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Brownsville shows permit data, plans new 'G-Wiz' tool to simplify reviews
Summary
Planning and redevelopment staff reported new permit-review software, training and a year of data: average approval time was 8.7 business days for single‑family permits and 65 days for new commercial work. The department plans a new guided application tool, user surveys and more one‑on‑one customer help.
City planning and building officials on Tuesday presented a year of permit-review metrics and described new tools and outreach intended to shorten approval times and reduce confusion for applicants.
Omar (last name not specified), plan-review staff, and department managers told the City Commission that using Accela since early 2023 has allowed the city to measure review cycles and turnaround times. Fiscal year 2024 averages shown to the commission: single‑family new construction averaged 8.7 business days from application to approval (staff review 3.2 days; applicant correction 2.6 days; time to submit complete application 3 days). New commercial construction averaged about 65 business days (staff review 16 days; applicant corrections 42 days; 7.5 days to submit a complete application). Typical commercial alterations averaged about 26 days.
Staff said 95% of single‑family permits and large shares of commercial permits are approved within two review cycles. The department reported investments in software and services: Accela implementation in 2023 (described as close to $1 million), DigiPlan (about $70,000), and a forthcoming “G‑Wiz” guided application tool (roughly $60,000) intended to walk applicants through a dynamic Q&A to pick the correct permit type.
Officials described other improvements: an inspection scheduling tool, expanded Spanish‑language outreach, multiple public training sessions, contractor events and a planned survey to collect applicant feedback after each submission. Staff said they will add counter-facing assistance (small tables for one‑on‑one help) and seek closer coordination between departments that comment on plans.
Commissioners asked for periodic reporting and recommended outreach to small‑business assistance organizations so they can help prospective applicants. Staff said they will pursue training sessions with local business‑support organizations and return data periodically for benchmarking.
