COVID-19 and the Effect on Entitlement & Permitting

When the COVID-19 pandemic caused major shutdowns across the United States this spring, many local municipalities were forced to re-invent their entitlement and permitting process.

Over the past 5 years, there has been a push towards online submittals for most permitting agencies.  This change started with the major state agencies and trickled down to many municipalities. While many municipalities started to implement online submittals for a majority of their permits, numerous others still required and favored the submittal of hard copies of plan sets, permit applications, legal documentation, and other required documents.

With many government employees working from home during the COVID-19 crisis, CSS, Inc. has noticed an influx of requests to submit via email or electronic portal rather than the conventional hard-copy submittal. In every respect, the pandemic has forced many municipalities to alter their entitlement and permitting process. Even now the pros and cons of such a change are being weighed across the different municipalities, and it will be interesting to see if the changes implemented during COVID-19 will be permanently implemented or if the process will return to pre-pandemic guidelines.

For the permittee, online submittals can save valuable time and resources and, as society moves ever more towards a digital one, online submittal processes will become more of the norm.   

While future processes remain unknown, CSS, Inc. remains dedicated to guiding our clients through the entitlement and permitting process in a timely and efficient manner. CSS, Inc.’s experience working in various jurisdictions across the southeast have given us the expertise to navigate even the most difficult and extensive entitlement and permitting processes.