Calgary, AB,
24
September
2014
|
09:00
America/Denver

Applying online for permits gets even faster for homebuilders

Since April 2013, Calgary’s top 25 homebuilders have applied online for over 2,600 new home construction permits in developing communities, using The City’s Residential ePermit tool.  The growing volume of online permit applications is exciting, and testimony to how The City is making it faster and easier to do business. The City is happy to announce today that applying online for permits will get even faster for homebuilders, thanks to optimization of the Residential ePermit tool.

“We’ve made significant software enhancements that homebuilders will notice the next time they apply for a new home construction permit online,” notes Henry van Aken, Manager of Customer Advisory Services. “We’ve worked closely with our customers to help develop, test and improve the Residential ePermit tool, and this latest release demonstrates our ongoing commitment to listen and act on customer’s feedback,” says van Aken.

Residential ePermit is the largest online initiative to date for The City’s Planning and Development department, allowing customers to apply, upload and track the progress of their permit application online. The City started by adding its largest volume permit application to the web, the Single Construction Permit, and worked closely with members of the Canadian Home Builders Association – Calgary Region to help develop and test the new online tool. 

Over the past few months the project team has been reviewing and testing its programming to optimize overall system performance. This latest upgrade is a collection of these improvements aimed at reducing online processing times and enhancing the customer experience.

The next steps for the Residential ePermit project include:

  • Enable customers to apply online for new home construction permits in developed communities (Contextual dwelling and Discretionary dwelling permits) by 2015
  • Allow online payment for permits applications by 2015
  • Create a single place for customers to apply for permits and schedule necessary inspections online by mid 2015

Future residential permit applications will be added over the next few years, eventually enabling homeowners to apply for permits including decks or garages as well.

For more information about Residential ePermit, visit calgary.ca/epermit.

 

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