Dallas officials want to incorporate artificial intelligence into Dallas’ permitting process to help increase efficiency and reduce review times.
The Government Performance & Financial Management (GPFM) Committee for Dallas is scheduled to meet with Florida-based software company AutoReview.AI (AR) on Monday to discuss ways the City’s Development Services Department (DSD) can automate its building permit intake and review processes.
During the COVID-19 lockdowns, Dallas fell into disarray as DSD scrambled to transition its permitting process online. This resulted in long review times and an extensive backlog of single-family and commercial building permits under the leadership of City Manager T.C. Broadnax, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
Since then, local officials have considered various methods to improve the City’s building permit process. The latest possible solution was proposed by District 1 Council Member Chad West late last year.
While West said DSD services have improved by “leaps and bounds” since Andrew Espinoza took over the department in 2022, he said “there is still room to go.”
West told The Dallas Express that he believes AI is the “game-changing solution” the City is looking for to help improve permitting efficiency and strengthen economic development in Dallas.
He said GPFM plans to meet with one or two sample companies about AI’s capabilities and how the technology can improve Dallas’ permit intake process.
“This doesn’t mean we’re going to go with either company, but it does get the ball moving a little faster,” he said.
Gainesville, Florida-based AR is the first company the committee plans to meet with, West told The Dallas Express.
AR was first put on West’s radar after he read an article in the Orlando Sentinel detailing how the firm’s state-of-the-art AI is being used to improve the site plan review process in Altamonte, Florida, the nation’s first city to deploy the technology, Growth Spotter reported.
According to a presentation by AR shared with the committee, the company’s patented software works by automating plan review processes using AI technology, including natural language processing, machine learning, and other translation processors.
“This revolutionary advancement in technology improves accuracy and efficiency, resulting in valuable time and money savings for local governments and developers,” AR said of its technology’s impact on municipal permitting review processes.
Altamonte City Manager Frank Martz said the innovative program was intended to reduce the time it took staff to review site plans.
“That saves taxpayers money, obviously, but it also saves developers money by saving time. Nothing kills deals quicker than time,” Martz said, per Growth Spotter.
When AR’s AI technology was deployed in Altamonte, it substantially improved efficiency, West told The Dallas Express.
“We need that here in Dallas because everything comes from permitting,” he said, referring to how permitting leads to construction jobs and growth in Dallas’ housing, retail, and office market.
