On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization declared a global health emergency regarding the outbreak and rapid spread of what would come to be known as COVID-19. Less than two months later, in March of 2020, California was the first US state to issue a stay at home order in an attempt to prevent the spread of the virus, which required “all individuals living in the State of California to stay home or at their place of residence except as needed to maintain continuity of operations of the federal critical infrastructure sectors.”
As spring turned to summer, other states began implementing their own lockdown orders and social distancing restrictions in a nationwide attempt to “flatten the curve” of new cases. For several months, almost all government buildings were closed to the general public and, in many cases, government employees. Waves of re-openings and new shutdowns came and went as cases fell and surged and fell again, and services everywhere, including building departments, had to find new ways to continue operating despite the ongoing crisis.
Some larger jurisdictions that had already implemented online building permit services nonetheless found their systems overloaded with new users that were unfamiliar with working virtually. And other cities, like Cleveland, OH, found themselves forced to rely on mailing important documents or creating drop boxes outside of locked buildings. Some offices required packages be quarantined for up to 5 days before being collected and processed, during which documents could be damaged or destroyed by weather. Once picked up, these physical applications would need to be entered into the review system by a permit clerk, then forwarded to plan reviewers at their place of residence for review.
The additional mailing times – to the building department, to the plan reviewer, back to the building department – added enormously to the ever-growing backlog of review times. That is, assuming the relevant documents ever arrived at all, as postal services were hardly exempt from the upheaval surrounding the virus, and some packages were lost entirely. Even Express Permits experienced these losses and delays, and we urged builders and contractors to build permit processing delays into their project plans and financial models as we continued working during the pandemic.
As the nation floundered through these “unprecedented times,” many jurisdictions, regardless of size, began to see the value of having some type of electronic submittal system. The circumstances of the pandemic had already forced most building departments to begin working and meeting via email, phone, and virtual video platforms, and the transition to a virtual permitting system no longer seemed quite so jarring. Some building departments, like Santa Monica, CA, were able to expand existing virtual services into all-digital systems. Others, like Shelby County, TN, had to rapidly accelerate in-progress deployment of systems like Accela to continue doing business. Despite the suddenness of the obligatory shift to virtual services, some cities, like Huntington Beach, CA, say the pandemic showed cities a “potentially better way of management.” Even now, with most government offices open once more, the heyday of in-person building permits is likely over, and digital submittal and processing is here to stay.
Whatever the future may hold, Express Permits is here to offer our knowledge and experience to help you navigate the complications of the permitting process. We help expedite permit services for contractors across the US so they can focus on the job at hand rather than spending time waiting in line or learning how to use each jurisdiction’s specialized digital permitting system. From zoning hearings to architectural reviews, we’re here to ensure all necessary steps are met to get you the permit you need. It's our job to make your job easy - contact us today to find out more.
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