County highlights online permits and ePermitHub plan to speed building approvals
July 14, 2026 | Santa Barbara County, California
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County IT and Planning officials updated the Board on the county’s multi‑department rollout of the Acela cloud permitting platform and next steps to further digitize permitting.
CIO Terry Elsner said the county migrated Acela to the cloud and established a cross‑department steering committee to standardize practices. Planning and Development reported completion of online citizens' access improvements and a steady increase in on‑demand permits (524 last fiscal year), including SolarAPP for residential solar that can issue permits in minutes.
Presenters described several near‑term enhancements: an online inspection scheduling system, integration of joint plan review via ePermitHub (kickoff April 2026, expected go‑live March 2027), improved applicant notifications, and tighter service‑level agreements to measure review timeframes. Public Works said the platform permitted creation of dedicated modules for flood control and transportation reviews and that data and dashboards will enable targeted efficiency improvements; the Fire Prevention Division said online applications reduced incomplete submittals and freed staff to focus on inspections. County Health described migration of Environmental Health Services to Acela and state data‑reporting integrations required for CUPA programs.
Supervisors pressed for measurable service level reporting, user experience improvements and assurances about inspection and payment options. Staff confirmed that credit card surcharges (2.95%) and ACH options (approx. $1.50) will be available for online payments; they also described current tracking and notification tools, daily staff queues and the ability to generate KPI reports once data integrations and GIS are completed.
What happens next: staff will continue rolling out ePermitHub for planning and work with departments to publish metrics showing cycle times and bottlenecks; the Board directed staff to return with reports on review‑time improvements and user‑experience feedback after ePermitHub implementation.
CIO Terry Elsner said the county migrated Acela to the cloud and established a cross‑department steering committee to standardize practices. Planning and Development reported completion of online citizens' access improvements and a steady increase in on‑demand permits (524 last fiscal year), including SolarAPP for residential solar that can issue permits in minutes.
Presenters described several near‑term enhancements: an online inspection scheduling system, integration of joint plan review via ePermitHub (kickoff April 2026, expected go‑live March 2027), improved applicant notifications, and tighter service‑level agreements to measure review timeframes. Public Works said the platform permitted creation of dedicated modules for flood control and transportation reviews and that data and dashboards will enable targeted efficiency improvements; the Fire Prevention Division said online applications reduced incomplete submittals and freed staff to focus on inspections. County Health described migration of Environmental Health Services to Acela and state data‑reporting integrations required for CUPA programs.
Supervisors pressed for measurable service level reporting, user experience improvements and assurances about inspection and payment options. Staff confirmed that credit card surcharges (2.95%) and ACH options (approx. $1.50) will be available for online payments; they also described current tracking and notification tools, daily staff queues and the ability to generate KPI reports once data integrations and GIS are completed.
What happens next: staff will continue rolling out ePermitHub for planning and work with departments to publish metrics showing cycle times and bottlenecks; the Board directed staff to return with reports on review‑time improvements and user‑experience feedback after ePermitHub implementation.
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