Petaluma streamlines business process

Looking to start a business in Petaluma? Now there is a tool that could shave weeks off the process of navigating City Hall red tape.|

Looking to start a business in Petaluma? Now there is a tool that could shave weeks off the process of navigating City Hall red tape.

The tool, a new city website called Open Counter, is designed to help guide business owners through the complex process of permitting, zoning and other city requirements needed for nearly all new businesses. The program asks users a series of questions about their businesses and, based on the answers, can check for proper zoning and required permits and issue a report on licenses and estimated fees the project will involve.

Ingrid Alverde, the city’s economic development manager, said that the process could take weeks the old fashioned way, talking to multiple departments at the city. With a few clicks, the same process can be completed in less than an hour, she said.

“It puts a lot of power into people’s hands,” she said. “Knowing what you don’t know is half the battle.”

The Open Counter tool is designed to get information that normally would require conversations with as many as six city departments. Most of those departments are open only Monday through Thursday, but this tool will be available anytime.

“We want to streamline the process and provide a greater degree of specificity for users,” John Brown, the city manager, said in a statement.

The program is intended to best-help those considering a business idea or still scoping out a project. Entrepreneurs will have the ability to make business decisions earlier in the process, potentially saving time and money.

“Small businesses are the engines of our local economy,” Alverde said. “Open Counter helps power that engine by giving entrepreneurs and small business owners a more efficient way to understand city requirements and better manage business projects.”

City staff will also have access to administrative tools to analyze proposed projects. Perspective businesses will receive a higher level of service that can reduce their investigatory process from weeks down to a few minutes.

An additional website, petaluma.zoningcheck.com, has been set up to help show where a proposed business is allowed, based on current zoning rules.

Open Counter and ZoningCheck are developed by Open Counter Enterprises of San Francisco. At least 19 local governments are using these products, including Fremont, Los Gatos, Palo Alto and Santa Cruz.

Santa Cruz was the pilot agency for Open Counter through a fellowship from Code for America supported by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

(Contact Matt Brown at matt.brown@arguscourier.com.)

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