Rogers readies software for planners, developers

ROGERS—Kels e y Kreher recently got a sneak peek at a process to streamline how developers submit plans to the city.

Kreher, a project manager with the architecture, design and engineering firm Harrison French and Associates in Bentonville, is a test user of CityView. City planners have used the electronic processing software since 2015 and will open it to developers through a new portal next week.

Electronic processing means fewer applications, project plan sets and other development documents being submitted on paper to the Community Development Department’s Planning Division. That stands to save time and money for the city and developers.

Bentonville recently started offering a similar system for developers. Little Rock and North Little Rock, though they don’t offer online systems for accepting developers’ building plans, are looking into it, officials said.

Rogers spent roughly $400,000 to set up the system, financial records show.

Kreher says she likes what she has seen in the month she has used CityView.

“From our office to downtown Rogers, it’s a 20- to 25-minute drive,” she said. “This will stop clients from having to drop off paper plans.”

The city has set up a training session for the CityView portal on Oct. 15, and the portal will go live that day. Anyone can register to use it. Planners also will post a tutorial video online and will respond to registrations online and in person after Oct. 15.

The city also plans to set up a computer station equipped with CityView in the Community Development Department next year so people can fill out online forms and ask questions, said Jennifer Moore, Community Development Department

project manager.

“We want to make the process as seamless and as smooth as possible,” Moore said.

Submitting online will remove at least one step in what can be a long process, Moore said. Paper plans now have to be re-entered by staff members into CityView.

“We want to work smart, be efficient, be user-friendly and be transparent,” Moore said.

Developers will be able to submit plans at their own pace, she said.

“They can check on the status of a project,” Moore said. “That’s huge. You can check all hours of the day, not just 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. It’s more convenient for the customer, and it makes us more efficient.”

Projects handled by other developers across the city will also be available for viewing.

Ryan Evitts, an assistant project manager with CEI Engineering in Bentonville, said using the portal will cut down on overhead and reproduction costs.

CEI was another tester for the portal.

“We’re excited to be able to submit online,” Evitts said. “The Rogers process is very user-friendly.”

Erica Bray, owner of Quality Assurance Roofing of Bentonville, said she would have used the portal had it been available sooner. Bray went before the Rogers Planning Commission on Tuesday for a conditional use permit to put in an office at 111 S. Dixieland Road. The permit was granted.

“I think it will save people time,” said Bray, who twice had to take paperwork in person to planners.

Developers still will need to appear before the Planning Commission to get approvals and waivers, and to answer questions or address concerns. The ninemember commission won’t have access to the portal, Moore said.

Bentonville started to use an online submission system for development documents about a month ago, said Shelli Kerr, interim director of the Community Development Department.

Planners use the system eTrakiT. Starting in January, the city will require that all plans be submitted online. Bentonville now receives about 50 percent of submitted plans through the online system.

Rogers doesn’t plan to do away with paper submissions.

“We get some site plans on a napkin,” said Lori Ericson, planning administrator. “They don’t want to go online. We are still going to work with them like we always have.”

The benefits of an online system include using less paper and allowing applicants more time to submit proposals, Kerr said. All city officials involved in the planning process can view plans with eTrakiT and suggest changes or add questions or comments.

CityView has many of the same functions as eTrakiT. Kreher uses CityView to view and track multiple projects in the Rogers planning pipeline.

Revisions that used to be done in a flurry of emails can now be addressed with a few computer clicks.

Kreher also likes being able to pay fees online.

“No more cutting a check and bringing it in,” she said.