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On Wednesday, the city opened a new facility for individuals and businesses needing permits. This new facility, dubbed a one-stop permitting shop, is located at 1400 North Boulevard, and it is basically a merger of all departments responsible for site plan review and permitting.

The new facility is called the Development Services Center. Besides staff members from the Planning and Development Center, it also includes staff from the Parks and Recreation, Solid Waste, Storm Water, and Technology and Innovation departments.

All of these departments under one roof, plus the new Accela software that can be used to check the status of a permit from a computer or smart phone, should make getting a permit easier and less stressful. 

Thomas Snelling was appointed as the director of Planning and Development back in February. He was also given the responsibility of heading the new Development Services Center by Mayor Bob Buckhorn.

Mayor Buckhorn is excited about this new development, and he says it will be an excellent move for improving Tampa's economy. He hopes that this move will make people realize that Tampa is "open for business."