Development Services seeks CityView upgrades and new permit‑review contracting model

Development Services Director Craig Faylor and Administrative Officer Naomi Diaz told the Finance Committee Oct. 30 that the department plans software upgrades to the CityView permitting portal, a reorganization of leadership duties and an upcoming request for proposals (RFP) to reevaluate plan‑review and inspection contracting.

Faylor described five functional divisions in Development Services — administration, business services, permits and development, planning and urban design, and parking and mobility — and said the department currently has roughly 32 FTEs. The fiscal proposal includes a reclassification that removes an assistant‑director position and reallocates those responsibilities to a new business‑services manager/administrative‑officer role.

Naomi Diaz said CityView will receive changes to make the customer portal more user friendly and noted CityView staff will meet with village staff over two weeks to implement workflow and portal improvements, including an assistant chatbot to allow permit applicants to query status updates such as whether a permit is pending review, returned for corrections or ready for inspection scheduling.

Faylor and Diaz said the village contracts out plan review and some inspection services; the current external contract covers plan review, inspections and specialty reviewers and totals roughly $1.2 million. The department is issuing an RFP to consider one or more firms and said staff will pilot any new contracting approach before making permanent changes. Trustees asked about consistency of reviewer decisions; staff said a single‑vendor approach for plan review or clearer coordination, coupled with CityView workflow improvements, is intended to reduce inconsistent outcomes between reviewers.