New system allowed Alexandria permitting to conduct ‘business as usual’ during pandemic

Building officials in Alexandria, Va., had no way of knowing when they began a trial run of their electronic permitting program late last fall just how important it would be four months later when the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic ruled out most face-to-face business. “We had a good idea by February what was going to happen,” said Gregg Fields, CBO, CBMO, director of code administration for the city of Alexandria, where they will process 12,000 to 15,000 permits annually for projects ranging from backyard fences to million-square-foot buildings. “We met with all departments and said, ‘How will we handle this? How will we handle that?’”

The staff had been fine-tuning the new electronic system since January. By the time city offices were closed to the public in March, Fields said workers in his office and clients were familiar with the electronic application and permitting process. “The electronic system couldn’t have been ready at a better time,” said Fields, a past president of the Virginia Building and Code Officials Association. “The larger contractors had been after us for a while to go electronic. They spend tens of thousands of dollars for these permits. And this is so much faster than paper.”

Also suspended for pandemic response are all in-person, building-related inspections, all non-emergency code enforcement inspections, all non-emergency zoning enforcement inspections, and all after-hours inspections and in-person payments. After talking with other northern Virginia jurisdictions in early March, Fields said they got some software and trained employees in performing virtual inspections. “We involved staff and got feedback from them and from applicants,” he said. “That makes it easier.” They posted the instructions online and “It has been business as usual.”

Online instructions walk applicants through the permitting process and advise them on how to perform virtual walk-through inspections using smartphone cameras or similar devices. Contractors are on board with the remote inspections, Fields said, but homeowners can get anxious about it. If that’s the case, he added, they’ll wait until they can do a personal inspection. For the most part though, Fields said the new system has gone off without a glitch. So much so, some new procedures might stay as they talk about how to phase in a reopening plan. “We might not go back to the old inspection process where we can,” he said. “With the traffic around here, virtual inspections allow us more time to do the inspections, and to do more inspections.”

Another new procedure due to pandemic restrictions also is faster and might be a keeper, he said. “All of our reviewers who needed to sign off on a project used to meet in one room together with applicants for team plan reviews,” Fields said. “Now, we do it remotely, and it works great. We tried to look at it from a customer point of view. We’re very pleased with how it turned out.”