City launches development site
- By Brian Robinson
- Sep 27, 2001
Sacramento, Calif., has launched a Web site that gives leaders of current
and potential businesses a place to view and download maps, documents and
other information relevant to investments they intend to make within the
city.
Existing businesses, for example, can find out about land-use planning
or building restrictions for certain locations and download the necessary
permit applications. Businesses planning to set up shop in the city can
compare the attractiveness of various sites.
"We've handled all of this manually up to now, and that takes a tremendous
amount of time," said Mike Luken, an economic development specialist for
the Sacramento city government. "SacSites automates all of that for us,
plus it allows us to provide information 24/7."
The Web site (www.sacsites.com) borrows liberally
from ones that other cities have established, Luken admitted, but it will
go further with the kinds of services that will be offered in the future,
particularly through links or partnerships with other organizations in the
Sacramento area.
For example, city officials hope to have all of the area's commercial
real estate brokers linked into SacSites, so they can list their properties.
Sacramento officials also are working to put all of the city's permitting
services online, Luken said.
SacSites' first step will be to enable visitors to download and print
the current paper-based versions of permit applications. The next step will
be to enable people to apply for and receive permits online.
Robinson is a freelance journalist based in Portland, Ore. He can be reached
at [email protected]
About the Author
Brian Robinson is a freelance writer based in Portland, Ore.