What the City of Chicago is trying to do for local builders is similar to what financial institutions have done for their Internet-savvy customers. However, the city is banking on its new online “e-permitting” system to help users save money rather than spend it.

UNDER REVIEW Authorities hope e-permitting will free up resources. (Illustration by Guy Lawrence for ENR)

The system promises to save time for city employees and project teams. “We’ve tried to create a mechanism for contractors who do large-volume work to get their permits 24/7,” says John A. Roberson, director of Chicago’s Dept.
of Construction and Permits. Through an Internet connection, the department is allowing contractors and homeowners to apply for routine building permits and check status with a click.

“I’ve heard customers say, ‘I can print my permits at 10:00 P.M.—and I’m not even at work,’” says Tony Dawson, DCAP project manager who is in charge of the new online-permit program and has led its development since November 2002. The city began pursuing the concept in 2000.

Like most cities, Chicago is clogged with an inordinate amount of basic permits that largely affect the speed at which more complex projects are processed. Government authorities across the U.S. are looking at e-permit systems, with a handful of software suppliers competing for the design work (ENR 11/5/01 p. 27).

In January, DCAP officially launched its online portal and made it available
for users needing permits fast to add or change hot-water heaters, residential garages or simple electrical systems, at a surcharge of $1 per request.

DAWSON

There has been little feedback so far because few people have used it. Last year, the city received 70,830 permit applications. Dawson says only a few of the permits required extensive plan reviews (9,631), while a much larger portion did not (54,789). The city wants to drive more of these routine applications on line, he says. During a test last April, the e-permit system brought in a total of 6,410 requests.

Officials say the changeover will take time, but it promises cost-savings in the future. Says Roberson, “If on average it took 12 to 18 months to get a permit, and the average cost of a review is $20,000, then just ask anyone how much they spend in loan interest in a month.”

Photos by Tudor Hampton for ENR