The Round Rock City Council on Jan. 28, 2010, adopted the following Development Philosophy Statement:

Round Rock’s goal of a prosperous economy requires successful development.  To be the City of Choice for entrepreneurs and development professionals, our city and its employees commit to provide an unmatched level of service.  We appreciate your decision to invest in Round Rock, and take very seriously our role in participating in your success.  Round Rock – The City of Choice for those committed to Making It Happen.

Successful Development

To facilitate Successful Development, the City commits to the following goals:

• Provide superior and efficient development services by utilizing specific service target measurements to remain competitive
• Develop and maintain respectful effective working relationships with the development community
• Provide clear and understandable development standards (i.e. ordinances, policies, and processes) that are easily accessible
• Utilize appropriate technology to enhance communication and efficiencies
• Strive for cost and time efficiencies for the City and development community
• Seek and value the input of all stakeholders when considering ordinance and process changes
• Timely consider and research the economic impact of regulation changes prior to their adoption
• Recognize the benefits of creativity, while clearly defining expected standards of quality

Customer Service Commitment

To provide an exceptional service, the City commits to the following:

• Provide prompt and courteous service by qualified staff members who recognize the economic implications of their decisions
• Communicate in a timely, helpful, and professional manner
• Timely respond to requests for communication and information
• Welcome the opportunity to meet at any point in the process
• Recognize that the economics of development are a critical factor and react accordingly
• Be consistent in our application of development standards
• Provide consistent direction from all departments
• Provide documented code references when changes are required
• Provide an environment of cooperation that encourages open discussion and clear guidance on how you can appeal decisions to the next level of authority
• Continuously strive to improve – Making It Happen

Background

In early 2009 began work on improving its land development processes. The effort is part of the City’s overall philosophy of continuous improvement, and built on previous efforts to streamline the land development process.

The project began with the development and deployment of a confidential online survey, conducted by Plante Moran on behalf of City of Round Rock and the Round Rock Chamber of Commerce, from Jan. 20 to Feb. 16, 2009, regarding our development process. More than 460 individual logins were created with approximately 230 completing one or more sections of the survey.

The survey responses were analyzed by an internal City work group and the results (PDF) were presented to the Round Rock City Council at its regular meeting on June 11, 2009.

Some changes to development processes have already been made as a result of the input received. City staff held meetings with a team of Round Rock Chamber of Commerce members representing various segments of the development community to review the survey results and discuss proposed changes to the development process.
 
City staff recommended creating a Development Philosophy document to serve as a basis for future policy development. In August 2009, the Round Rock City Council discussed the development process as one of the summer retreat agenda items.

Comments can be made via a blog as well as by email to Assistant City Manager Laurie Hadley.