For years, Pueblo County relied on a manual ‘routing system’ that required contractors and residents to physically take documents to various agencies for sign-off as part of the building permitting approval process.

“People would need to make multiple trips to our office and [several] other offices that could be 10 miles apart to get [the required] sign-offs,” said Mike Colucci, Project Consultant, Pueblo, CO.

Challenges

Pueblo’s Regional Building Department faced several challenges with its pre-Clariti Guide building permitting process, including:

Paper-based

Applicants had to obtain approval and a physical signature from multiple agencies for their projects.

Slow and opaque workflows

There was no process transparency because files were stored with multiple different departments.

Reliance on staff knowledge

Because there wasn’t any online parcel information, if applicants had questions, they had to ask office staff for guidance.

Multiple office visits

First-timers to the permitting process often had to make multiple in-office visits each time they had a question.

The search for an easier way

As a first step to solving its challenges, in 2020, the Pueblo Regional Building Department digitized its paper-based routing system to better track sign-offs and approval status. The change was part of a broader county-wide goal to provide a one-stop shop for building in the region.

But even with the digital routing system, a piece was missing, said IT Administrator, Corry Bassett. “We started looking for some digital solutions that would work with our in-house system and take it to the next level to coordinate permitting across the different entities.”

Implementation & Success

The department started with a demo account of the Clariti Guide and carefully evaluated how the solution would work for them. They used Clariti’s API to pull information, translate it back into their system, create a project record, and provide it to the applicant for use in collaboration with other agencies.

Once the team saw what the Guide could do, the decision to move forward was a no-brainer. With the Guide, the department could easily simplify the process of navigating multiple agency approvals and clearly communicate what applicants needed to do to get their permits approved.

“One of the great things about Clariti is that the Guide lets us present complex information in a clear and organized way,” explained Colucci. “For projects with a variety of requirements, we can easily compile everything in one place — outlining what’s needed from the Planning Department, the Building Department, and more.”

Results

Cory and Mike said there have been many improvements since implementing the Clariti Guide, including:

Fewer office visits and calls - Because the Guide provides application instructions and other general building information online, counter visits have been reduced by “quite a bit.”

Faster sign-off - The public now has visibility into the permitting process which has gently nudged agencies to fast-track approvals.

GIS location data - The Guide uses GIS to provide specific instructions for a project based on its parcel location.

Fewer submission errors - The Guide gives straightforward instructions and pre-populates many application fields, so it’s hard for applicants to make mistakes.

Clariti has become a central piece of Pueblo’s permitting process and has made it easier for its staff, residents, and contractors to collaborate.