# 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.

- URL: https://neurobird.com/zoningpermitting/
- Product: Neurobird Zoning Permitting Workflow Compliance Platform
- Niche: zoning permitting workflow
- Buyer: planning and permitting departments
- Status: in development, open for early access
- Updated: 2026-08-22

## What Neurobird Zoning Permitting Workflow does

- 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
- Give the applicant one status page they can read without phoning the counter

## How it works

1. **Intake once** Parcel, zoning district, applicant and scope are captured at intake and never retyped into a second log by a second person.
2. **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.
3. **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.

## From the source material

> NEPA requires federal agencies to assess the environmental effects of their proposed actions prior to making decisions.

Source: epa.gov, https://www.epa.gov/nepa/what-national-environmental-policy-act

## Industry context

- **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. (source: US Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey definitions, https://www.census.gov/construction/bps/definitions.html)
- **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. (source: US Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey, https://www.census.gov/construction/bps/about.html)
- **150 pages** Statutory ceiling on an environmental impact statement, not counting citations or appendices, with 75 pages the ceiling for an environmental assessment. (source: 42 USC 4336a, https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/4336a)
- **2 years** The deadline for completing an environmental impact statement, and 1 year for an environmental assessment, measured from the trigger set out in the statute. (source: 42 USC 4336a, https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/4336a)
- **90 days** The window agencies were given to adopt the federal permitting data and technology standard after the Permitting Technology Action Plan was issued. (source: Council on Environmental Quality, Permitting Innovation Center, https://permitting.innovation.gov/resources/action-plan/)
- **90 days** How 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. (source: City of Long Beach, building permits, https://longbeach.gov/lbcd/building/permit-center/building-permits/)

## Pricing

- Small jurisdiction: $249 per month
- Department: $649 per month
- County: $1,400 per month

## Questions

### 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.

## Sources

- [US Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey definitions](https://www.census.gov/construction/bps/definitions.html)
- [US Census Bureau, About the Building Permits Survey](https://www.census.gov/construction/bps/about.html)
- [42 USC 4336a, procedure for environmental review](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/4336a)
- [42 USC 4370m-1, FAST-41 coordination](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/4370m-1)
- [Council on Environmental Quality, Permitting Technology Action Plan](https://permitting.innovation.gov/resources/action-plan/)
- [City of Long Beach, building permits](https://longbeach.gov/lbcd/building/permit-center/building-permits/)

## Contact

- office@neurobird.com
- https://neurobird.com/