Those who have tried ePlans say it eliminates a lot of hassles.
Jeoffrey Cudiamat owns a consulting firm that submits up to a dozen building permits every week.
"Well the current process requires one of our employees to go to the building department, pull a number, wait in line pretty much all day," said Jeoffrey Cudiamat of Structural Hawaii.
He basically pays for an employee to sit at the Department of Planning and Permitting the entire day.
"Permit processing isn’t our core business, but we probably spend about $50,000 to $60,000 just on permit processing," Cudiamat said.
But with the City’s new program called ePlans, he will save a significant amount of money. His firm is one of a handful of companies testing the online program, which gives the applicant and the City, the ability to go through the permitting process, online.
"ePlans will be a huge convenience for the public by taking advantage of technology to further establish Honolulu as a digital city," said Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle.
City officials say the program will save applicants time, money and paper. It also shortens the resubmission process and provides instantaneous communication between DPP staff and the applicant. DPP can also mark up permit plans and provide comments online.
"This way we can get rid of that possibility by having everything logged on, everything is transparent, everything’s online," said David Tanoue with the Dept. of Planning and Permitting.
And for applicants that mean a more efficient and less expensive way to do business.
"Just in the employee time, the gas, the prints, it’s just tremendous," Cudiamat said.
Companies interested in submitting permit plans electronically can contact DPP at info@honoluludpp.org. Then in September, ePlans will be open to all applicants and the public.
See the original article at: KHON2 Local News
