In an effort to provide more efficient and transparent customer service, the Humboldt County Planning and Building Department later this month will transition to a new online system to process building and land use permits.
Beginning Sept. 17, the Planning and Building Department will conduct business using the Accela system, an industry leader in the licensing software space. This new platform will provide enhanced automation services related to processing permits, reduce the reliance on paper systems, and provide better communication with citizens, as well as between departments and agencies reviewing development projects. This is an important step to the department’s goal of moving towards more paperless systems.
Accela also provides a robust civic platform from which members of the public may view permit activity. The civic platform will link to our geographic information system (GIS), allowing the public to view department activity over a larger geographic area. Additionally, permit applications will be accepted online through this platform. This new civic platform is expected to be fully functional in October.
In order to complete the transition to Accela, Planning and Building will capture the data from the current system on Monday, Sept. 10. For the remainder of the week (Sept. 11-14) the department will have limited abilities to issue permits or accept new applications. On Monday, Sept. 17, all permits and applications will be processed in the Accela system.
While Planning and Building will have limited abilities to issue permits and accept new applications during the transition week, the department will continue to perform work related to permit applications already underway. These include, but are not limited to, plan checking, staff reports, agenda and hearing preparation and acceptance of materials related to applications being processed.
If you would like additional information about Accela, please visit their website.