In late June, the City began using a new Land Management System that will centralize and track the steps for land development projects. The system will also allow developers and land owners to login and see the status of their projects.

“This system is available to anyone in the City who is involved in the development process,” says Chris Collier, GIS coordinator. “It allows everyone to see the project status, comments, markups and other relevant information.”

The general public will also have access to general information and be able to look up addresses to find out about projects. This piece of the system is online but has not been publicized yet.

“Our users are getting to know the system right now,” Chris says. “It’s complicated and involves many people. We want to shake things out and make sure we’ve identified any issues. We’ve been busy working on the bugs.”

Going electronic
The new system allows everyone in the City who is involved in a project access the system online. In that way, everyone can see where the project is in the process.

Whenever someone has a parcel of land they want to build on, they have to go through the City to ensure their project meets all the necessary requirements for a sound building that does not create any environmental or safety problems. Many people with the City have to review and comment on plats, designs, landscaping and more.

Using the new land management system, those documents can now be reviewed electronically. When a new project is created, it automatically sets up the required steps and reviewers. Documents can be uploaded electronically and the system’s electronic plan review tool allows reviewers to mark up plans and make comments.

“We hope to eliminate a lot of paper from the process,” Chris says.

When the developer submits a revised design, the system will highlight any changes that have been made from the previous version. Reviewers can make sure their changes were made and see any other changes as well.

The system can also be accessed remotely for employees out in the field.

“We‘ve bought some rugged laptops that will use the mobile version of the software that gives live access to the system,” Chris says. “Employees out in the field can make comments and changes right there.”

Developer friendly
A major component of the system is that it will allow developers to check on the progress of their projects online.

“We want to make Round Rock development friendly,” Chris says. “It was very important to give them access to information. They can check the status of reviews and see comments. Most developers are excited about the system and happy to do more things electronically.”

The system allows employees access to information, as well.

“Having the information at your fingertips will make things much more efficient,” Chris says. “We’ve had wonderful cooperation throughout this project. It’s a big change and a lot of work. Everyone has done a great job.”