I totally relate to the stress of not knowing if your stuff is actually being looked at. For me, digital’s been a lifesaver, especially when I’m pinching pennies. I keep a checklist: scan everything, save copies, and always double-check the city’s upload portal. Has anyone tried calling the city office after submitting online? I’ve wondered if that speeds things up or just annoys them...
Has anyone tried calling the city office after submitting online? I’ve wondered if that speeds things up or just annoys them...
I’ve called a couple times after submitting stuff online. Once, the lady actually found my application buried in her inbox and moved it up. Other times, I got the classic “it’s being processed” line. Honestly, I think it’s a coin flip—depends on who picks up and if they’ve had their coffee yet. But yeah, digital beats waiting in line with a stack of paper any day.
I’m right there with you—digital is way less painful than hauling a folder of forms down to city hall. Here’s what worked for me: I submitted online, waited about a week, then called to “check in.” The first time, the person on the phone actually pulled up my file and realized something was missing, so I fixed it right away. Saved me a ton of back-and-forth. The second time, I got the “it’s in the queue” answer, which honestly felt like a brush-off.
If you’re the anxious type (like me), calling once doesn’t hurt, but I wouldn’t make it a habit. I get the sense they don’t love being chased down. But at least with digital, you’ve got a timestamp and proof you sent it. Paper always made me nervous—like, what if it just vanished into a black hole?
Anyway, my advice: submit online, wait a few days, then call if you haven’t heard anything. Worst case, you get told to wait. Best case, someone actually helps move things along.
Getting city approval: digital applications vs. old-school paperwork
I hear you on the digital vs. paper debate. I used to think the old way was “safer” because you could hand your stuff to a real person and watch them stamp it, but after my last kitchen reno, I’m officially team digital. The last time I tried the paper route, I spent half a day waiting at city hall, only to be told I’d filled out the wrong version of the form (which, by the way, looked exactly like the right one except for a tiny date in the corner). I swear, I almost lost it right there in the lobby.
With digital, at least there’s a trail. I submitted my plans for a deck online, and yeah, it took a while, but at least I could check the status without having to take time off work. I did end up calling after about ten days because I got nervous—turns out, my file was “in review” but nobody had actually opened the attachments. The woman on the phone was nice enough, but I could tell she was juggling a million things. She did flag my file, though, and it moved along a bit faster after that.
I get what you mean about not wanting to bug them too much. Once is probably fine, but if you call every other day, you’re just going to end up on their “annoying people” list. At least with the online system, you can screenshot your submission and sleep a little easier knowing there’s proof. I still have nightmares about that one time my paper plans got “misplaced” and I had to start over from scratch.
Honestly, there’s no perfect system, but digital feels like less of a gamble. At least you don’t have to worry about coffee stains or someone’s lunch getting on your paperwork.
It’s wild how much smoother things *should* be with digital, but there are still those weird hiccups. I went through the same thing when I submitted plans for a solar panel install last year. Here’s what happened: I uploaded everything, triple-checked the PDFs, and even named my files exactly like they wanted (because I’ve learned the hard way that “roofplan_final” isn’t specific enough for city staff). Then... silence. Two weeks later, I got an email saying one attachment wouldn’t open. Turns out their system doesn’t like files over 10MB, which wasn’t mentioned anywhere on the portal.
I ended up compressing and resending, but at least I didn’t have to drive across town with a giant roll of drawings. The digital trail is key—I could show exactly when I’d submitted and what I’d sent. Still, I do miss the certainty of seeing a stamp go down in real time. But honestly, less paper is a win from an environmental angle, and not having to reprint every time there’s a tiny change saves trees *and* sanity. It’s not perfect, but it beats chasing lost paperwork any day.