The city of San Diego unveiled an online tool Friday to allow users to access permit activity and historical data as part of a continued effort to expedite processing times.
According to the city, by using Permit Finder — an interactive geographic information system platform — city residents can view more than 1 million permits dating back 20 years.
"This new tool is the latest step the city is taking to improve transparency for permit applicants and interested residents," Mayor Todd Gloria said. "By having decades of information available at a customer's fingertips, we're now able to free up staff who previously spent hours upon hours searching through permit records to answer questions."
"We're making things easier for San Diegans and saving valuable time," Gloria said.
Residents and business owners can search for past permit history on a property or project, intended to make it easier and faster to move forward with new project plans.
"We're pleased to bring this comprehensive and user-friendly Permit Finder service to San Diegans," Development Services Department Assistant Director Gary Geiler said. "Our team knows how much of a difference the time spent looking for answers and updates can make for customers. The work that's gone into developing this tool will bring that down significantly while also making pertinent information clearer and more dynamic than ever."
Among the DSD's latest enhancements intended to streamline permitting processes in the city are the rollout of an online permitting system for all new development projects, virtual inspections, the Zoning and Parcel Information Portal, the online Small Cell Supplemental GIS Tool and the digitization of more than 8 million records.
