New system streamlines building permit process

LONGMONT – With the implementation of its one-stop permit processing system, the city of Longmont is looking to streamline the development process for both the city and its customers.

While creating a more efficient system has been a city goal for years, it is finally coming to fruition.

According to Phil DelVecchio, director of Longmont’s Community Development Department, the city has a development review process that involves several departments with offices scattered throughout the city. At any given time, 10 staff members from a variety of departments can be involved, he said. With the current system, developers and citizens must travel between several different buildings to complete the permitting and building process.

With the implementation of the new system, customers will be able to get all information, plan reviews and building permits in one place.

“We are trying to make it more efficient for our customers to be served in a single location,” DelVecchio said.
“We’re all for it,´ said Joel Seamons, senior project engineer for Park Engineering, who works with the city quite often. “This consolidation will help the communication if nothing else. For example, if we have multiple issues with multiple departments, it will allow us to work with everyone at once.”

Don Macy of Macy Development Company agrees. “I think it will be a good deal and nice for Longmont’s relationship with builders and developers,” he said.

The one-stop permit processing system involves moving the Community Development Department and other divisions involved in development and building to a single location. The new offices will be located at the intersection of Kimbark Street and 4th Avenue in the former museum and former city hall, which are currently being remodeled.

The Community Development Department will relocate from the Civic Center Complex to the remodeled space. The new space also will accommodate Planning and Development Services, Public Works Engineering, Building Inspection and Parks and Open Space Administration. It also will have offices for Longmont Power and Communication, Water/Wastewater and Fire Department representatives.

The city began planning for the new space when the museum and city hall buildings became available. The city council approved capital improvement project PB-39 in 2002. The project initially was bid out in 2005 but came in over budget so it was again bid out in February of this year. The remodel began in May. The project is expected to be completed by June 2007 at a total cost of $3.4 million, DelVecchio said.

DelVecchio believes that having staff in one area will speed the development process. “When you have to roll out a certain set of plans having everyone right there is much more efficient,” he explained. “The new system will enable our staff to work together in proximity and serve our customers better.”

“I think it will make the process much clearer for my clients and hopefully speed up the process,´ said Cathy Leslie, civil engineering manager for TetraTech Inc. Although it depends on the load of projects, Leslie believes the new system could speed up the process by as much as 25 percent. “The fact that it will be much more coordinated will be a huge help to my clients,” she said.

The city council also is processing about 200 pages of code amendments that “contain numerous improvements to our development code and will enable our development review team to provide better services,” DelVecchio said.

In another effort to increase efficiency and customer service, the department will be doing more e-commerce, DelVecchio said. By early next year, he expects customers will be able to fill out, submit and pay for building permit applications on the city’s Web site.

DelVecchio is excited to implement the new system as he believes it will help everyone. The process will be quicker for regular people who need permits for buildings, signs and remodels as well as developers, he said.
While residential development has been dropping over the past couple of years, commercial development has remained stable and DelVecchio is optimistic about its future.

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