For municipalities across the country, the historical ordinances that shaped their communities are more than just documents—they are essential to governance, planning, and legal frameworks. However, as decades pass, these records can become cumbersome to manage, especially when they remain in physical formats or outdated digital files. The process of digitizing historical ordinances with enCodePlus transforms this challenge into an opportunity, offering municipalities a powerful tool to both preserve and modernize their legal history.
Why Digitizing Historical Ordinances Is Essential
Municipalities are increasingly realizing the value of digitizing their historical ordinances. Beyond merely converting paper documents to digital format, this process offers a new way to access, search, and interact with decades of ordinances that are often the foundation of current laws and city planning efforts. A digital archive becomes a living resource, providing utility to city officials, legal professionals, and citizens alike.
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The Functional Benefits of Digitizing Historical Ordinances
Instant Searchability One of the most significant benefits of digitizing ordinances is the ability to search through decades of documents in seconds. City officials no longer need to dig through filing cabinets or scroll through cumbersome PDFs to find critical information. With enCodePlus, users can search for specific terms, ordinance numbers, dates, or topics instantly, improving both efficiency and accuracy.
Interactive Access for Citizens and Officials By making historical ordinances accessible online, municipalities can offer citizens a user-friendly interface where they can search, view, and interact with local laws. This transparency strengthens the relationship between the government and its constituents, fostering greater trust and accountability.
Preservation and Protection of Historical Data Physical documents deteriorate over time. Municipalities that digitize their historical ordinances not only protect their valuable records from damage or loss but also ensure these documents remain accessible far into the future. As cities and counties continue to evolve, having a reliable, well-organized digital archive becomes a critical asset for ongoing governance.
Efficient Updates and Maintenance The ability to easily update and maintain digital archives is another significant advantage of digitization. When new ordinances are passed, or existing laws are amended, these updates can be seamlessly integrated into the digital archive without the need for extensive physical reorganizations. This keeps the legal record current and accessible at all times.
Case Study Highlight: Beaverton, OR
Beaverton, OR, offers an excellent example of how digitizing historical ordinances can transform municipal governance. With over 5,130 pages of ordinances spanning 43 years, Beaverton took on the challenge of modernizing its historical records with enCodePlus. The result? A fully searchable and interactive archive that has improved internal efficiency and public transparency. City officials can now quickly find past ordinances and amendments, while citizens enjoy easy access to the information that shapes their community.
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What’s Next for Beaverton?
Beaverton’s success with digitizing historical ordinances has not only improved day-to-day operations but has also laid the foundation for ongoing digital governance. The city continues to expand its digital initiatives, ensuring that its residents have access to the most current and relevant legal information.
The Wrap-Up
For municipalities looking to modernize while preserving their history, digitizing historical ordinances with enCodePlus is a game-changer. By turning decades of paper records into a dynamic, searchable, and interactive digital archive, cities like Beaverton are setting the standard for what modern governance can achieve. Explore how enCodePlus can help your municipality bridge the gap between the past and the future with seamless digitization solutions.
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About enCodePlus – Intelligent Planning, Zoning and Codification Software
enCodePlus is a unique, web-based technology platform delivering a full suite of planning, zoning and municipal code tools and features, together with full or hybrid code management services. Created by the planning experts at Kendig Keast Collaborative, the platform serves planners and zoning administrators, clerks, attorneys, managers, economic developers, and consultant partners. The cutting-edge software streamlines the rejuvenation of the format and usefulness of plans, studies, codes and ordinances, design guidelines, standards and specifications and the processes to create and publish them.