The Township’s Building department is pleased to announce the anticipated soft launch of a cloud-based permit software for the Township’s permit application process. Homeowners and business professionals will be able to submit building permit applications online thanks to the new cloud-based e-permitting solution called Cloudpermit. With use by over 250 municipalities around the world, the new Cloudpermit system will officially launch for Lake of Bays in Q1 of 2023, with an anticipated soft launch in November 2022.
A digital building permit process benefits both municipal staff and the community by improving efficiency, communication, and file management with paperless, 24/7 access to applications outside of municipal business hours.
With November’s anticipated soft launch, Lake of Bays will be accepting permit applications by both traditional paper submissions as well as the new e-permitting software. In Q1 of 2023, every applicant will be encouraged to use the new online e-permitting system while still being able to visit the Municipal Office for assistance. The staff at the building department is excited to provide a community training session that will be held in December 2022, as well as a Kiosk Help Center that will be set up at the Municipal office in the new year. For anyone interested in learning the new system before the launch, comprehensive tutorials are available at cloudpermit.com.
“Cloudpermit allows each user an individual portal for application submissions, and status updates while giving the Building Department staff the flexibility to perform site inspections, upload photographs, and review projects remotely using the mobile tool,” said Stephen Watson, Director of Building and By-law Services for the Township of Lake of Bays. “Professionals or homeowners applying for permits in Lake of Bays using Cloudpermit, will also be able to use the same account for permit applications in other municipalities using the service, including Huntsville, Gravenhurst and Muskoka Lakes Township.”
Following the building department’s full implementation of the e-permitting solution in the new year, the Township is planning a similar process for planning applications.