right, because we don't want to burden somebody who may not be the right fit for where they're looking at. We want them to be able to have those open conversations and have that rapport with us and us provide that service to them.

Speaker 1 11:22

Right, we're kind of looking at partnerships really.

Speaker 3 11:25

Partnerships.

Speaker 1 11:26

These are people that are going to be here, we hope, a long time, so we want to start those relationships off good.

Speaker 3 11:31

And we want to work with them as best we can. Right.

Speaker 1 11:35

Within the parameters of what has already been adopted by our council and the policies that are in place. And a lot of people don't know that. They think that because some cities do have charges to have some of those pre-meetings and it does clog up the pipes a little bit for that.

Speaker 3 11:52

Yeah, we do not. We want those open conversations.

Speaker 1 11:55

Outside of business? Is that kind of the same for a resident If they have a project they're working on? Are you guys available to take a phone call or?

Speaker 3 12:04

answer a question, absolutely Anytime. If they want to come in and meet with us in person, if they want to speak with us on the phone, we'll go through the process with them. We'll show them. We won't design their project for them, but we'll help them walk through the steps of getting through that process.

Speaker 1 12:20

Navigating the process.

Speaker 2 12:29

Yeah, it's important. So you hear a lot of people. Growth is coming to Sanger and it's coming fast. We knew it would. Especially once the grocery store came, we knew it was going to hit hard. And you hear all of your longtime residents. I don't want to lose my small town charm.

Speaker 3 12:50

So how do we balance the need for growth and development while still maintaining the charm and the character that is Sanger? Well, a couple of years ago we did a new comprehensive plan it's the Sanger 2040 plan and that kind of laid out our development goals for the city, where we needed certain types of developments, where certain retail is best located, where industrial is best located. And in doing that we had citizen input. We wanted to hear what the citizens had to say, what their feedback was. We held several open meetings for them to come and state, we did surveys, we did several different types getting their feedback, and part of what we heard was we understand we're going to grow, that's a given, but we still want to grow and we still want to be Sanger. We still want to grow and we still want to be Sanger. We still want to be someplace special.

Speaker 3 13:47

And so with that, when we wrote that 2040 plan, we knew there were places that we would need more dense population, but then there were places that we need to keep that rural feel and those more rural areas to go as well.

Speaker 3 13:54

So we tried to in laying out that future land use map. So we tried to, in laying out that future land use map, look at all of that and make sure we can balance that and we keep the cute charm of Sanger and the hometown feel while we're growing with that fast growth that's coming in, and this is something we pass to all of our developers. We tell them look, here's our future land use plan. This is what Sanger wants. This is what our citizens directed us that they wanted to do. It's what council adopted. So this is our roadmap for growth and so we think about that, keeping that small town charm and that character in every development we do. We try really hard to keep the citizens first and foremost on our thoughts, because their feedback was valuable to us and we did appreciate the fact that they came out and spent their time letting us know what was important to them.

Speaker 1 14:56

Yeah, it was huge engagement. Right, it was well over a thousand people. I mean, yeah, it was huge engagement right, it was well, over 1,000 people.

Navigating Development Challenges in Community

Speaker 1 15:01

I mean, you had over 3,000 homes, but not much over 3,000 on the ground, so you had over 1,000 stakeholders come in and give their input, and the council did take that very seriously. And that's the starting point, right? That's typically what you tell people. These are the minimums of where we start, as opposed to let's negotiate to this point. Those are really the things that you guys are looking for whenever a development comes in, like a lane ranch or any other multifamily or multi-use right.

Speaker 2 15:33

Exactly.

Speaker 1 15:35

The basis for the start of the conversation.

Speaker 3 15:36

That's our map and then we can navigate that map. You know some as we need to Right, but that's our map If it makes sense. If's our map and then we can navigate that map. You know some as we need to Right, but that's our map If it makes sense. If it makes sense.

Speaker 1 15:45

Because that's a difficult one and we've talked about this and you know you and I were at a conference not too long ago and I actually said this right. But typically people want a lot of the amenities but a lot of those amenities come with density and that density that you need to get some of those amenities we have to kind of determine and it's your job, thank God, not mine all the time that we have to kind of determine where that density has the least negative impact on the whole community, right?

Speaker 2 16:23

Yes.

Speaker 1 16:24

How do you control that? How do you place that? And that comprehensive plan is a tool that you use to do that.

Speaker 3 16:30

Right, that is right and we rely on that plan heavily.

