Easing the burden: Construction permitting, records go online
Daily Memphian
Tom Bailey
Grinder Taber Grinder’s employees or courier typically would travel 10-15 times to the Code Enforcement Office during the construction of a building like the 45,000-square-foot Memphis-market headquarters being built at 5575 Poplar for Renasant Bank.
But no longer will general contractors or anyone else seeking construction permits, making payments, requesting inspections, getting a contractor’s license, or tracking approvals for a development need to travel in person to a local government office.
Develop901.com has just been launched by the Memphis and Shelby County Division of Planning and Development.
A limited version of the service was started early in May because the pandemic. But now customers can register their construction license information, add staff members who are authorized to pull permits, track permit status, request inspections, and more.
“This is a big deal for us,” said Brett Grinder, managing principal at Grinder Taber Grinder. “This is our first week to really be able to use it. We’ve already converted all our active permits into the new system. I can see them all in real time.”
The heart of the new, online service is a portal for companies and citizen access, allowing them to do all their permitting functions online.
It is called the Accela Citizen Access (ACA) portal.
“This includes permits issued by the division’s Construction Enforcement department for building, electrical, plumbing, and mechanical and gas projects in homes, businesses, and new construction,” states a release from the Planning and Development Division.
Customers can register an account, submit applications and plans, pay for permits, schedule inspections and see the status of a project.
“Before, not only would we have to print a lot of paper and make a lot of physical trips, we’d have to send couriers and staff members back and forth sometimes multiple times a day,” Grinder said.
“All that is obviously removed now that we can submit and pay digitally,” he said. “It also gives us better interaction if the plans reviewer has an issue or code concern. We can address it more quickly with the design team.”
The online portal also allows people to submit applications electronically for rezoning, planned developments, signs and other land use permits electronically.
Engineering permit applications for such projects as driveways, sidewalks, street cuts and public improvement plans will be added to the system in coming months.
The new online resource also will provide citizens with easier access to public records on construction and zoning projects registered with the system. They can also do online searches involving zoning, land entitlements and land use plans.
“The launch of Develop901.com and the associated permit system allows Memphis and Shelby County to deliver more efficient tools to customers and citizens,” John Zeanah, director of the Division of Planning and Development, said in a prepared statement.
“Our goal is to make working through the permitting process easier to understand and navigate for large and small developers, homeowners, and business owners,” he said.
Paper applications and plans are still accepted in the offices at City Hall (by appointment only) or at the Codes Enforcement Office at 6465 Mullin Station Road.
On Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2020 construction continued on Renasant Bank Memphis new headquarters on Poplar. Construction firm Grinder, Taber & Grinder, who are overseeing the project have found the convenience of the new online permit system beneficial. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)
