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Ahead of the Curve blog series authored by HB Lanarc and sponsored by BasicGov explores trends in municipal management, including a move to adopt sustainable practices. Leading communities are taking on all of these trends and leveraging opportunities to improve services to citizens and productivity

Opportunities for Leadership in Development Review and Approvals

2. Cheaper, faster, more resilient processes

Leading local governments are working hard to streamline business and approvals processes.  One common approach is leveraging software tools to make efficient use of time and resources (for example Waxhaw, NC has halved their response time for permit applications).

This software is increasingly used to track timing and content of applications “at-a-glance,” and ranges from in-house, server-based systems to commercial web-based services.  It can significantly reduce the staff effort required to manage the process, speed up approvals, and reduce exposure to legal risks by ensuring that all information is collected and communicated to the right people and in a timely manner.

In addition, many local governments are turning to web-based “cloud computing” and off-site back-up systems to ensure they can continue to operate during and after emergencies.

Next post we’ll talk about making visions real.

Previous Ahead of the Curve blog posts Trend 1 – Drive toward sustainability, Trend 2 – Mounting fiscal challenges, Trend 3 – public demands for accountability, Trend 4 – reduce red tape, Trend 5 – risk management, Trend 6 – preparing for emergencies, Development process – manage land use, Leadership opportunity 1 – making sustainability a daily consideration.

Click to read Ahead of the Curve white paper

Tags: BasicGov, building permit software, building permits software, city planning, cloud computing, community development, HB Lanarc, Local Government, local government software, municipal government, SaaS, sustainability

Ahead of the Curve blog series authored by HB Lanarc and sponsored by BasicGov explores trends in municipal management, including a move to adopt sustainable practices. Leading communities are taking on all of these trends and leveraging opportunities to improve services to citizens and productivity

Opportunities for Leadership in Development Review and Approvals

1.  Making Sustainability a Daily Consideration

The most innovative communities are incorporating sustainable development through a wide range of policies and regulations, for example: passive building design, citizen behaviour (car and bike sharing, public space walkable designs, recycling, and habitat conservation), transit-oriented development, neighbourhood-scale renewable energy utilities, and water conservation and reuse technologies. A key strategy is to consider buildings, streetscapes, landscaping, and infrastructure together to facilitate innovative, sustainable developments.

Every development application is an opportunity to ensure and track implementation of these policies and regulations.  Because considering different systems together involves many different organizations (e.g. integrating planning, engineering, building, operations and maintenance can create efficiencies, saving money and energy), information tracking and timing for triggering actions is a critical part of embedding sustainability in the development management process.

Next week we’ll talk about faster processes and making visions real.

Previous Ahead of the Curve blog posts Trend 1 – Drive toward sustainability, Trend 2 – Mounting fiscal challenges, Trend 3 – public demands for accountability, Trend 4 – reduce red tape, Trend 5 – risk management, Trend 6 – preparing for emergencies, Development process – manage land use.

Click to read Ahead of the Curve white paper

Tags: BasicGov, city planning, community development, Gov 2.0, HB Lanarc, livability, Local Government, municipal government, sustainability