Feature Story
Salt Lake City's One-Stop-Shop

Two years ago, when developers of downtown Salt Lake City's estimated $1.5 billion City Creek Center delivered their plans to the city's Building Services and Licensing Division for review, a truck was required to haul all of the documents.

Submitting development plans prior to obtaining a building permit was a cumbersome, difficult process. Each of the city's reviewing entities (as many as 10, depending on the project size and scope) had to have its own hard copy of the plans. And with offices scattered among four buildings around the city, simply applying for a development permit could easily absorb most of a workday, waiting in line, filling out the necessary application, and submitting payment at each office. Finding out how the review was progressing was another matter. Phone calls and emails tracking a project's status ate up time that customers and staff could use far more effectively.

Enough is Enough
In 2007, Salt Lake City decided enough was enough. After painstaking research on best practices and visits with other municipalities, city leadership committed the necessary funds to solve the problem, spending approximately $1.5 million in a contract with Accela™, the national leader in government development software, to connect all of the disparate reviewing entities with a single shared database that could be easily accessed by staff, elected officials, developers, and the public.

Now, the previously disconnected databases have been replaced by one shared database and the review and permitting process has gone digital. At a Salt Lake City Development Conference, held Oct. 28, Mayor Ralph Becker, Community & Economic Development Director Frank Gray, Economic Development Director Bob Farrington, Building Services Director Orion Goff, and Development Review Coordinator Lisa Shaffer, as well as other city leaders demonstrated the city's new technology before a packed audience of architects, engineers, developers and others gathered on the 21st floor of 222 Main, a new downtown high-rise set to open soon.

"People were just amazed that the city has finally caught up with the private sector technologically," says Lisa Shaffer of the city's paperless plan submittal, review and permitting process.

EDCUtah President & CEO Jeff Edwards says the city's new technology is significant for economic development because it revolutionizes the permitting process. "Time is money and the city's paperless process, combined with improved workflows and transparency, will make the city that much more attractive to business expansion and relocation projects," he adds.

A One-Stop-Shop
So how does it work? Every time a petition or plan is submitted to the city, the information is entered into the shared database where it is assigned a number and workflow. From that point on, a project's progression can be tracked as individuals responsible for a portion of the review and processing documents update the database as their work progresses.

Logging into the Web interface allows applicants to verify the status of any project from initial land use petition through final building inspection. Data from permits and petitions dating back to 1979 have been integrated into the database, allowing review staff and property owners to readily access vital information without spending long hours at the records archive. Land use planners can easily collaborate with colleagues in other disciplines to move projects forward. Building inspections can be scheduled online and inspectors email results to the contractor before leaving the jobsite using wireless notebook computers. Zoning enforcement officers upload photographs and enter violation codes that trigger automated letters to property owners -- all with the ease of a few mouse clicks.

"Through the Citizens Access Portal, customers can monitor the status of their projects, receive electronic notifications as their plans move through the review process, and search the database using an address, business name, or contractor name. We've added a whole new level of accountability," says Goff.

Shaffer says the system is a hit, and even long-time employees -- initially resistant -- have been converted to the benefits of the new technology. "Front line customers, city staff, and interested citizens have access to the same information whenever and wherever they need it. Field inspectors provide real time results to their customers, minimizing delays and improving accuracy," she adds. "But just when everyone got comfortable thinking the improbable had been accomplished, someone asked the question: 'Wouldn't it be great if we could manage project documents as well as we manage project data?'"

ProjectDox
That question led city leaders to ProjectDox™, a strategic partner of Accela. ProjectDox creates a secure, online site for file sharing that enables change notification, threaded discussions, change history tracking, and markup collaboration. Despite the fact that "it hadn't ever been done before," Salt Lake City worked with Accela and ProjectDox to develop a unique interface that incorporates the best of both programs. The staff time and fiscal resources devoted to the challenge proved well worth it, says Shaffer.

Live since August 17, 2009, the integrated system is eye-popping. Documents received or edited in ProjectDox tie neatly into Accela's project tracking. As a Plans Examiner enters first comments on electronically submitted plans, the architect sees those comments and begins making adjustments while awaiting notes from the Fire and Public Utilities divisions (who also see the comments), eliminating needless repetition and highlighting potential conflicts before multiple sets of plans are drawn. What's more, when the revised plans are submitted, no more time is wasted combing through plan details to ensure unrequested changes didn't creep in. ProjectDox compares the new set of plans with the original submission, identifying and layering changes immediately.

This new solution has environmental impacts as well. In fact, according to one estimate, going digital saves the city and its customers approximately 360,000 miles driven, 256 tons of paper, and prevents 2,300 pounds of hydrocarbons from being released into the atmosphere annually. Best of all, the new technology has taken Salt Lake City from being a squeeze point, or impediment in the permitting process, to becoming a business partner for its customers.

"Through Accela and ProjectDox we now offer cutting edge technology to our customers, while adhering to the city's sustainability initiatives," Goff adds. "We've taken the mystery out of the plan review and permitting process, removed the choke point, and made the process both environmentally friendly and transparent. As far as we know, we are the only city to have such a seamless interface across the enterprise, capitalizing on the shared database."

Shaffer adds that by listening to customers and refusing to believe it couldn't be done, Salt Lake City has set a new standard for project development, proving that fiscal responsibility, environmental awareness, and excellent customer service can be complimentary rather than competitive outcomes.