Service Change
Whatcom County Government is committed to caring for the health and well-being of our employees, customers and our communities and to reducing the threat of the Coronavirus or COVID-19. In response to the public health concerns regarding the spread of COVID-19, the Whatcom County Planning & Development Services (PDS) and Public Works Engineering Services departments will be temporarily closed to public “in person” services effective Wednesday, January 12, 2022. (Our lobby/Permit Centers will be closed to the public.) However, we are still very much “open for business”. We will continue to provide services for permit processing and staff will be available to assist customers and the public via telephone, email and video conferencing options.
New software installation will cause short-term delays, long term permit process improvements
Whatcom County Planning (PDS) and Public Works Engineering Development (PWD) will soon transition from their current land use and permitting software to software from Tyler EnerGov. From a public perspective, nothing about the permit application will look different during Phase 1. The first phase of this transition will start on Wednesday, January 19, and Tuesday, January 25. During the first few days of this transition our departments will not be able to fully process incoming applications and associated payments. Once the new system comes online, new applications and payments will be processed in the order received. We appreciate your patience as we transition to this new and improved software system.
The new software system is a huge advance in technology for the departments. Once fully implemented, it will provide greater access and transparency to the public.
- This is Phase 1 of a three phase process with PDS and PWD implementing the new software internally for employees processing permits.
- Phase 2 will be a Customer Self Service Portal (CSS).
- Phase 3 will integrate with the Whatcom County Health Department’s Environmental Health Division.
Engineering Services Divisions
