DBI expands instant online permits and upgrades permit-tracking system to improve transparency
August 16, 2023 | San Francisco City, San Francisco County, California
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Deputy Director of Permit Services Neville Pereira told the Building Inspection Commission on Aug. 16 that the department has continued to expand over-the-counter (OTC) and instant online permits and rolled out a notable permit-tracking-system (PTS) enhancement on July 27.
Pereira said the instant online permits—introduced for roofing during the pandemic and expanded in 2021 to certain kitchen and bathroom remodels—are currently limited to licensed contractors (B and B2) and to single-family and small multi-family dwellings with no structural work, active complaints or historic status. "It's a stepping stone," Pereira said, adding the contractor-only restriction exists because of legacy PTS rules and that broader access to homeowners and small landlords is a planned future step as system constraints are removed.
DBI reported that in 2023 so far it recorded 6,245 no-plan permits (permits that do not require plans); about 824 of those have been issued instantly online, roughly 13 percent of the no-plan universe. Pereira said many industry users still walk in to the Permit Center but that online transactions are growing and DBI will continue outreach to increase uptake.
On PTS, Pereira described a July 27 enhancement that records every submitted document on a separate line, adds timestamps and revision numbers, shows review results and expands disposition codes so users and staff can see precisely when a submittal arrived, which development-review station handled it (planning, public works, building, etc.), and how the city dispositioned the item. "Now they can see exactly when their design team responded, when the city responded to them and so on," Pereira said. The upgrades also create a locked historical line for each activity so earlier entries cannot be silently edited, and they enable reports by inspector or plan reviewer.
Commissioners pressed whether the new entries are locked and how alerts work. Pereira said each completed line is locked and that weekly assignment meetings and team-leader oversight are used to monitor workloads and trigger follow-up when rechecks approach an internal 10-day standard. He said the enhancements are targeted at performance and efficiency monitoring rather than fraud detection, though he acknowledged that clearer data will help identify outliers.
Public commenter Jerry Dratler supported the PTS transparency changes but urged DBI to implement prior controller recommendations addressing data integrity and exception reporting for red-flag activities such as out-of-area inspections and expedited reviews.
The commission asked staff to return with further updates; DBI staff said additional transparency and outreach measures will accompany future expansions of instant online permits.
Pereira said the instant online permits—introduced for roofing during the pandemic and expanded in 2021 to certain kitchen and bathroom remodels—are currently limited to licensed contractors (B and B2) and to single-family and small multi-family dwellings with no structural work, active complaints or historic status. "It's a stepping stone," Pereira said, adding the contractor-only restriction exists because of legacy PTS rules and that broader access to homeowners and small landlords is a planned future step as system constraints are removed.
DBI reported that in 2023 so far it recorded 6,245 no-plan permits (permits that do not require plans); about 824 of those have been issued instantly online, roughly 13 percent of the no-plan universe. Pereira said many industry users still walk in to the Permit Center but that online transactions are growing and DBI will continue outreach to increase uptake.
On PTS, Pereira described a July 27 enhancement that records every submitted document on a separate line, adds timestamps and revision numbers, shows review results and expands disposition codes so users and staff can see precisely when a submittal arrived, which development-review station handled it (planning, public works, building, etc.), and how the city dispositioned the item. "Now they can see exactly when their design team responded, when the city responded to them and so on," Pereira said. The upgrades also create a locked historical line for each activity so earlier entries cannot be silently edited, and they enable reports by inspector or plan reviewer.
Commissioners pressed whether the new entries are locked and how alerts work. Pereira said each completed line is locked and that weekly assignment meetings and team-leader oversight are used to monitor workloads and trigger follow-up when rechecks approach an internal 10-day standard. He said the enhancements are targeted at performance and efficiency monitoring rather than fraud detection, though he acknowledged that clearer data will help identify outliers.
Public commenter Jerry Dratler supported the PTS transparency changes but urged DBI to implement prior controller recommendations addressing data integrity and exception reporting for red-flag activities such as out-of-area inspections and expedited reviews.
The commission asked staff to return with further updates; DBI staff said additional transparency and outreach measures will accompany future expansions of instant online permits.
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