Community Development

David M. Loveland, AICP, Director

Corkscrew Road Improvement Study

Performance Dashboard

Lee County Permitting Software Upgrade Update

Dear Customers-

As many of you are aware, on June 11 Lee County transitioned from its old permitting software, Tidemark, to a new software called Accela. This software is used for permitting intake and review by several county departments -- Community Development, Transportation (DOT), Natural Resources and Utilities.

Unfortunately, the transition has presented some unanticipated challenges, including glitches experienced in the county’s standard work flows, transitioning old data from Tidemark to Accela, and interactions with linked programs such as ePlan. I apologize for the inconveniences this has caused; please know that we share your frustration.

We have been working diligently with our contractor and with the county’s IT staff to address system issues and to correct problems experienced in the program during its initial weeks. We are holding daily progress meetings and will continue to do so until everything is running acceptably. We appreciate the patience many of you have shown as we work through the issues and as we all become familiar with the new program and how to navigate it. The sheer volume of permitting activity in conjunction with the new software rollout has made for a very busy Public Works Building lobby as well as long phone waits. We have committed additional staffing resources and a new phone line to address that as well.

We are certain that Accela will ultimately bring the desired upgrade once everything is working correctly. The new web-based software will consolidate county services to a single portal: eConnect. This portal will combine the county’s online plan review service, ePlan, with the online permitting option, eConnect. The public will have the ability to create applications and upload documents and/or plans in single portal in a single session. As we had previously noted, Accela requires all contractors to register and create a new login to use the system to its full potential.

If you need assistance with the new system, you can e-mail us at econnect@leegov.com or call at 239-533-8300. If you have a problem with a particular permit in the system, you can contact Permitting Chief Jennifer Harden at 239-533-8337 or Senior Customer Service Specialist Sharon Calderwood at 239-533-8338.

Thank you again for your patience. We continue to work to make things right.

Sincerely,
David Loveland
Director, Lee County Department of Community Development

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Important Recent or Upcoming Permit Process Changes

Lee County Community Development oversees planning, zoning, development and building services, environmental review, building inspections, and code enforcement for the unincorporated areas of Lee County. Please contact the incorporated areas of Bonita Springs, Cape Coral, Estero, Fort Myers, Fort Myers Beach and Sanibel for similar services within those jurisdictions.