The City of Dallas has unveiled a new system designed to streamline business-y tasks such as obtaining permits and inspections. Called DallasNow, it's a cloud-based application for "land management" — incorporating services such as permitting, zoning, and inspections, used by developers and businesses who need city permission before they start doing what they do.

As of May 5, the City of Dallas will use DallasNow to submit and review applications, schedule inspections, and submit payments. Users can set up an account, view records, submit applications, and schedule inspections all on one platform.

According to Dallas' director of Planning & Development Emily Liu, the project has been in the making for two years.

"We heard from our customers that things needed to be changed, and we have worked to make changes. Some have been steady incremental changes and with DallasNow, this will be a monumental change in the way we will do business with much improved transparency and customer service,” Liu says.

Permitting has always been a labyrinth, but it grinded to a halt during the pandemic, causing many developers to raise flags about the effects on business.

City personnel hope that some of the benefits will include:

• Improved Public Transparency: Applications can be easily to tracked, both internally and externally to see where a project is in the process, what comments have been made, and what steps remain. Customers receive real-time notifications that include permits, inspection statuses, rezoning application status and itemized fee descriptions.
• Enhanced Efficiency: DallasNow automates and digitizes various manual processes, reducing paperwork, minimizing errors, and speeding up workflows.
• Streamlined Process: DallasNow enables online applications, electronic plan reviews, and automated permit issuance, reducing the need for visits to Dallas Planning & Development offices.
• Integration and Collaboration: DallasNow integrates with other systems to provide a comprehensive platform for managing land-use activities. It enables collaboration between different divisions and departments to streamline the entire cycle.
• Digitization: DallasNow is allowing us to move from paper to digital for applications for certain types of applications including zoning and platting.

They're anticipating a transition and from May 5-16 will be hosting open house sessions with hands-on support to assist customers with setting up new accounts and navigating DallasNow.

These sessions will be held at Oak Cliff Municipal Center from 8–11:30 am and 1:30–4:30 pm.

Self-serve stations are set up in the Permit Center at Oak Cliff Municipal Center during regular business hours.