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Kern County unveils 'Kern TOPS' permitting improvements, board receives report
Summary
County staff reported early wins from the Kern TOPS initiative to streamline permitting: Acela upgrades, cloud migration, preapproved ADU plans, SolarAPP+ for rooftop solar, contract plan-check support, and a permit navigator concept; the board received and filed the report 4-0 (1 absent).
Kern County officials presented an update Feb. 11 on "Kern TOPS," a Transparent Online Permitting System intended to streamline permitting and improve customer service across multiple departments. The Board of Supervisors received and filed the report.
Stacy Kuohara, chief operations officer in the county administrative office, described Phase 1 work focused on building permits and public works. The county retained consultant Barry Dunn to map current workflows, recommend improvements, and design a future-state process supported by standard operating procedures and performance metrics.
Staff described actions already under way: fixes to the Acela permitting software and a planned migration to a cloud-hosted version; contracts with three private structural review firms to supplement plan checks and speed turnaround; adoption of SolarAPP+ to automate eligible rooftop solar permits; and creation of a permit navigator role to help customers find the right contacts and keep applications moving.
Public Works Director Josh Champlin said the county signed three engineering contracts to speed structural plan checks, established a preapproved accessory dwelling unit (ADU) program with 19 floor plans ranging from 288 to 1,196 square feet to allow over-the-counter permitting, and implemented SolarAPP+ for qualifying rooftop solar installations.
Planning Director Lorelei Oviatt said planning reviews for building-permit-related planning checks are down to roughly 5–6 days for a release or compliance memo and the planning department has launched online submittal for land-use applications; the department will expand toward full online processing in the next three months and create a planning-specific permit navigator to coordinate with the countywide navigator.
Fire Chief Duncan and Deputy Chief Linville described digitizing permits, expanding cloud-based Acela capabilities and adding staff to speed fire-related reviews. Public Health Director Brynn Kerrigan described a new three-person team to investigate unpermitted food vending (919 complaints investigated to date) and changes to mobile food vendor renewal logistics; the department also offers electronic submission for water well, septic, pool and food facility permits.
Supporters in the audience, including representatives of the homebuilders community and local vendors, applauded the county—s focus on customer satisfaction and internal coordination. The board voted to receive and file the report; the motion passed 4-0 with Supervisor Jeff Flores absent.
