After no property owners came forward to speak in opposition, fifty-eight special-use permits in Richardson were repealed during an April 1 joint public hearing between Richardson City Council and the City Planning Commission. Back in August, council tasked the Richardson Development Services Department with reviewing the status of the over 300 special-use permits that exist in Richardson. Since then, staff has identified 110 permits are either inactive or no longer needed under current zoning regulations, according to department Director Michael Spicer. To determine the status of a permit, Spicer said his staff visited sites, reviewed appraisal district records and water accounts, and searched for business information online among other methods. Since Feb. 25, when staff first briefed council on the findings of their review, 11 permits originally slated for repeal have been removed from the list due to action by property owners or a connection to an another zoning entitlement that is not eligible for repeal. To prevent a build-up of inactive permits moving forward, council approved an amendment to the city's comprehensive zoning ordinance March 18 that will automatically terminate special-use permits when other documents required by the city, such as building permits or certificates of obligation, are not obtained by the property owner within six months. The policy would also revoke special-use permits in cases in which the required documents are acquired but the property owner fails to begin construction within six months. The same applies to businesses that remain closed for six months or longer. The repeal of the majority of the remaining 52 permits will occur as part of the Collins-Arapaho rezoning process that is scheduled to take place in November and December, Spicer said.