Building permit center to expand

On Friday, the city announced that the Development Services Department will be expanding its permit center in partnership with the Economic Development Department’s Small Business Resource Center. The change is, of course, also spurred on by recommendations from last year’s Zucker Report, which had a number of suggested improvements for the city’s permitting process. According to a press release about the expansion, “The Permit Center remodeling project will commence in February and includes increased seating capacity, charging stations for electronic devices, and a new interactive wait queue system which will allow customers to more efficiently manage their time at the Permit Center from the convenience of home or office. In addition, the new service area will be equipped with a digital information wall which will display customer wait status, and important news and information about city programs and services.” Construction on the project has already begun, and the city expects it to be complete by early this summer.