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With the New Year’s arrival, our resolution to continue improving our services remains the same. Our goals remain centered in improving customer experience, making the application process transparent, and sharing information about our services to citizens through outreach.
In 2022, DPD consistently averaged next-day inspections as well as zoning letters and trade permits (electrical, mechanical, plumbing) issued within a week of initial application. We are continually reviewing internal processes and workflows to maintain the expedience of these time-sensitive services, and customer use of the Develop 901 Citizen Portal for applications aids in our staff’s ability to respond quickly and effectively to submissions and inquiries.
By the end of 2022, DPD was consistently meeting plan review goals on average month after month; and in 2023, customers can expect to see plan review times that meet our service-level agreement (SLA) goals. For each permit type, we have set goals for the duration of the plan review cycle, from when an application is assigned to a Plan Examiner for review to either the next communication with a customer or change in the application status.
For Residential New and Addition permit applications, the goal is for the plan review cycle to be completed within 7 days. For Residential Accessory and Alteration permit applications, the goal is for the plan review cycle to be completed within 3 days. The service-level agreement for these record types is to meet the goal for the plan review cycle duration 90% of the time, and this SLA has been met for December in Residential New and Addition permit applications while the remaining records are on track to meet the SLA in 2023.
For Commercial New, Addition, and Accessory permit applications, the goal is for the plan review cycle to be completed within 10 days. For Commercial Alternation permit applications, the goal is for the plan review cycle to be completed with 7 days. For Commercial Addition and Accessory permit applications, the SLA of 90% was met in November 2022 and remains within an appropriate range to continue this success. The SLA for Commercial New permit applications of 80% was met in December 2022 with 100% of these applications being within the plan review cycle goal of 10 days; the average length was 7 days for this application type.
During 2022, many goals and SLAs were created and set to ensure that the time for plan review cycles were appropriate for the given permit application types and to allow for a level of submission standardization across both commercial and residential application types. These innovative changes have propelled us forward in our continuous progress moving into 2023.
We need your help in continuing this progress. Here are tips to consider before and during your application submission process:
- Apply through the Develop 901 Citizen Portal. Electronic plans and documents allow us to move permits through the review process more quickly. This is especially true for Residential building permits, the permit type where we still see the lowest percentage of online applications.
- Make sure your application is complete upon submission. Not sure you if you have everything? Contact our Service Center before you apply.
- If your application requires revisions, submit all revisions at once. This helps us conduct a comprehensive review.
- Make sure that everyone that should receive notifications concerning an application is listed as an “Applicant” on the application.
- Once your application is submitted, make sure your email account does not flag our emails as spam. Check your Spam folder for emails from Accela or Develop 901 shortly after any submission or account change, and mark it as “Not Spam.”
- Need to monitor an application’s status? Use the Develop901 Citizen Portal. Learn the steps using this tutorial.
- Often a Building permit cannot be issued until partner agencies have reviewed and approved a step. You may be required to consult directly with those regulatory agencies.
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