Merced County building process going paperless

The Merced County Building and Safety Division will shift to an electronic permit process starting in the new year, officials said Monday.

The division, which is part of the Public Works Department, is looking to shorten the process for permits and reduce the office’s paper use, the release stated. This new procedure will begin on Jan. 4, and allows multiple county agencies to see the paperwork at the same time.

The Building and Safety Division already requires applicants to submit an electronic plan along with two sets of paper plans. The new paperless system will eliminate the paper sets, the release said, which could save applicants both time and money.

Applicants will be asked to provide one hard copy of the project site plan on an 11-by-17-inch sheet. The electronic plans must be submitted on a CD or thumb drive.

The electronic portion of the plans will include the drawings of structures, calculations for energy, soil reports and other common engineering paperwork.

The move to electronic files will also reduce the need for storage space and the amount of paper that’s thrown away, the release said.

The shift to paperless documents is expected to save more than 100,000 large, blueprint-style sheets of paper every year, officials said.

Staff with the division will be available to provide assistance to applicants while this transition takes place.

For more, go to www.co.merced.ca.us.

This story was originally published December 28, 2015 at 4:56 PM with the headline "Merced County building process going paperless."