Speaker 1 16:34

It informs I know for me the role of the comprehensive plan is it informs me of policy and legislation that I need to discuss with the council so that the council can get that policy and legislation in place and we can hand that down my chain of command to, to the department heads, like you, so that you have the tools you need to be making the most competent decisions based on what the stakeholders have said we would like to see. We don't always hit it, it's difficult, but primarily that's the ball we're trying to hit out of the park, right.

Speaker 3 17:08

Exactly it is. That's the goal, that is our goal, our end goal.

Speaker 2 17:15

So you really juggle a lot of departments inside of the overall thing. What do you find as the most challenging for managing development services as a whole?

Speaker 3 17:29

The most challenging part is probably the engineering portion of that, because there is so much that goes into that engineering. To make sure that when we bring a new development in, much that goes into that engineering. To make sure that when we bring a new development in that we're not negatively affecting the adjacent properties or the adjacent owners. We want to make sure that they have good water, good sewer, you know, access to electric. We have to make sure that the drainage that they're taking from an undeveloped lot to a developed lot is not negatively impacting a neighbor.

Speaker 3 18:03

Because that's been a big challenge, especially in areas where we're going into already developed areas that may not have been engineered to begin with. Now we're bringing in engineering and we're saying, okay, this and so the area may have already had issues. So we have to try our best to not increase those issues and, if in any way possible, reduce the issues that are already existing there. So that is probably the biggest challenge. I think that sometimes it's hardest for at least our smaller developers to understand as well that it is an important. You know we've always done it like this in the past. Well, now we have to make sure that we're not, that what we're doing fits with that area and that we're taking care of any runoff, any negative impacts that could happen to the properties around it.

Speaker 1 19:05

That is an extremely good point because this community has grown tremendously over the past decade. When you look at where you were 20 years ago, 10 years ago and today, a lot of those things change and so I've seen that where engineering sometimes is the pushback we get, but a lot of that pushback that we receive on the engineering front is really not pushback on us, it's pushback on the laws and regulations, like the floodplain regulations and things like that. Zoning would be one. Can you kind of tell us how zoning laws and maybe these other laws impact that process, because I think that's maybe part of the linchpin discussion when we talk about that challenge.

Speaker 3 19:57

Yes, and I agree with you on that, we do get some pushback on some of those engineering. You know that the city's being too difficult. We're not requiring anything above what state minimums are. We're not going and saying you have to, you know, create a lake here. We're just saying this is what the law requires, this is what state law allows. And we have to, you know, create a lake here. We're just saying this is what the law requires, this is what state law allows.

Speaker 3 20:25

And we have to look at some of those zoning issues around it, because sometimes you've had an agricultural pasture for the last hundred years and now you're going to put a multifamily unit that covers almost everything, the entire 20-acre pasture. So the runoff and things that were allowed on that property are no longer absorbing into the soils and the grounds. So we have to account for that runoff in some way through engineering. They pipe it, they, you know, allow for detention ponds, retention ponds, those kind of things, to make sure that those that's taken care of. The other thing is a lot of these properties don't have utilities. So you know, are we even before a development comes in? Sometimes we're looking at the utilities in that area. Well, are we looking at utilities for an industrial site or are we looking at utilities for residential? Huge difference, huge difference, and that's all things we have to take into account when we're looking at zoning and some of those issues as well, and those are.

Speaker 1 21:34

When you look at infrastructure like that, whether it be electric, water, sewer, those are all regulated by outside entities as well. So there are some rules that aren't necessarily just our rules. They're the state minimums.

Speaker 1 21:47

State minimums you know they may be a little more stringent at times depending on what a council has adopted to help really going back to the comprehensive plan, to help meet some of the demands that the comprehensive plan is placed on how we're going to put things and place things in the hole. So, yeah, yeah, yeah, it's a, it's, it's, I'm, I'm fascinated by this stuff, you know, because it's watching a city grow, is if, if everybody knew the, the game of juggling that's played for this and you are like right at the heart of it. We're just throwing more balls at you and you're keeping them in the air.

Speaker 3 22:30

I'm trying really hard and I will say, as a lifelong resident of Singer, which I am, I see the change in the growth and so I know where we've come from and where we're heading, and so it's change for our community and I know that and. I see that and I want it to be the most positive change that it can possibly be.

Speaker 1 22:54

Yeah, and you also want to make sure that you're balancing that change again, as was mentioned earlier, with what the community aesthetic is and what the desire of the community is. I mean, it's difficult to do, but I've, you know, I've, I've said it again. You know we're growing period. We can either manage that growth here or they can manage us.

