The culmination of more than seven months of work goes live Wednesday when the Roanoke Rapids Planning and Development Department launches its City Services page through the OpenGov platform where residents can apply for permits, pay for them and follow them through to approval.

On Wednesday those needing to register and file permits can do so at this link

Behind the work were city planners Kristyn Anderson and Anthony Price Jr.

“Citizens will have 24-7 access to all permits,” Anderson said. “It streamlines the process from the moment they submit to completion.”

There are 27 permits available which cover permitting and planning and zoning matters.

• Click to open image! Click to open image!
• Click to open image! Click to open image!
• Click to open image! Click to open image!
• Click to open image! Click to open image!
• Click to open image! Click to open image!
• Click to open image! Click to open image!
• Click to open image! Click to open image!
• Click to open image! Click to open image!
• Click to open image! Click to open image!
• Click to open image! Click to open image!
• Click to open image! Click to open image!
•  

Throughout the seven months, Price said the city worked in collaboration with Halifax County to have a layered system that includes every parcel in the city.

These layers, Anderson said, show current zoning, flood plains, what voting or school district a parcel is in, and even whether a parcel is located within the city limits, the extraterritorial or historic district as well as other layers. “I feel like future developers will be intrigued and will have a more efficient process to expedite faster.”

The OpenGov platform can be used on mobile devices, tablets or desktop and laptop computers. The department also has a workstation set up with two laptops where the public can come in and fill out the forms and get help from planning staff.

Both the planners had crucial roles in setting the system up for its rollout Wednesday.

“Without Anthony we would have not been able to use this service at all because there is a huge amount of GIS data connected to it,” Anderson said. “He had to integrate all that information.”

Price said Anderson’s role in getting the City Services page ready for Wednesday was taking each permit the city has available and adding them to the system. “She also tweaked each of the permit applications to be efficient, user friendly and set the employee’s side.”

In the front of the planning and development department is the workstation with the two laptops. Using the system will save time and travel for developers and eliminate the need for them to send seven large site plans for each of the agencies making up the development review committee. Now each agency responsible for reviewing them will be able to do so online and leave comments. Developers also have the opportunity to leave comments and an online tutorial associated with the City Services page can help new users. Staff will also be able to help users who come in to use the workstation.

“We’re very excited about this change of service delivery,” Planning and Development Director David Wise told the city council at their meeting last week. “The response has been positive.”