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DBI says online services, staffing and partner intakes have raised permit output to about 100 a day
Summary
Assistant Director Christine Gasparek told the commission DBI has relaunched electronic plan review for prioritized projects, moved re‑roofing permits online, replaced Eventbrite with a first-come/first-served over‑the‑counter system, expanded curbside and permit‑day offerings, and hired additional staff — increases that have brought permit issuance to roughly 100 per day on average in recent weeks.
Assistant Director Christine Gasparek told the Building Inspection Commission on Oct. 21 that the Department of Building Inspection has launched several operational changes intended to accelerate permit processing during the pandemic and improve customer access.
Gasparek summarized recent steps: electronic plan review was launched in April and will be relaunched more broadly after workflow improvements; the department recently put re-roofing permits online as an automatically generated, no‑review permit; DBI replaced an Eventbrite ticketing system for over‑the‑counter permits with a first‑come/first‑served approach and curbside drop-off; the department hosted a Saturday "permit day" (Oct. 3) that added applications; and DBI has hired three permit technicians and two plan-review engineers while advertising for more positions.
"We've been able to bring that up to about 100 permits a day on average over the past three weeks," Gasparek said, citing combined over‑the‑counter, trade and automated permit services. She said electrical and plumbing permit revenues have been stronger than other categories and that DBI will continue to expand auto-generated permit types.
Operational workstreams include transferring fire-only permits to the Fire Department for intake and issuance, collaborating with the Planning Department to intake and issue accessory dwelling unit (ADU) permits and relaunching an e-plan review workflow for ADUs in November, and tightening the appointment/queuing system (adding a waitlist and validation of scheduled appointments) to reduce unused slots caused by no-shows.
Commissioners asked whether Planning's e-plan review would be optional or required (staff said it would likely be required) and whether the current intake exceeds issuance (staff said more applications are coming in than permits issued, but many applications are later withdrawn or abandoned). A public caller later asked about DBI's in‑house plan check policy; staff said outsourcing is complicated and pledged a follow-up.
Next steps: DBI plans to relaunch electronic plan review (target: early November for prioritized permit types), continue appointment-system improvements, expand automated permit types and complete recruitment for new permit staff.