Speaker 1 23:18

you know, and that and that's a that's the biggest part of your role You're, you're managing the aspects of that growth to make sure that you are you are really the I hate to use gatekeeper because it has negative connotations, but you're kind of the gatekeeper to the integrity of what we're trying to do, which is really honor the wishes of the community and the policies of the elected officials.

Speaker 3 23:43

Absolutely. That is our first and foremost priority, right.

Speaker 2 23:48

So with that, I know occasionally you have to address concerns from residents that are opposed to certain developments going in certain places. How do you navigate that process?

Speaker 3 24:03

We do hear sometimes some complaints about developments that are going in certain areas and the residents don't want them. A lot of times those developments will have public hearings and we want to hear from the citizens. If you have an opinion or something to say on it, come. Come to that public hearing. Open up, Share with us, Share with Planning and Zoning, Share with City Council, Share your concerns. If you want to call and talk to us directly, hearing, open up, share with us, share with planning and zoning, share with city council, share your concerns. If you want to call and talk to us directly, call and talk to us directly. We'll be glad to tell you what's happening, what's going on, what we're proposing.

Speaker 3 24:37

But that public engagement part again, the public hearing, that's a perfect time and you don't have to be present. You can send back a letter. We send letters to, most of the time to residents within 200 feet of that development. Send back that letter, Tell us what your concerns are. We give all of those to the Planning and Zoning Commission and also to City Council and with that Planning and Zoning, if there is a lot of pushback, planning and zoning has the ability to recommend denial to city council and then, when it gets to city council. City council has the ability to deny that project or approve it. Depending on whether you know there was good feedback, it was a good fit, whether it was negative feedback, Because sometimes it's just as good to get the good feedback as it is to get the negative feedback.

Speaker 1 25:27

Right, and that's you know you talk about. You run a process start to finish, with the utilization of several departments. That includes the city council and administration when you get to that point. But those processes though you are correct, those processes are the most important time to have your voice heard when it goes in. But it's also important to recognize that that's typically projects that are requiring a change or a variance. There are some projects that the zoning itself gives a right by use and we don't have those controls right.

Speaker 1 26:00

That is correct, and that control becomes going back to the comprehensive plan, the stakeholder meetings that are involved whenever we're doing things like that. But all those are early processes too, and usually those are posted where, like if somebody wanted to see an agenda for the PNZ, where would they find that?

Speaker 3 26:16

That's posted on our city website. They can see the PNZ agendas. They can see the city council agendas. All of those agendas are posted on our city website under agendas and minutes.

Speaker 1 26:27

Yeah, and they're also posted at city hall.

Speaker 3 26:29

At city hall.

Speaker 1 26:29

All boards and commissions have their meetings posted, and when does the PNZ typically meet?

Speaker 3 26:34

The PNZ meets the second Monday of every month.

Speaker 1 26:37

What time?

Speaker 3 26:38

At 7 o'clock 7 o'clock 7 o'clock.

Speaker 2 26:42

So you know, since you are in the heart of it, let's tell people what is the vision for the city. What do you see happening?

Speaker 3 26:58

So 10 years from now, what does Sanger look like? Well, obviously they're projecting great growth, a large amount of growth, in the next 10 years. So we're hoping that with that we'll have more of your restaurants, more of your commercial needs that the citizens want. We're looking residentially wise. We've got several, like I said, developments already in process. I'm sure there will be more. We get calls on a weekly basis, you know, wanting to talk about new developments.

City Development and Code Enforcement

Speaker 3 27:28

So hopefully in that 10 years we'll be looking at doing a new comp plan by that point because we will have looked at what we have and utilized that and it's okay. Maybe we need to readdress this and look at a new comp plan again. So that's a possibility too. But I would assume that your 455-35 corridors are going to be your commercial and your you know mainly commercial corridors. Your residential areas will fall beyond that. The industrial is out on 35. It's pretty much been contained to 35. That way to the north that keeps all of that industrial development in one area. So it's just basically balancing that comp plan and making sure in 10 years we've aligned with what the citizens wanted us to do and be looking toward the future from there.

Speaker 1 28:23

Do we think that we talked about I-35, but also 455, you know, 455 with the developments coming in along, 455 as we move further east and west, do we think we'll see some more commercial like neighborhood services and things in those areas?

