There has been a lot of buzz at the City of Chicago regarding E-Plan review. Most of the communication on this new process has been to the architect community – we realize many contractors & Building Owners/Mangers may be feeling a little “in the dark”. 

Please find below a quick summary of the modifications that the Department of Buildings is implementing this summer relating to the E=Plan Review Process:

1)     Applicants will initiate permit submission in the same manner that is currently being used through the City’s web-portal.  After entering the required information, an email invitation will be sent to the applicant to upload all of drawings to the E-Plan System.

2)     In addition to uploading the Permit Drawings, the permit application will need to be uploaded as well as any supporting documents. (i.e. calculations, narratives, contractor letters).  A 50% deposit of the permit fees will have to be paid as well.

3)     After Uploading Permit Drawings, and Supporting Documents – The City Project Manager will “pre-screen” the application and drawings to determine the required approvals that will be necessary to issue permit.  If Information isn’t complete or accurate, notification will be sent to applicants to resubmit information.  (This “pre-screen”  is being quoted at taking up to 2 weeks to complete per submission)

4)     Once the application has been assigned to the required reviewers – the City is quoting at least 3 weeks for the initial review. 

a)     As reviews are happening the corrections will be posted on the existing web-portal; however, the formal correction write-ups will be on the “Form” within the E-Plan Application which will not be available to the applicant until ALL the reviews have been made. 

b)     After notification of correction comes from the City – the applicant will have to make corrections and upload revised plans showing the changes being requested — OR – Upload Certified Correction documentation.  This process will repeat until all requirements have been met.

5)     After all reviewers have approved – a notification will be sent to pick up the permit.  The applicant will have to:

a)     Provide an Original Copy of the Cover Sheet of the plans, with Original Wet Stamp and Signature of all the Licensed Professionals.  Also – If the drawing index is not contained on the Cover sheet – this will have to be provided with original seals, and signatures.

b)     Pay for balance of permit fees.

Currently, and as far as we know through July 2 – applicants will have the option of participating in the E-Plan Review Process. After July 2 – this will be mandatory. There are many specifications that are required for the format of the drawings that are detailed on the City of Chicago website. 

Many of these specifications and policies are not fully known or developed at this time; consequently, the proposed changes in what may be required — are stirring up many people!

We want to let you know that we are on top of these issues, and will make sure that we have solutions to accommodate your team, so that the required information can be provided to the City as efficiently as possible.

A few of the current concerns / and topics of discussion:

• The Application that the City is adopting for their E-Plan review is a product call ProjectDox™. This application has been adopted by many municipalities throughout the country, and at Burnham we have adopted the application to help facilitate our service offerings as well.  The installation of ProjectDox™ that Chicago has installed must be accessed through Internet Explorer ONLY.  Those users using alternative browsers (Firefox, Safari, and Chrome) will not be able to access the City’s ProjectDox application. 
• The City is currently requiring all drawings to be uploaded in Autodesk’s Design Web Format (.dwf).  This is challenging many users, and most specifically those who are operating on Apple OS. 
• The file naming process is very specific, and must be maintained for all resubmitted drawing version.  If this is not maintained, the E-Plan review system will not be able to process the files correctly and provide the ability to compare drawings. 

If you have any concerns, or if you or anyone that you know has any questions please give us a call (312) 407.7990, or simply email getitdone@burnhamnationwide.com.