DBI previews integrated permit-tracking system to tie planning and inspections together

DBI staff outlined a planned, citywide Permit and Project Tracking System (PPTS) intended to integrate planning and building workflows, provide project-based views from entitlement to certificate of occupancy, and automate inspection scheduling across departments.

Sam Quang, project manager for DBI, said the system will maintain a single master database showing permits, plan-check status, conditions of approval, inspection histories, and who performed each review. He described features including shared inspection calendars, project drilling from an address to all related permits, electronic workflows that log conditions of approval and provide real‑time visibility to reviewers and inspectors, and future electronic document management with drawing comparison tools.

Quang said the RFP process was at the vendor-demo stage and the project team hoped to award a vendor before the end of the fiscal year and to kick off implementation within months. The RFP targets web-based, GIS-enabled functionality; staff said the shortlisted vendors have long track records and will bring market best practices.

Commissioners asked about cloud-computing architectures, web 2.0 collaboration features, phased public access and digital signatures. DBI said cloud deployment was unlikely in the near term for enterprise disaster recovery reasons but that the system will be web-based, GIS-enabled and will include access controls. Planning staff said decisions about which data sets will be public versus staff-only will be made during contract and implementation planning.