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Commission asks staff to schedule vendor demo after hearing pitch for online permitting
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Summary
Commissioners expressed strong interest in a web‑based permitting system (Clarity) and asked staff to arrange a demo and gather references; staff also noted the city’s existing permitting vendor (CitizenServe) has an unused portal that could be evaluated as an alternative.
La Habra Heights — Commissioners on April 28 discussed a proposal to move permitting online and to adopt digital plan review, with broad support for a vendor demonstration and more information on implementation costs and references.
The chair outlined a vendor proposal (Clarity) and said an estimated first‑year implementation cost would be about $49,000 with recurring annual costs near $28,000; he argued the system could reduce incomplete applications, speed approvals and capture permit revenue that applicants sometimes forgo when they do unpermitted work.
Staff said the city currently uses CitizenServe for permitting and code‑case tracking but has not activated that vendor’s online portal; activating or evaluating the existing portal is an option that would require less upfront migration work. Commissioners asked staff to solicit references from cities of similar size, confirm whether the vendor performs plan checks or offers AI‑assisted reviews and to schedule a vendor demo with the commission and City Council in a Brown Act‑compliant format.
Commissioners highlighted practical questions: data ownership of migrated permit records, integration with existing inspection and records systems, the staff time required to migrate decades of records and whether vendors would host or allow the city to retain a copy of the database. Staff said those integration costs explain the higher initial‑year estimate.
Action: The commission asked staff to coordinate a joint demonstration for commissioners and council members and to return with vendor references and a recommended procurement path (RFP or sole‑source evaluation).
