ePlans Streamline Development Permit Application Process

Filing a development application with the Montgomery County Planning Department just got a whole lot easier.

Instead of filing paperwork for up to 20 submittal items—from a forest conservation plan to a traffic study—and submitting multiple copies of each of the 20 documents (to accommodate reviews by several county and state agencies), applicants for development permits now may submit applications via ePlans, the planning department’s new online submittal and review system, according to a news release from the county planning department.

Developers may submit all application materials for preliminary and site plan applications electronically through ePlans. "The applications will remain in electronic form for agency reviewers, negating the need for multiple copies and streamlining the time and cost required to transfer paper around the county and state," according to the news release.

"Planners have long recognized the cumbersome nature of the application process. They initiated the development of an electronic system a few years ago, enough time for ePlans to be retrofitted for the [planning department’s] needs and synchronized with an extensive existing database," the release stated. The planning department accepts more than 300 development permit applications a year, the release added.

In addition to the time- and paper-saving benefits of ePlans, there are transparency benefits as well. Any user may see a reviewer's comments about an application in real time.

The ePlans webpage provides a user’s guide and instructions about how to prepare files for upload, as well as links to the application portal and to the ePlans login page. An applicant receives an email when fees are due after application materials have been pre-screened. Fees continue to be paid in-person at the county's park and planning headquarters.