Accela Civic Apps for the Development Community Coming to Sarasota County Summer 2023 How will the new system help me? You are receiving this email because you have been one of Sarasota County Government’s valued customers over the past few years. If you are not interested in receiving further updates on our transition to Accela, please go to the bottom of the email and unsubscribe. Starting in 2022, Sarasota County began the process of replacing its current Planning and Development Services’ system with a new program called Accela Civic Apps, which is already used by Manatee, Charlotte, Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Polk counties, along with the City of Tampa. If you’re a builder, developer, architect, contractor or anyone who plans to work in Sarasota County, here’s what you need to know. • Because many of the members of the local construction community also operate in neighboring counties that use Accela, users should be relatively familiar with how the program works. • The program is built on the experiences of hundreds of Planning and Building departments throughout the country and Florida, which will allow Sarasota County to apply clear, standardized processes to the local construction industry. • Improved and quicker solutions and updates will be developed via the West Florida Accela User Group, a group comprised of Accela users from agencies throughout West Florida. • Digital plan review software will allow contractors, engineers, or architects to submit and revise (including edits with versioning) building plan sets, subdivision plans and site development plans. The software will verify embedded engineering certification seals and signatures and complies with the Florida Board of Professional Engineering and Florida Board of Architecture and Interior Design Rules. • Customers will be able to upload plan sets through the same county web portal they use when applying for permits. This will ensure that the customer and county are always working on and accessing the same plan set or sheet version. No more transporting plan sets to the building department. • Workflows will be streamlined and simplified, speeding the intake, review, and permit issuance process. • Accela will keep users’ confidential information private and secure. • An improved GIS map interface will allow customers to locate their property and start multiple requests using an auto-populating web form. • Accela’s flexible interface runs on all major browsers and mobile devices, allowing Apple or Android smartphone users to order inspections and pay fees while in the field. | 
