Online Permitting System Boosting Customer Convenience
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A year after launch, the County’s online permitting system has both made it far easier for customers to get access to a variety of services and more efficient for the County to deliver them.
The Land Use & Environment Group’s (LUEG) Accela Citizen Access site now allows you to apply for and pay for certain permits online. You can submit plans, ask to schedule an inspection, and even conduct research on permits and property information.
Planning & Development Services offers some of their most common permits online, which now include roof-mount solar, HVAC and electrical permits.
“Roughly 50 percent of our building permits now come through online,” said Vince Nicoletti of PDS. “The online services not only save our customers time, but increase our efficiency through system automation so we can do more with less.”
Customers and industry members have been extremely satisfied with the new features.
“San Diego County is one of the fastest and easiest permitting jurisdictions that we deal with,” said California Solar Energy Industry Association member Alexandra Sink of Solar City. “The County is certainly a leader in the effort to streamline permitting and I hope more jurisdictions follow their example.”
Online permitting came about based on customer feedback, when LUEG decided to streamline permit tracking technology across departments and improve customer access to apply for and view permits online.
The first phase of online permitting was launched barely a year ago, and use of the Accela system is now widespread throughout LUEG departments. Inspectors in the Watershed Protection Program in Public Works use it to inspect water quality treatment devices, commercial, industrial, and municipal stormwater facilities. Customers can view inspection data and can submit stormwater complaints through the Accela Citizen Access portal.
In the past, landfills, transfer stations, and franchise waste and recycling collectors used paper forms that were submitted to the recycling division for confirmation. Now, these operators enter their own data in Accela reports, cutting out the paper, and speeding the process.
At the Air Pollution Control District, customers can view their applications, copies of their permits, sites, inspection reports, invoices, and other related documents. They can also pay online for new applications for coating processes to include metal, marine, and wood.
Customers at the Agriculture, Weights and Measure (AWM) portal can request export and import inspections for plant material shipments. Starting in August, AWM customers can also submit payments for the point-of-sale scanner registrations.
The Department of Environmental Health (DEH) also offers online payment for all of their permits. Customers simply go online with their permit number and pay each year without even needing to create an account. DEH has seen a 66 percent increase in their online revenue from FY2012-2013 to FY 2013-2014.
To date, more than 5,500 customers have registered online to submit, apply, and pay for permits. Accela applications have been so successful, the County has won praise not only from Accela, Inc., winning a recent community engagement award, but also a first place award from the National Association of Counties.
And there’s more to come. Services planned for the future include a property summary report that will provide basic property information such as setbacks, animal regulations, service districts, and more.