Zoning permitting software that shows exactly whose desk an application is sitting on
A zoning permitting workflow is the route an application takes from intake to decision: zoning review, plan review, referrals out to fire, water and engineering, corrections back to the applicant, and the permit itself. The Census Bureau counts about 19,900 permit issuing places in the United States and each one runs that route its own way. Neurobird holds the application, the review clock and every correction round on one record.
Neurobird Zoning Permitting Workflow in short
- Route an application through zoning, building, fire and engineering and show where it is stopped
- Hold every correction letter and resubmittal against the round that produced it
- Run the review clock in working days, including time the file spends out on referral
- 19,900 Permit issuing places in the Census Bureau's building permits universe as of January 2023, replacing a fixed universe of about 20,100 used from 2014. US Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey definitions
- 1959 Permit data has been collected monthly and annually on that universe since 1959, which makes it the longest running local construction measure in the country. US Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey
- Pricing runs 249 to 1400 US dollars per month across 3 tiers. Early access is free.
What planning and permitting departments actually deal with
Why it stays broken
A zoning case touches planning, building, fire, engineering and sometimes a hearing body, and each of those keeps its own list. The clock belongs to the jurisdiction but the work sits in five inboxes. With about 19,900 permit issuing places in the country, no vendor is going to model all of them, so most counters run the route on email and a spreadsheet.
The Census Bureau's building permits universe held roughly 19,900 permit issuing places as of January 2023, each with its own review route.
NEPA requires federal agencies to assess the environmental effects of their proposed actions prior to making decisions.
Neurobird Zoning Permitting Workflow Compliance Platform
One record per application: the zoning district, every review round, each correction with the reviewer who wrote it, the referrals out and back, and the working days on the clock.
- 1Route an application through zoning, building, fire and engineering and show where it is stopped
- 2Hold every correction letter and resubmittal against the round that produced it
- 3Run the review clock in working days, including time the file spends out on referral
- 4Give the applicant one status page they can read without phoning the counter
What changes with Neurobird Zoning Permitting Workflow?
The same work, read left to right: how it runs today, and how it runs once the record is in one place.
| Today | With Neurobird Zoning Permitting Workflow |
|---|---|
| An applicant calls to ask where the case is and three people give three different answers | Route an application through zoning, building, fire and engineering and show where it is stopped |
| Corrections go out by email and come back as attachments, so nobody can say which set the reviewer signed | Hold every correction letter and resubmittal against the round that produced it |
| A referral leaves for fire or engineering and the review clock keeps running while it is gone | Run the review clock in working days, including time the file spends out on referral |
Who is this for?
The same application, three very different counters.
One planner does everything
Intake, zoning review and the referral chase are all the same person. You need the queue written down so a holiday does not stop the counter.
You run several review disciplines
Plan review, fire and engineering each hold the file for a while. You need the handoffs timed rather than assumed.
You publish cycle times
A published turnaround has to survive an audit. You need the number to trace back to the applications underneath it.
What the numbers say about permit review
Federal counts of permit issuing places, statutory limits on environmental review, and the local rules that void a permit.
Permit issuing places in the Census Bureau's building permits universe as of January 2023, replacing a fixed universe of about 20,100 used from 2014.
US Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey definitionsPermit data has been collected monthly and annually on that universe since 1959, which makes it the longest running local construction measure in the country.
US Census Bureau, Building Permits SurveyStatutory ceiling on an environmental impact statement, not counting citations or appendices, with 75 pages the ceiling for an environmental assessment.
42 USC 4336aThe deadline for completing an environmental impact statement, and 1 year for an environmental assessment, measured from the trigger set out in the statute.
42 USC 4336aThe window agencies were given to adopt the federal permitting data and technology standard after the Permitting Technology Action Plan was issued.
Council on Environmental Quality, Permitting Innovation CenterHow long a Long Beach building permit stays alive before it becomes null and void if the authorised work has not commenced or is left suspended.
City of Long Beach, building permitsHow does Neurobird Zoning Permitting Workflow work?
Intake once
Parcel, zoning district, applicant and scope are captured at intake and never retyped into a second log by a second person.
Route and clock
Each review is a step with an owner and a due date, and the days a file spends out on referral are counted against the same clock everyone quotes.
Close the round
A correction letter, the resubmittal that answers it and the reviewer's decision stay together, so approval is a record rather than a recollection.
The queue, as your counter would run it
Tick a review to close it and watch the application move to the next desk with the clock intact.
| Requirement | Status | Next due | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ZON-2611, rear setback variance, 14 Alder St | current | in 42d | |
| SPR-2384, site plan review, Fairfield industrial park | due soon | in 9d | |
| BLD-2907, change of use to restaurant, 220 Main | current | in 120d | |
| CUP-2455, conditional use, self storage on Route 9 | overdue | 3d late | |
| CUP-2455, conditional use, self storage on Route 9 | current | in 64d |
Tick a requirement to file evidence against it.
Zoning permitting workflow software questions, answered
Key terms
- What is a zoning permitting workflow?
- It is the route an application takes from intake to decision, including zoning review, plan review, referrals to other departments, corrections and issuance. The Census Bureau counts about 19,900 permit issuing places, and each writes that route locally, which is why two neighbouring towns rarely run the same one.
Does this replace our permitting system of record?
No. It sits beside it. The system of record holds fees and the issued permit. This holds the route, the review rounds and the days on the clock, which is the part staff currently reconstruct from email.
How does it handle referrals to other departments?
A referral is a step with an owner and a date, not an email. The file shows it is out, who has it and how long it has been gone, so the clock a resident is quoted matches the clock staff can see.
Can an applicant see status without calling the counter?
Yes. Each application has one status the applicant can read: which review it is in, what correction is outstanding and what happens next. You choose what is published and what stays internal.
Why we are building this
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Where the requirement comes from
Primary sources, straight from the regulators.
- US Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey definitions The permit issuing universe by year, including the move to an annually updated universe in 2023.
- US Census Bureau, About the Building Permits Survey What the federal permit count actually measures and who uses it, back to 1959.
- 42 USC 4336a, procedure for environmental review Page limits and deadlines for impact statements and assessments, the clock a large project inherits.
- 42 USC 4370m-1, FAST-41 coordination Recommended performance schedules for covered projects, aimed at not more than 2 years.
- Council on Environmental Quality, Permitting Technology Action Plan The federal position on case management, workflow automation and timeline transparency in permitting.
- City of Long Beach, building permits A worked local example: what a permit covers and when it expires if work does not start.
How much does Neurobird Zoning Permitting Workflow cost?
Priced per jurisdiction because the code, the districts and the review disciplines are jurisdiction level things. Applications, rounds and applicants are unlimited on every tier.
- Up to 3 reviewers
- Unlimited applications
- Correction rounds
- Applicant status page
- Unlimited reviewers
- Referral tracking
- Working day clock and holidays
- Cycle time reporting
- Multiple departments
- Hearing body calendars
- Public dashboard exports
- Priority support
Get free early access
Early access means we model your review route and your correction letters before you type anything, and you keep the account free while we do it.
Straight answer on where this is: The software is in development. Nothing is purchasable today. Early access means you shape it and pay nothing while we build.
Prefer email? Write to office@neurobird.com and a person will reply. No autoresponder.