Though the permit applications will move online, the information they require will not change, according to Codes and Zoning Coordinator David Wright.

“All the information is the same. All the required documents are the same,” Wright said. “It’s all exactly the same; we tailored the program to our needs.”

The platform, Cloudpermit, hosts the permitting procedures of more than 500 local governments across the country. In New York, the platform is used by around 20 municipalities. North Elba and Lake Placid are the first local governments in the North Country to adopt the platform; most municipalities in New York that use Cloudpermit are south of Interstate 90.

Wright said the shift to Cloudpermit began when the building and planning department decided their current system was “not adequate for (their) needs.”

“All the newer programs happen to be online,” he said.

The department went with Cloudpermit and has been using it since the beginning of the year to process applications. Wright said no one has submitted an application through the platform so far, though it is still a few weeks before the switch is set to happen.

The new permitting platform will not change anything for the members of the review and zoning boards. Applicants appearing before the board will see no changes to the substance of their applications, only the venue at which they apply. The building and planning department will not accept paper copies of applications after March 25 unless an applicant is granted specific permission by the department to do so.

Wright said there are a few benefits to the new platform.

“It reduces paper going forward,” he said. “It’ll allow us to have applications completed and paid for before they go before any of the boards or a building permit is issued so that we don’t have to be hunting people down later.”

Cloudpermit allows both applicants and the building and planning department to access their applications on a variety of devices. It also shows the status of permits and cases. Applicants will be able to request inspections, send messages and pay fees through the platform.

There is also an option for applicants to meet with someone at the building and planning department for a consultation before submitting an application.

“It would allow (applicants) to schedule a time to talk to us about the application, just like they can now,” Wright said. “They can get our input, our suggestions, whether or not they can be approved.”

North Elba and Lake Placid currently process short-term vacation rental permits online, but on a different platform — GovOS, formerly MUNIRevs. Wright said that Cloudpermit does not offer an STR permitting system right now. The building department expects to stick with GovOS for STR permitting for the time being.