Counties are responsible for managing land use within their jurisdiction and enforcing regulations for homeowners, developers, and businesses. Planning and zoning departments accept planning applications from within their communities to determine how each area will develop for the best interests of its citizens.
Traditionally, counties that manage multiple townships use paper-based systems to organize a variety of applications, circulation requests, and stakeholder relationships. Responses come in on paper either dropped off at the office or mailed in through certified mail, and then must be sorted through to collect responses and deem applications as complete.
Online software makes it easier for planning and zoning departments to stay organized, streamline the application acceptance and review process, and ensure regulations are followed by individuals and businesses. Staff can store all information online in an easily accessible way for faster application review and approval.
Counties that manage multiple towns and cities can use one software. Any citizen or business in a county can submit a planning application using the same software. Then, staff can use the same software again to process every application from every town and city within their county. It saves them valuable time learning and checking on multiple systems. It also enables staff to review applications from wherever suits them best, without needing to mail circulation requests to other stakeholders – it's all done online.
Planning and zoning software also makes record-keeping and organization simpler, which can be particularly important and useful for counties that manage multiple towns and cities. County governments can manage planning applications, property information, and other relevant information in one central location with software like Cloudpermit.
Staff can also engage with the public online by measuring public opinion. They can record and inform interested parties of status updates on projects through public notice. It’s simple to upload documents as part of public notice notes such as opinion, opposition, and support letters.
Since Cloudpermit allows counties to integrate with their GIS in an interactive map, counties can visualize where applications are popping up in their communities. This can be useful for identifying trends for data-driven decision making about future land use.
Overall, online planning and zoning software is essential for efficient local governments since staff can:
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