Development Services
Leadership & Vision

Office & Location

Development Services Department Map

Cliff Morton Development and Business Services Center
1901 S. Alamo St.
San Antonio, TX 78204

Visit our Office
Includes visitor check in information and safety measures at DSD.

Phone:
210-207-1111

Hours:
7:45 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. (Mon - Fri)
Closed on City Holidays

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Building a Vibrant San Antonio for TOmorrow

The Development Services Department regulates land and building development and enforces property maintenance and building-related codes to help maintain a vibrant quality of life for our residents. We support the City’s economic development by reviewing proposed projects and granting approval to develop land and build commercial and residential structures. In addition, we coordinate with other City departments and outside agencies to help residents, commercial entities and business owners complete their projects as efficiently and effectively as possible. The department has the following goals when conducting business with you:

  • Cycle Time – Development Services recognizes that time is money. As such, we work hard to ensure we meet our performance goals.
  • Consistency and Quality of Service – Development Services has a quality assurance program to ensure that we consistently provide you with great service.
  • Customer Service Philosophy of Facilitation – Development Services will partner with you to help you through our permitting process.

Our Mission

Partnering with our community to build and maintain a safer San Antonio.

OUR vision

Caring for our vibrant city as the leader in development, safety and service. 


Michael Shannon, PE, CBO, Interim DirectorMichael Shannon, PE, CBO, Director

Michael Shannon, PE, CBO was appointed Director in May 2017. Mr. Shannon, the City’s Building Official (CBO), oversees nearly 500 employees with a budget of more than $48M for the Development Services Enterprise Fund and close to $16M from the General Fund in FY 2022.

The Enterprise Fund supports land development, plan review, permitting, and building inspections, while code enforcement and graffiti abatement is supported by the General Fund.  Prior to this appointment, Mr. Shannon served as Assistant Director of the Field Services Division over building inspections, code enforcement, and the graffiti abatement team since September 2012. In that role, he also served as the Deputy Building Official for the City of San Antonio.

Mr. Shannon also served Development Services as a Fire Protection and Development Services Engineer for approximately 10 years prior to his appointment as Assistant Director. Before joining the City of San Antonio, he worked as a Fire Protection Graduate Engineer with an international fire protection engineering consulting firm.

Mr. Shannon is a registered Professional Engineer (PE) in Texas in the discipline of Fire Protection Engineering, holds multiple International Code Council national certifications including Certified Building Official, and is a Texas state-licensed Code Enforcement Officer.

     Education

  • Master of Science, Fire Protection Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Massachusetts
  • Bachelor of Science, Civil Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Massachusetts

    Professional Memberships and Community Involvement

  • Professional Engineer, Texas
  • International Code Council Certified Building Official
  • International Code Council Certified Fire Code Official
  • International Code Council Certified Housing Code Official
  • Texas State Registered Code Enforcement Officer
  • Society of Fire Protection Engineers

     Personal

Mr. Shannon grew up in Worcester, Massachusetts, and is married to Veronica Contreras-Shannon. The couple has two children.

Amin Tohmaz, PE, Interim Assistant Director Field Services DivisionAMIN TOHMAZ, PE, CBO,  deputy development services DIRECTOR

FIELD SERVICES DIVISION

Amin Tohmaz, PE, CBO, was appointed Deputy Development Services Director in January 2019 after serving as Assistant Director of Field Services since September 2017.  Mr. Tohmaz leads the Field Services Division as well as serving as the Deputy Building/Code Official for the City.  He is responsible for assisting planning, directing, managing and overseeing the activities of the department’s Building Inspections and Code Enforcement sections.  These sections are dedicated to protect the health and safety of buildings, properties and neighborhoods within our community.

Mr. Tohmaz has been employed with the City since January 2013 and has over 20 years of experience in the Engineering and Management fields. Prior to becoming Assistant Director, Mr. Tohmaz served as Sr. Engineer and most recently as the Development Services Engineer for the Plan Review section. Before joining the City of San Antonio, he served as Director of Operations for Beckwith Electronic Engineering Company for 11 years.  

Mr. Tohmaz received a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Damascus and his Master’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas at San Antonio. He is a registered Professional Engineer (PE) in Texas in both Fire Protection and Electrical Engineering and holds multiple International Code Council national certifications.

 

Melissa RamirezMelissa Ramirez, Assistant Director
Land Development Division

Melissa Ramirez was appointed Assistant Director of the Land Development Division in November 2016 after serving as Interim Assistant Director since October 2015.  

Mrs. Ramirez is responsible for land-use management through the administration of the Zoning process and Subdivision regulations, and also serves as the Administrator for the Unified Development Code. In this role she oversees the review process of Master Development Plans, Rights Determinations, Platting, Street Engineering, Tree Preservation, Addressing and Street Name Changes, and manages a variety of boards and commissions, to include Planning Commission, Board of Adjustment, Zoning Commission and the Planning Commission Technical Advisory Committee.  Her team facilitates the horizontal land development process in order to protect the health, safety and public welfare of the residents of the City of San Antonio.

Mrs. Ramirez has been employed with the City of San Antonio since April 1995, and has more than 20 years of public service and construction experience.  She joined the Development Services Department in 1998 and served as a Building Inspector and also as Planning Manager where the scope of her responsibilities included Rights Determination, Platting, Manufactured Homes, Addressing and Legislative processes.

Mrs. Ramirez obtained her Bachelor of Applied Arts and Science degree from The University of Incarnate Word and an Associate's Degree from St. Philip's College in Architectural Drafting.

Crystal GonzalesCrystal Gonzales, PE, CBO, Assistant Director
Plan Review Division

Crystal Gonzales, PE, CBO was appointed Assistant Director of the Plan Review Division in May 2021 after serving as the Development Services Engineer since February 2018. Mrs. Gonzales will provide leadership and support for the department by directing, managing and overseeing the Plan Review Division. The Plan Review Division includes the plans intake and review for residential and commercial plans, permitting, homebuilder and trade-contractor licensing, and customer advocate services. The Customer Advocate team is comprised of a call center to help answer the department’s main line and a permits/licenses/Certificates of Occupancy section to help homeowners and licensed contractors receive the right permits for their proposed projects.

Mrs. Gonzales has been employed with the City since December 2011 and has over 15 years of experience in the Engineering and Construction fields. Prior to becoming Assistant Director, Mrs. Gonzales served as Plan Review Supervisor, School Team Engineer, Senior Engineer for the Field Services Project Management Team and most recently as the Development Services Engineer for the Plan Review section. Before joining the City of San Antonio, she was employed with Jacobs Engineering as an Engineer in Training.

Mrs. Gonzales obtained her Bachelor of Civil Engineering degree from Texas A&M University. She is a registered Professional Engineer (PE) in Texas and holds multiple International Code Council national certifications including Certified Building Official (CBO).