Speaker 3 28:37

Absolutely, we already have some of those in plan. I mentioned the Lane Ranch has commercial. It will be along 455. That's where that commercial area is located. I didn't mention earlier but we do have another convenience store that is looking to come in along 455, out toward the high school on Sable Creek Boulevard and 455. So that will be another project that's in process currently that you could see going up in the next probably six months or so. But yes, we do expect that there will be. We also in the comp plan have defined some areas even beyond 455 and 35 for small neighborhood areas, business areas, areas, business areas, and so that would be more of your neighborhood services, such as, you know, maybe your nail salons, maybe a doctor's office, maybe a small convenience store, those things that would service actually that particular neighborhood more than anybody else.

Speaker 1 29:39

Right right.

Speaker 3 29:40

Which helps with the density and the traffic and things like that right Absolutely because they have services within walking distance or, you know, as they're passing by going home, they're not having to drive somewhere for those small services, right?

Speaker 1 29:54

And so the comprehensive plan is available on the city's website as well, as well as most of the codes and fees associated. But you know, going back to the comp plan, going back to the role that some of these regulations play in what you do, you guys are currently redoing some, so I mean they're in review right now. What codes are currently under review by your department for new?

Speaker 3 30:19

codes. Yes, we are currently reviewing and getting ready to bring to council a new zoning code, a new subdivision code, a new sign code and also some new code enforcement codes that will be coming forward to help better keep our city looking as good as it possibly can. Maintenance, like everything else, right Once you get something on the ground.

Speaker 1 30:41

You want to maintain it.

Speaker 3 30:42

Absolutely.

Speaker 1 30:42

And the city certainly wants to do better with maintenance. You know that's a process we've been working through for years and we hope day-to-day we're getting better and over the years we'll get even better than that.

Speaker 3 30:53

That is our hope so.

Speaker 1 30:54

New codes coming on the code enforcement.

Speaker 3 30:56

Yes, new codes coming for that.

Speaker 2 30:58

So, speaking of code enforcement, can you explain what the code enforcement department does and why it's important for maintaining the quality of life in the community?

Speaker 3 31:08

Our code enforcement deals first and foremost with life safety issues. Obviously, if there's a life safety issue that takes priority over anything else. It also looks at nuisances, things that you know that are nuisances to neighbors or nuisances to businesses that are around it. They look to address environmental hazards, health and safety hazards, fire hazards, and it's just a broad area of looking at a lot of different issues that sometimes get overlooked because you drive by it daily and you don't see it.

Speaker 3 31:54

Our code enforcement officer he can go out with that eye and see, okay, there's been this wood pile here for three months that's creating a fire hazard right next to this fire pit, and so he can have that conversation or that discussion with the homeowner about getting that cleaned up, getting that moved, whatever he needs to do, because he's looking at it with that kind of an eye where we as normal citizens we've seen it for so long we ignore that, we don't see it anymore. But he looks at all of those violations, even, you know, sometimes unsafe building things. That's something we're writing in. We don't have as much control over it currently, but that is something we're writing into the new codes so that if we have buildings that are unsafe or unsecured, that could be a danger to our kids or to you know people coming in, then we're addressing those.

Speaker 1 32:51

We're just writing tickets, though. Right, that's what we.

Speaker 3 32:54

No, we don't just do that Right.

Speaker 1 32:56

We're looking for compliance right.

Speaker 3 32:58

That's our main goal. We don't. Citation is a tool, but it is not what we would prefer to do. We would prefer to have that correspondence, have the problem taken care of.

Speaker 1 33:13

So, as you said, you're addressing a health safety issue. We would much rather have the health and safety issue removed, then ride a ticket, absolutely 100% of the time.

Speaker 3 33:23

100% of the time.

Speaker 1 33:24

Yeah, yeah, yeah, and so there are some items that are outstanding, right, what does that code enforcement process look like? Because sometimes those timeframes dictate how soon something really takes place, and I don't not everybody knows what a typical timeline Can you give us, like maybe a high grass and weeds? What does a high grass and weeds case look like for your department?

Speaker 3 33:52

Typically we will send notification to the property owner, because we don't always know who the who the tenant is, but we know who the owner. You know. We have record of who the owner is Using.

Speaker 1 34:02

We have a record of who the owner is Using the tax rolls for that Using the tax rolls?

Speaker 3 34:05

So we'll send a notice to the property owner. We'll give them basically 10 days to abate that issue. You know, if they come in and have it mowed or they mow it, whatever happens, if it's taken care of, then we just close that case, move on down the road. If by chance that case in 10 days is still the grass and weeds are taller and they haven't been taken care of, then the code enforcement officer will write a citation to that property owner. In that period there's a certain period of time they have to take care of that citation and still the grass and weeds and that citation would be dismissed. If they take care of that the issue, then if that issue is still not taken care of in that amount of time so now we've given them plenty of time to take care of that then at that point the city will use a city contractor to come out and abate that issue. So mow it, whatever needs to be done.

