José Roig retires to take another job

José Roig, who was appointed director of the Development Services Department in June 2023, is moving on. Council presented him with a Distinguished Service Award on Thursday at his last Council meeting. Roig has more than 30 years of experience dedicated to building safety, including 18 years in various leadership roles with the City of Austin. Even though he is retiring from the city, he is not going to be resting. Roig announced that effective June 2 he will join the International Code Council’s Global Solutions Team as the Regional Director of Latin America and the Caribbean. His last day with the Development Services Department will be May 30. He told those gathered to honor him on Thursday that he intends to keep living in Austin. However, it seems likely he will be doing a lot of traveling.

In a recent report, the department noted that the Development Services Department united 11 departments that play a role in the City’s site plan review process, with one goal: Transforming Site Plan Review (TSPR). The report notes, “An independent review of the site plan process identified over 40 initiatives, and this year, workgroups completed 26 of them, focusing on process, technology, and customer-centric solutions. These efforts have improved both staff and stakeholder experiences, leading to the lowest turnaround times in six years.”