Will Mundinger, executive in residence with the Development Services Department, said they are working to fill vacant positions which could also improve the permitting process.Southwest Perennials has been in business for about the last 25 years. The company has sold some 300 different plant varieties across the country. They have a location in Floral Farms that used to be called Tietze Wholesale Florist and it’s been there for nearly 100 years.
He said they’ve raised prices and have been able to increase payroll to hang onto employees, but “our biggest worry is we may not be able to keep up with inflation.” Before the pandemic, most people looking for permits could just go to the Oak Cliff Municipal Center and walk through the process in person. At that time, about a fifth of planning permits were being prescreened online through a service called ProjectDox. Everything shifted online when the pandemic happened, and suddenly ProjectDox, which wasn’t fully integrated yet, was handling about 90% of the permit prescreening.