Austin Permitting System Goes Online

The City of Austin is bringing its development review process to the Web.

"The $3.2 million online system...is intended to smooth the review process for development projects and give the public early access to those projects."

"People will be able to track the work of six city departments involved in the review and monitor the approval process at each step, making it all more transparent and accessible. So a resident would be able to get details on that project planned for her street, see what the inspector had to say about the new addition to her house or read city staff members' comments on the new high-profile condo building downtown."

"For developers, one major change is that inspectors will have tablet computers with wireless access so inspection results will be available immediately online. Also, as each step is completed, the person responsible for the next one will be automatically notified."