Planning departments are dealing with more complexity than ever — and rising development, tight budgets, and increasing public expectations all need to be met.
Community development software can become the best tool in a planner’s toolbox, but not all products are built with planners in mind to help them make the most out of the latest technology.
The Unique Challenges That Planners Face
Today’s planners have no shortage of challenges that can make it difficult to keep up with the workload.
In many communities, there’s a high volume of applications for rezoning, site plans, variances, and subdivisions that all need proper reviews and oversight before important decisions are made that can affect neighborhoods for decades to come.
Add to that the increasingly complex workflows for these planning decisions that often span multiple departments and affect many different stakeholders along the way.
Long review cycles can create bottlenecks in service delivery, leading to frustration and public dissatisfaction about the process.
As if that wasn’t enough, many planning departments also struggle to maintain transparency and communication across all these parties — especially those that are dealing with tight budgets and slim staffing levels.
It can all add up to a real headache as planners try to figure out how best to do their jobs while responding to this growing volume of decisions.
What Planning Teams Need from Their Software
Not all community development software can step up to meet these high demands. Unfortunately, many products on the market function as little more than an add-on to some other software rather than a solution that was deliberately designed to help planning departments get their work done.
That’s why more planners are realizing just how important it is to take their time researching options before choosing the right tool for local needs.
With the right planning software, workflows are easily configurable to match a municipality’s processes for applications like zoning, lane use, and development proposals.
Collaboration tools are also an essential feature of the right software, enabling real-time review from staff across many different departments to seamlessly interact and make the most informed decisions.
Public portals can instantly boost transparency in submission, tracking, and feedback from applicants and residents, while mobile-friendly software and GIS integration make it easier than ever to view planning applications directly on real-time property maps.
The right software for planning departments should also feature things like built-in conditions and approvals tracking that can eliminate the risk of missed steps.
By streamlining the planning process and enabling faster, clearer communication with applicants, consultants, and other departments, local staff can reduce manual data entry and duplication of work.
In addition to boosting staff efficiency, this also enhances public trust through transparent tracking of planning milestones, which demonstrates to citizens that they can be confident in the overall process.
How to Choose the Right Community Development Software
Leading community development platforms should support planning workflows end-to-end with enhanced communication, improved efficiency, and easy-to-access information throughout the process.
Still, software needs to also give departments room for future growth, and that’s why the right digital tools should be scalable to meet current needs and what will be necessary down the road.
Seamless integration with permitting, enforcement, and inspection teams can also upgrade the work of planners and simplify these complex local decisions.
Today’s departments also need strong implementation support and configuration capabilities in their software of choice. It’s not good enough anymore to be told that any minor changes that need to be made for a municipality will require lengthy or costly development or third-party implementation that only slows things down and adds to the overall expense.
Cloudpermit: Empowering Planners to Shape the Future
Planning staff are the center of long-term community growth and vision. With the right software, they can focus on what truly matters — rather than spend their time chasing paperwork.
Cloudpermit’s planning software supports planning teams with a comprehensive platform that streamlines and simplifies every step of the workflow while enhancing communication with stakeholders and other departments.
There’s a reason why hundreds of local governments across the country chose our community development software as the right fit for their needs.
Book a demo with us today to discover the possibilities that Cloudpermit can offer for planning departments.
