1

ApplicantUserGuideVersion1–June1,2012

ApplyingForPermits&

UploadingFiles

e‐PlansReviewisaweb‐basedsolutionthatwillallowbuildingplanstobesubmittedelectronically,improvetheplanreviewcycle,reducecostsassociatedwithobtainingresidentialandcommercial

buildingpermits,aswellassupportgreeninitiatives.InadditiontothisUserGuide,pleaserefertotheinstructionsprovidedintheelectronicforms(eForms)

andhelpmenusinthee‐PlansReviewSystemforfurtherassistance.

2

ContentsBeforeYouBegin: .........................................................................................................................................3

E‐PlansSummaryExhibit: .........................................................................................................................3

DrawingFileStandards:............................................................................................................................3

AcceptedDrawingFileFormats............................................................................................................3

DrawingFileOrientation: .....................................................................................................................4

DrawingFileNamingConvention: ........................................................................................................4

SheetIndex:..........................................................................................................................................5

AreaonDrawingsforCity’sElectronic“PermitApprovedStamp” ......................................................5

Usingthee‐PlanReviewSystem: .................................................................................................................5

OnlineBuildingPermitApplication ......................................................................................................5

E‐PlansReviewSystemInstructions .....................................................................................................6

Log‐intoE‐PlansReviewSystemtheFirstTime(IMPORTANT!) ..........................................................6

UploadingFiles: ....................................................................................................................................7

SupportingDocs(FromApplicant)folder:............................................................................................9

Exhibits .......................................................................................................................................................11

e‐PlansReviewEligibilityList..............................................................................................................12

FileNamingConventions‐Exhibits ....................................................................................................13

SpaceRequiredforCity’sElectronicStamp–Exhibit.........................................................................16

3

BeforeYouBegin:Pleasecompletethefollowingpriortogettingstarted:

1. BeforeApplyingOnline:

a. Reviewthe“E‐PlansSummary”exhibittounderstandtherequirementsforsignaturesandsealsandtheoverallprocess.

2. Beforeuploadingdocuments:

a. Carefullyreviewthe“DrawingFileStandards”sectionbelowregarding:i. fileformatsii. fileorientation

iii. filenamingconventioniv. theimportanceofthesheetindexv. providingtherequiredspacetheCity’sElectronicApprovalStamp.

E­PlansSummaryExhibit: ASummaryofe‐PlansReviewProcessExhibitisavailablefordownloadonbaltimorehousing.org.

Thisexhibitprovidesageneraloverviewofthee‐PlanReviewworkflowprocessandadetailed

summaryofeachstep.ItalsoincludesimportantdetailsregardingtheStateofMarylandrequirementsfordesignersealsandsignaturesandhowtheserequirementswillbemetinthee‐PlanReviewSystem.

DrawingFileStandards:Standardsallowforefficientcommunicationwithinthee‐PlanReviewSystem.Applicantsmust

followthefilenamingconventions,filestorageprotocol(usingtheproperfoldersinthesystem),providingfilesintheappropriateformatandorientation,andallowingspacefortheCity’sApprovalStampstoallowthesystemtofunctionasdesigned.

AcceptedDrawingFileFormatsOnlytwo‐dimensional(2D)PDFdrawingfileswillbeacceptedforE‐PlansReview.

IMPORTANT:EachdrawingfileshouldbesubmittedasasinglePDFfile.Multi‐page

PDFdrawingfileswillnotpassthePre‐ScreenReviewstep.

CADsoftware(likeAutoCadandMicroStation)iscommonlyusedtocreatedrawingfiles.FilescreatedfromCADsystemsshouldbesavedinaVectorPDFformat.ThiscanbedoneinAutoCADusingtheAutodeskVectorGraphicConverter“DWGtoPDF.pc3”

plotterdriver.See“PlotterConfigurationEditor”screenshotbelowforclarification.

4

Priortouploading,confirmthatthePDFfileappearswiththe

appropriatelineweightsandcolorsthatwouldbeexpectedifthesamedocumentwerebeing

submittedasapapercopy(i.e.proposedlinesareheavyanddarkandexistinglinesare

shaded.)ChangingthebackgroundtograyscalepriortosavingasavectorPDFfilemaybe

necessarytoensurelegibilitybutcolorfileswillbeaccepted.

Ifdrawingshavetobescannedfrompapercopiesforsubmittal,opticalcharacterrecognition

(OCR)mustbeenabledineachelectronicfile.Thisisnecessarysothefilecontentwillbe

searchable.

