For most homeowners, applying for a building permit is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. For Kimberley Younger, it's part of her everyday work.
As a Building Permit Coordinator for Kenilworth-based Quality Homes, Younger has spent decades helping homeowners across Ontario navigate building permit applications, one of the most important parts of building a new home.
Along the way, she's worked with municipalities across Central and Southwestern Ontario that use a wide variety of digital permitting systems — each with their own processes, requirements, and workflows.
That includes 40 municipalities that use Cloudpermit's online permitting software, with Younger managing more than 260 Cloudpermit workspaces while coordinating permit applications for several dozen homes across the province.
That experience gives Younger a unique perspective. While municipal staff typically experience permitting software from inside City Hall, she sees it from the applicant's side, using these systems every day to assist homeowners with submitting applications and keep projects moving.
After hundreds of permit submissions, she's learned that the best permitting software is the one that makes the process easier for everyone involved.
The Ontario Building Code provides a common framework for building permitting, but every municipality still has its own process.
Application requirements, supporting documents, and review workflows differ from one community to the next. Even for an experienced permit coordinator, no two submissions are exactly alike.
They all need something different,” Younger says.
Quality Homes, established in 1987, builds an average of 100 custom modular homes each year for clients across Central and Southwestern Ontario.
That means Younger is often working on applications in several municipalities at the same time. Managing that level of activity requires software that helps applicants understand what information is needed, clearly identifies outstanding requirements, and allows projects to move forward on time.
That's where Younger sees meaningful differences between the different permitting platforms she uses in her work — the easier it is for her to use, the better the process will be for her customers.
It makes it really easy for the customer, and I can walk them through it,” she says.
Since Younger uses permitting systems and online platforms every day, she evaluates them based on how efficiently she can help customers submit complete applications and turn their dream homes into reality.
Seemingly small details like being able to quickly find an application, easily see what's still outstanding, and providing clear steps for homeowners to upload necessary information have a major impact on her work.
Among all the systems Younger has used, she says Cloudpermit consistently stands out because of its simplicity and ability to collaborate on applications at the same time.
It is so intuitive,” she says. “It is so easy for customers.”
That matters because many homeowners have never submitted a permit application before. Some are retirees building their final home; others are building cottages while living elsewhere in Canada or even outside the country.
Younger can work with applicants, even from faraway distances, in the same online application file at the same time.
I can walk them right through the application,” she says. “Really, it makes it so much easier.”
This feature of Cloudpermit isn't available with many software systems she uses for other municipalities.
Our customers love it,” she says. “It's above and beyond, so our customers really appreciate that help with it. Just that little bit of extra help is an upper hand on the other builders.”
One of the biggest advantages Younger sees in Cloudpermit's platform for community development is visibility.
Instead of tracking separate projects through spreadsheets or paper files, all the applications she's working on in Cloudpermit in the 40 participating municipalities are all available together in a centralized dashboard.
With more than 260 workspaces and counting in Cloudpermit, she says that instant and accurate visibility into these projects has become invaluable.
She immediately knows where applications stand, sees what's missing, and can quickly respond when homeowners have questions.
From my outside view as a builder working in all these towns, being able to see everything at once really helps,” Younger says. “I know how many draft applications I've got going; I know how many are in review. I can watch that process go through, and I know what I have to get for each of my clients.”
Cloudpermit's platform for local governments also makes it possible to reduce unnecessary duplication in her work, such as linked workspaces that connect related applications like minor variances and building permits.
It's brilliant,” Younger says.
These details make it easier to follow the full history of a project while reducing administrative effort for applicants and municipal staff.
Quality Homes' Experience With Cloudpermit:
For homeowners, building a new home is one of the largest investments they'll ever make. The permitting process can become another source of stress if applications are confusing or the local process is difficult to navigate.
Younger says Quality Homes views that differently. By guiding customers through the permitting process and using better tools that simplify collaboration, she helps transform what could be an intimidating challenge into a manageable task.
Customers notice the difference.
After 21 years working for Quality Homes and assisting customers with hundreds of permit applications through multiple systems, Younger's advice for municipalities evaluating permitting software is straightforward: Choose a platform that's intuitive, collaborative, and designed around the people who use it every day.
Cloudpermit is golden,” she says.
Learn how Cloudpermit is helping to transform the permitting process for applicants, builders, and municipalities by booking a demo with us today.
This article was originally published in the OBOA Journal Issue 151.