City of Merced breaks building permit application record, amid statewide surge

The City of Merced on Friday reported a new record for the number of building permit applications it has reached.

The news comes as California’s rate of approving new housing permits jumped in September, after slumping for much of this year, according to the state Department of Finance.

Since January, 4,012 building permit applications have been reported in the city, breaking the previous record of 3,663 for the entire year of 2005, Mike Conway, the city’s senior management analyst, said in a news release.

So far, 602 single family dwelling permits have been issued. The city also has commercial renovations and construction, light industrial and multi-family projects in the works.

The rise could partially be due to changes in building code, such as the requirement of sprinklers in new homes, Denise Frazier, a chief building/construction project official, said in the release.

Developers are also including solar panels, which require a permit.

Meanwhile, statewide, the number of permits increased 21.9 percent from August to September, according to the Department of Finance. That reflects a 47-percent increase in multi-family building permits like apartment complexes and a 2.3-percent decrease in single-family units.

The state is now on track to approve permits for 111,000 housing units this year, according to the department. That’s still fewer than last year, when the state approved permits for 117,000 residential units, said Irena Asmundson, chief economist at the Department of Finance.

It’s a positive sign for housing in California, although the numbers need to continue trending upward to really alleviate the state’s housing shortage, Asmundson said. For years, California has not built enough housing to accommodate its growing population, she said.

The September numbers are also good news for Gov. Gavin Newsom, who campaigned on building more housing but who saw permitting rates decline during his first months in office. To reach his goal of building 3.5 million housing units by 2025, the state would need to build 500,000 new homes per year.

Housing is a big driver of the state’s economy, in part because homebuilding also creates construction jobs and drives up demand for construction materials and home furnishings, Asmundson said.

The Legislative Analyst’s Office is predicting continued economic growth in California next year, based in part on an expected rebound in housing markets as a result of the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates.

If the analyst’s projections hold, the state may see a $7 billion surplus for next year’s budget, according to a report released Wednesday.

The Department of Finance will release its own comprehensive outlook on the economy in January when Newsom announces his budget proposal, spokesman H.D. Palmer said.

A new website for the city of Merced

When you visit cityofmerced.org on Monday, it will look and feel a little different than usual.

Merced’s new website is not only getting a new look, but will make finding content easier and faster, according to a city news release.

Users with disabilities will be able to enlarge type, change spacing or contrast and make other changes.

The new cloud-based site frees up two of the city’s servers and will look much better on smartphones.

This story was originally published November 23, 2019 at 1:46 PM.