DrawingFileOrientation:EachPDFdrawingfilemustbesavedsothatitopensintheappropriateorientation(landscapeorportrait).

FilesthatarenotrotatedtotheappropriateorientationwillnotpassthePre‐ScreenReviewstep.

DrawingFileNamingConvention:Itiscriticalthatallpartiesareabletoquicklynavigateandfindtheappropriateinformationwhentheelectronicdrawingfilesaresubmitted.

ApplicantsmustfollowthefilenamingconventionaspostedonBaltimoreHousing.organdattachedasExhibit1tothisdocument.

IMPORTANT:CorrectedorreviseddrawingfilesmusthavetheEXACTSAMEFILE

NAMEastheoriginalsubmittalwhentheyarere‐submitted.

5

SheetIndex:AsnotedintheFileNamingConventionExhibit,anindexlistingalldrawingsmustbeincludedalongwithallotherinformationrequiredbytheCityontheCoverSheet.

Thesheetindexmustincludeallplans(BuildingandSitePlans)withuniquetitledesignationsforeachsheet.Example:“A002‐SecondLevelFloorPlan.”

AreaonDrawingsforCity’sElectronic“PermitApprovedStamp”AsoutlinedintheSummaryofe‐PlansReviewProcessExhibit,anelectronicstampwillbeappliedtothePermitReviewSetwhen(1)allfeesarepaidand(2)thesignedversion

ofthe“SIGNATUREREADYSET”hasbeenreceived.Applicantsmustprovidea4”x4”blankareainthelowerrightcornerofeverydrawingwherethe“PERMITAPPROVEDSTAMP”canbeapplied.

Anexhibitshowingtheexactlocationwherethestampwillbeappliedisavailablefor

downloadonBaltimoreHousing.org:ApprovalStampspacerequirement

Usingthee­PlanReviewSystem:

OnlineBuildingPermitApplicationAsoutlinedintheSummaryofe‐PlansReviewProcessExhibit,ApplicantshavetheoptionofcompletingtheirapplicationsonlinewithoutvisitingtheOneStopPermitCenter.ThePlans

ExaminingStaffisalsoavailabletosupportapplicantswhowishtocompletetheonlineapplicationatoneofthetwokioskslocatedat417E.FayetteStreet(Room100).

TheonlineapplicationisONLYavailableforpermittypesthatrequireplansasoutlinedinthe“e‐PlansEligibility”exhibit.

Theonlineapplicationcanbeaccessedfromthelinksonbaltimorehousing.orgorthelinksbelow:

SignUpforNewAccount (tosignupforanewaccount)

Login (ifyouhaveappliedforapermitpreviouslyandwanttousethesameaccounttomanagemultipleprojects)

Helpfulinstructionalvideosforeachstepoftheonlineapplicationprocessareavailableby

clickingonthe button.

Also,hoveringoveranyfieldintheonlineapplicationwilltriggerapop‐upmessageprovidinginstructionsaboutthecontentexpectedinthatfield.

6

E­PlansReviewSystemInstructionsThefollowinginstructionsarealsoavailable(withoutscreenshots)intheinvitationemailyoureceivefromeplans@baltimorecity.govthefirsttimeyouapplyforaBuildingPermitonline.

BeforeloggingintotheE­PlansReviewSystemforthefirsttime

Youarestronglyencouragedto:

1. Reviewthe“Summaryofe‐PlansReviewProcessExhibit”postedonBaltimoreHousing.orgtounderstandthee‐PlanReviewprocesstherequirementsforsignaturesandseals.

2. Carefullyreviewthe“DrawingFileStandards”sectionofthee‐PlanReview

ApplicantGuide(thisdocument)postedonBaltimoreHousing.orgwhichexplainsspecificrequirementsfor:(1)fileformatsandorientation(2)filenamingconventionand(3)aspecificarearequiredineachdrawingfilefortheCity’sElectronicApprovalStamp.

Log­intoE­PlansReviewSystemtheFirstTime(IMPORTANT!)1. Thee‐PlanReviewSystemrequiresthatyouuseInternetExplorer6.0orlater.

Otherbrowsers(Chrome,Safari,Mozilla,etc.)willnotwork.

2. Pop‐upBlockerinInternetExplorermustbedisabled.ThissettingcanbechangedintheInternetExplorer“Options”menu.IfyouhaveaGoogleToolbarinInternetExplorer,youwillalsoneedtodisablethepop‐upblockerinthattoolbar.Alternatively,youmayaddhttp://eplans.baltimorecity.govtothe“AllowedSite”inthePop‐upBlockersettings.

