Dickinson issues building permits worth more in 1 month than Williston does in 3 months

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Williston set a three-month record for building permit values from January to March with more than $33.55 million, but Dickinson beat them out with almost $36.11 million in March alone, according to code enforcement reports.

“Based upon contacts from the developers and from property owners and companies outside of it, Dickinson is a city that a lot of people want to do business in and reside in,” Dickinson City Planner Ed Courton said.

As of April, Dickinson had approximately $84.54 million in values to

date, almost double of Williston’s

$48.3 million.

Values reflect buildings, additions and alterations.

Development in Dickinson and Williston has picked up thanks to an oil boom in western North Dakota, said Kelly Aberle, office manager and plans examiner of the Williston Building Department.

March and April has presented warm and nice weather compared to a snowy season last year, allowing more people to build, said Kyle Kuntz, project manager at Kuntz Builders Inc. in Dickinson.

The March numbers for Dickinson did not beat the monthly record. That top score was set at more than $41.32 million in September.

Williston does not count permit fees for manufactured homes, and the three-month period showed it allowed 103 to be built, Aberle said. Dickinson counts the values for the homes, which could make the totals higher than Williston, she added.

“I don’t know if it is being compared apples to apples,” she said.

Williston started to see a slight growth in 2007, Aberle said. Williston hit the nine digits in 2010 with almost $106.19 million, and last year’s total of nearly $357.71 set the record.

Dickinson didn’t start to see an increase in development until two years ago, Courton said, but each year brings more building to the area.

Dickinson broke the 2010 record last year, permitting $144.3 million.

Courton said the numbers will eventually level off. Though he and Aberle don’t have a crystal ball, another record year is possible and the two cities haven’t reached their peaks yet.

“Strap on your seatbelts,” Courton said. “Here we go.”

Tags: building permits, permit values, oil, news, williston, dickinson