- Totally get what you mean about paper forms vanishing. I’ve had permits just disappear for weeks, then someone finally finds them in a “miscellaneous” folder.
- Online portals are a mixed bag though. Sometimes the upload feature glitches and you have to re-send everything, which is a pain.
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That’s probably the key. Some cities have their act together, others… not so much.“Maybe it just depends on how organized your city’s system is?”
- Curious if anyone’s actually had a project delayed because the online system crashed or lost their info? I’ve heard horror stories but haven’t run into it myself yet.
I’ve had my fair share of permit headaches, both with paper and online. Honestly, I’d take a glitchy upload over a missing folder any day, but yeah, both can be a mess. Once had to re-upload everything because the portal timed out—super annoying, but at least I didn’t have to drive across town. I guess no system’s perfect, but fingers crossed the digital stuff keeps improving… saves a lot of trees, at least.
Getting city approval: digital applications vs. old-school paperwork
Man, I hear you on the portal timeouts. Last year I spent a whole Saturday scanning old blueprints for a deck permit, thinking I was ahead of the game. Hit “submit,” and—poof—session expired. Had to start over. At least my scanner got a workout.
Still, I’ll take that over the days when I’d show up at city hall with a folder, only to find out I needed one more form from some mystery department on the other side of town. That was a special kind of wild goose chase. At least with digital, you can usually see what’s missing before you hit submit… unless the website’s down, then it’s just a different flavor of frustration.
But yeah, even with the hiccups, not having to print out a stack of paper or play phone tag with the permit office is a win in my book. Plus, less chance of coffee stains on the application—learned that one the hard way.
Honestly, I kind of miss the old-school way sometimes. With my house being on the historic register, digital forms don’t always have the right options for all the weird details I need to include. I’ve had online apps bounce back because there’s no field for “original 1920s windows” or whatever. At least in person, I could explain stuff face-to-face and get someone to actually look at my plans. Digital’s convenient, but it feels less flexible for anything out of the ordinary.
I hear you on the digital forms not fitting historic stuff. I ran into something similar with a 1940s porch—there just wasn’t a dropdown for “original columns” or anything like that. What worked for me was attaching a separate PDF with photos and a write-up, then referencing it in the “other notes” section. Not perfect, but it got the job done. Still miss being able to just talk it through, though.
