San Jose City Hall, 801 North First Street, Room 436, San Jose, CA 95110 (408)277-5131

San José Wins Best of Web Award
Building Permits website www.sjpermits.org places third out of 200 entries

(San Jose, California)-- The City of San José was recognized over nearly 200 state and local government entries nationwide in the sixth annual "Best of the Web" contest conducted by the Center for Digital Government and Government Technology Magazine.

The City’s online building permit website was selected for this award based on innovation in the delivery of government services, efficiency and time saved, economy, and functionality for improved citizen access. San José is the first city in California, and perhaps the nation, to issue permits online using digital signatures. Contractors and homeowners can apply for, and be issued building permits via the Internet at www.sjpermits.org.

"Using cutting-edge technology for digital signatures, San José has cut red tape for contractors getting routine construction permits," said Mayor Ron Gonzales. "This is good for contractors and good for the City because it saves time, improves service, and reduces the costs for both the public and for customers."

Customers can complete permit applications online, sign applications using a digital signature, pay permit fees, and receive permits - without having to make a single trip to City Hall. More than 20 types of "high-volume permits" can now be processed online using a standard web browser.

City project manager Dave Bopf stated, "This award recognizes San José’s commitment to its customers by making it easier to do business with the City. The sjpermits online project is part of a much larger effort that will eventually allow applicants to apply for any development permit over the Internet. Future enhancements will allow residents and neighborhood associations access to development activity in their neighborhood via map-based inquiries over the Internet."

The City’s main contractor for the project, Intergraph Corporation, has developed the new web application. The e-commerce component of the application uses CyberSource for processing credit cards in real time. In order to allow digital signing of the application, Intergraph and the City elected to use Internet forms software from PureEdge Inc.

The City requires contractors to use digital signature certificates issued from Digital Signature Trust for digitally signing documents. Digital Signature Trust has improved the validation process for issuing digital signatures by comparing contractor applications for digital signatures with the California Contractors State Licensing Board’s database.

The City of San José is a Pilot City member of the Smart Permit Initiative of the Joint Venture of Silicon Valley. More information on Smart Permit can be found at www.jointventure.org.

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