Local governments are turning to emerging technology to make their policies more accessible and compelling to the public. By creating attractive and easy-to-navigate websites, cities and counties across the country are making traditionally tedious documents, plans and regulations interactive and easy to understand.
A small town in the Texas panhandle, Borger has leveraged easy-to-use technology to organize and present all their city plans in one interactive website.
From one screen, users can access the Boomtown 2040 Comprehensive Plan, Borger’s Downtown Revitalization Plan, and the Parks Master Plan by chapter. Quick links take them directly to a summary of land use categories, a ranking of downtown revitalization plan action items by plan topic, and parks master plan implementation priorities.
Associated documents like codes, manuals and regulations are never more than a click away, eliminating the need to seek information from disparate sources and making this groundbreaking resource invaluable to both the city of Borger and its citizens.
Explore the Borger site navigator here.
In the fall of 2020, the City of San Ramon updated its General Plan, leveraging advanced technology to create a user-friendly, fully branded website to help the public easily navigate its policies and projects. Users can explore the municipal code, maps, quick tables, development calculators and land-use lookup resources, without ever leaving the website.
Links to important documents and related resources make this a one-stop shop for citizens interested in city policy.
Check San Ramon’s General Plan site navigator here.
Madera County, CA, recently published its newest General Plan with an easy-to-use website that organizes the complicated document into an attractive resource searchable by chapter and appendices. It orients users with supplemented quick links to plan figures and tables, a summary of development standards, and a land-use map.
View the Madera County General Plan site navigator here.
What are these organizations doing that allows them to achieve this next-level policy presentation? They have a few things in common: 1 – they know the value of embracing emerging technology to communicate as clearly as possible in the modern world; and 2 – they have implemented enCodePlus publishing software to make it happen quickly, efficiently and entirely in house.
enCodePlus is a one-of-a-kind software platform offering a unique suite of fully integrated plan publishing, project website, zoning modernization, application tracking, code and ordinance management, and GeoIntelligence features designed to streamline planning and zoning management.
Each of the local governments mentioned above utilized one of enCodePlus’ most popular Plan Publishing features called Site Navigator. This landing page organizes and summarizes complicated and lengthy documents, making it easier for users to navigate and find information.
The Site Navigator can be completely custom designed and formatted. Like other enCodePlus products, it can be created to match a community’s established brand. It includes links for easy navigation within one plan document or across multiple related documents.
In-house publishing is a breeze. No coding skills are needed. Plus, with password-protected access, administration is easy and secure.
“I wanted to let you know how impressed I am with the work you’ve completed. Thank you for everything!”
~ Becky Beavers, Deputy Director of Community & Economic Development-Planning, Madera County, CA
Learn more about Site Navigator and Plan Publishing here.
