Permit News

Dallas brings in outside help to fix fubar'd building permit situation

Lots of projects around Dallas are in limbo right now.

Courtesy photo

Dallas has brought in an outsider to help clean up the department that issues construction permits, which has been plagued by backlogs and delays.

According to a release, Dallas City Manager T.C. Broadnax has appointed William G. Mundinger II to serve as "Executive in Residence" for the Department of Sustainable Development and Construction.

He'll report to Dr. Eric A. Johnson, Chief of Economic Development and Neighborhood Services, where he'll work on a reorganization of the department.

As far back as November 2020, construction industry veterans such as Phil Crone, executive officer of the Dallas Builder's Association, have raised alarms about a backlog in the city's building and permitting process, with hundreds of building permits stuck in review, and an average wait time to get a permit running at five weeks or longer.

On July 27, former department head Kris Sweckard was reassigned, and Johnson was appointed to manage in the interim. Two other high-ranking employees, Peter Chacko and David Cossum, announced they were retiring.

Broadnax says in a statement that Mundinger has "decades of expertise" to lend to this transition.

"His determination, dedication to the City of Dallas, and passion for problem-solving will prove to be beneficial as we navigate through this reorganization and chart a new course for Sustainable Development and Construction," Broadnax says.

Some of their goals over the next 90 days include:

Renaming Sustainable Development to "Development Services Department."
Moving the zoning function to the Planning and Urban Design Department, with a goal of creating a comprehensive full-service planning and land use department. The Real Estate Division will move to the Public Works Department as a part of the transition.
Both Departments will move from a traditional organization format into a "teams" environment.
Annual performance metrics will be developed.

The release describes Mundinger as being adept at convening partners and identifying strategies, solutions, and implementation plans for complex problems in all aspects of the development process, across all types of properties and projects.

Mundinger was previously National Director of Development, Environmental, and Construction Services at Goldman Sachs, where he oversaw services in Dallas, the East and West Coasts, and internationally.

When the City Council approved the Economic Development Policy, they established a one-year transition period to develop the infrastructure and processes that will lead to a successful Policy implementation.

Mundinger's strategy will include organizational restructuring, communicating with the development community, and examining process issues.

He'll start on August 16.

politics city-news-roundup

happy go lucky plano

Dallas neighbor dazzles on new list of happiest cities in America

Photo courtesy of Visit Plano

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A new happiness study has ranked Plano one of the happiest cities in America this year, and it once again landed on top as the happiest city in Texas.

Plano has moved up on the list and ranks as the 16th happiest U.S. city in 2026. Last year, it was 17th.

WalletHub determined the happiest cities in America based on 29 relevant metrics based on "positive-psychology research" across three main categories: emotional and physical wellbeing, income and employment, and community and environment. As with most WalletHub studies, it compared the 182 most populous U.S. cities.

Fremont, California claimed the top spot as the happiest city nationwide for another year. Bismark, North Dakota and Scottsdale, Arizona, respectfully, rounded out the top three.

Here's how WalletHub ranked Plano across the three key dimensions:

No. 15 – Emotional and physical wellbeing
No. 22 – Community and environment
No. 72 – Income and employment

Plano and its residents have continued improving their city year after year, whether its through opening new bakeries and restaurants, inviting fun pop-ups for locals, or having a strong job market.

Plano's happiness far outshines the rest of North Texas; according to WalletHub, Irving is the 70th happiest city in the country, the third-happiest in Texas, and the second-happiest city in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro. Garland ranked farther behind as No. 92 nationally, and more DFW cities ranked even lower: Grand Prairie (No. 106), Dallas (No. 111), Fort Worth (No. 113), and Arlington (No. 119).

The report additionally found that Dallasites spend the third-most amount of time at work in the nation. The city ranked No. 180 in the national analysis of U.S. cities with the "fewest work hours."

WalletHub also emphasized that money doesn't buy happiness — after a certain point.

"For decades, researchers have explored the science of happiness and identified several core factors, including mental well-being, physical health, strong social ties, job satisfaction, and financial stability," the report said. "Still, income has its limits — studies show that earning more than $75,000 a year does not lead to greater happiness."

Six-figure earners in Plano aren't necessarily as happy as those who don't make as much, as a separate financial study from SmartAsset revealed these big earners are only taking home about $72,653 after taxes and adjusted for the cost of living.

This is how other Texas cities ranked in the report:

No. 39 – Austin
No. 128 – Houston
No. 135 – Lubbock
No. 137 – El Paso
No. 140 – Laredo
No. 143 – Amarillo
No. 150 – Brownsville
No. 154 – San Antonio
No. 155 – Corpus Christi

wallethub plano reports