3. BeforeLoggingintotheE‐PlansReviewSystemforthefirsttimefromanycomputer,youmustinstallthe“ProjectDoxComponents”onthatcomputer.These“ActiveXControl”componentsarerequired:youwillnotbeabletouploadfilesorviewfilesifyouhavenotloadedthemonyourcomputerpriortologgingintothesite.Thelinktoload“ProjectDoxComponents”canbefoundatthebottomofthee‐PlanReviewLoginpagethatopenswhenyouclickonthe“LogintoProject”linkfromtheinvitationemail.

7

UploadingFiles:1. Logintothee‐PlanReviewSystemusingthe“LogintoProject”linkinthetable

providedintheinvitationemailfromthee‐PlansReviewSystem.

2. Youwillbepromptedcompeterequiredprofileinformationthefirsttimeyoulogin.

3. Whentheprofileinformationiscomplete,clickonthe“Save”buttonandyouwillbetakentothe"Projects"pagewhichwilllistallofyourcurrentprojects(seeexamplebelow).

4. ClickonthelinkwithyourPermitNumbertoopentheProjectwhereyouwill

uploadfiles.

5. Clickonthe“+”signnexttothe“PermitReviewSet”folder.Thiswillexpandthefolderandgiveyouaccesstotwofolders:“BuildingPlans”and“SitePlans.”Clickonthelinkfortheappropriatefoldertouploadyourplans.Forexample;UploadallCivil/SiteDrawingsinthe“SitePlan”folderandallBuildingDrawingsinthe“BuildingPlans”folder.

ExpandFolderstoSeeSitePlansandBuildingPlansFoldersandthenclickontheappropriatefolderforthedocumentsyouwishtoupload.

8

6. Clickthe"UploadFiles"buttonandfollowtheinstructionstouploadyourdrawingfiles.(NOTE:PleasemakesureyouhavereviewedandcomplywiththeDrawingStandardsportionofthee‐PlanReviewApplicantGuidebeforeuploadingfiles.)

UploadFilesButton

ChoosehowyouwanttosearchforthefilestobeuploadedBrowsetoselecttheappropritefiles.AfterselectingclickonUploadNow

9

Ifallfilesareintheappropriatefolders,choose“UploadCompleter/NotifyPlansExamining”

Ifyouneedtoaddfilestootherfolders,click“Close”andselecttheappropriatefolderfortheotherfoldersandfollowsteps5&6untilalldrawingfileshavebeenuploaded.

SupportingDocs(FromApplicant)folder:Uploadingfilestothe“SupportingDocs(fromApplicant)”folderwillfollowthesameprocessasoutlinedabove.Thisfolderisintendedtocontainreports,photos,sketches,calculationsorotherfilesthatmaysupportthereviewprocessbutarenotpartofthe“PermitReviewSet”ofdrawingfiles.Pleasenotethefollowing:

1. Mostcommonfileformats(MicrosoftOffice,andpdf)canbeuploaded

tothisfolderbutpdfformatispreferableinmostcases.Textinallfilesmustbesearchable.

2. Whilepdffilesarepreferred,editablefileformatsmaybesavedinthe

“SupportingDocs(fromApplicant)”folder.OnepossibleexamplewherethismaybedesiredisifacommentresponsespreadsheethasbeencreatedbytheApplicantandareviewermightneedtorespondtoitemsinthesamespreadsheet.

3. Anylargedocumentswithmultiplesections(forexample,“Green

BuildingBinders(BCGBS)”),shouldbeconvertedtopfdformatandthefilecontentshouldbeindexedusingAcrobattohelpreviewersnavigatethroughvarioussectionsofthedocument.

4. Filesmaybeuploadedtothe“SupportingDocs(fromApplicant)”

throughoutthereviewprocess.ThisisasharedfolderwheretheApplicantcanprovidereviewerswithinformation(likeproposed

10

changestoplans)whiletheydonothaveuploadrightstomakethosechangesofficiallyinthe“PermitReviewSet.”(see“Summaryofe‐PlansReviewProcessExhibit”formoredetail.)

5. Filesuploadedtothe“SupportingDocs(fromApplicant)”folderwillnot

bepartofthePermitReviewSetandwillnotreceivethe“PermitApprovedStamp”whentheapplicationhasbeenapproved.

SupportingDocs(fromApplicant)

11

Exhibits

12

e­PlansReviewEligibilityList

13

FileNamingConventions­Exhibits.

14

15

16

SpaceRequiredforCity’sElectronicStamp–Exhibit.