Speaker 1 35:08

Clean it up. Clean it up.

Speaker 3 35:10

Once that's been done, then the city we do file a lien against the property for the charges that the city paid to that contractor for that abatement, but that process could be 20 days long. Probably more like 30.

Speaker 1 35:24

Yeah, so you know when we go out, if we maybe you file the complaint, which you guys do, take those, you file the complaint, we go out. Just because it's still sitting there two weeks later doesn't mean that nothing's in process. Just again means that we have a process that we have to follow to make sure that it's done kind of by the letter of the law.

Speaker 3 35:47

Correct, and so typically if we get a complaint, our code enforcement officer is going out same day or next day. He's not even waiting two or three days If we get a complaint in. If a citizen calls in or puts in a complaint on our online system, then he's going out that day or the next day, depending on what time the complaint comes in.

Speaker 1 36:10

And that online system right C-Click Fix, which is available for a lot of city items. But that may be one of the best places to go, because that C-Click fix typically goes directly to the person responsible for the item that you're reporting, correct?

Speaker 3 36:28

Correct. Our code enforcement gets those directly Right. So our code enforcement officer.

Speaker 2 36:33

Awesome. Well, I don't know. I think you just answered my question how we go about actually notifying the department. So the C-Click fix is definitely probably the easiest way, but they can call you. So what else do we need to know about development services?

Speaker 3 36:52

I would say that we're here for the people, we're here for the citizens, we're here for the developers. We're open to engage with any of those. We're open to engage with any of those. We really want to make sure that we're doing good development for the city, to make sure that what we're bringing forward is what matches with our comp plan and what our city's vision is, and to make sure that once we have that vision and we have that development, that it's the very best development that it can possibly be.

Speaker 3 37:26

Yeah, and that includes the construction of it, the landscaping of it, the appearance of it. We want it to be the best it can be for our small town every.

Speaker 1 37:35

Everything should be a gem right everything should be and we could go I mean we could go all day on building and we didn't even get to building. But I mean ultimately that that your, your role is not just development but when we talk about appearance and aesthetics, but you're making sure that these things are built to the codes your building department certainly is that are in the best interest in the health and the safety of the people that are going to be occupying those buildings, whether they be tenants or whether they be customers, or whether it be the school and things like that. I mean that's the priority with the building codes ultimately, correct.

Speaker 3 38:14

Correct. Health and safety is the first priority there. With building codes, and again, we're not, you know, asking for the moon, but we are asking that you build to our codes and our standards, which are minimum code, minimum standard, with a few exceptions of some enhancements. But that takes care of not only the home buyer that's buying the home, because they don't see that portion of the process, but that's giving them the very best home that their money can buy, as well as, when you get to commercial, making sure that the people shopping in the stores or the boutiques are safe, that our fire is covered, that we have the correct fire protection in large buildings. You know, the correct fire protection in large buildings.

Speaker 3 39:05

It's the whole gamut of construction from ground up is what building looks at, and so that is all. Every bit of it is focused on health and safety.

Speaker 1 39:14

And we're kind of the group your development department is kind of the group that on all aspects start to finish right that they are putting a property on the ground or development on the ground. That is again not just quality, but we're kind of making sure that the corners are not cut on those things that are most important, which is life and health.

Speaker 2 39:36

Absolutely, and I do believe we have a new business development guide that we are getting ready to roll out. It's kind of it's a it's your starting document for if you're going to build a business here, grow a business here, do anything here, it's the information that gets you in touch with your department and kind of handholds so you guys can handhold them through the process. So we'll post a link to that in the podcast and then we'll also make it available on your website as well. Perfect.

Speaker 1 40:09

And so the last question I have is or probably a request would be what is one thing that you would like someone to know when they're coming in to Sanger, whether it be related to development as well, or just a word of advice from one citizen to another? Do you have any words of wisdom?

Speaker 3 40:31

Again I'm going to say Sanger is someplace special and we love the fact that Sanger is family. They are a community that works together, that helps other people, that helps each other and we want to continue and keep that. And that's the one piece I would leave with. Sanger is someplace special, so come here, come and join us, Be part of that someplace special.

Speaker 1 41:01

I can agree to that.

Speaker 2 41:04

Well, you've been listening to the 266 Express. I'm Donna Green.

Speaker 1 41:07

And I'm John Noblet. Thank you for listening in to what's going on in our small little North Texas town.