Plan Review & Project Management Software

The Town of Vienna is seeking proposals from qualified firms to provide a secure, cloud-based software platform that manages applications for planning, zoning, and site development permits. The platform shall facilitate electronic submission, review, tracking, and case management, including reviewer comments, approvals/denials, and related workflow functions.

The system must support the Town’s multi-department review and regulatory processes, including concurrent review, deadline management, internal coordination, and applicant transparency.

The system must also support coordination with advisory boards and decision-making bodies such as the Town Council, Planning Commission, Board of Zoning Appeals, Board of Architectural Review, and Windover Heights Board of Review. This functionality is intended for workflow tracking and documentation and does not include agenda or meeting management systems. The system shall allow for routing of applications to these bodies, tracking of review status and outcomes, scheduling notifications, and generation of associated decision and approval documents.

Applications must be received, processed, distributed, reviewed, and tracked from initial submission through project completion, including bond management, construction inspections, and final close-out.

The system should also provide reporting capabilities to support performance monitoring and facilitate process improvements.

Proposals must include acquisition of the software; configuration and implementation to full operational status; data mapping and migration (if applicable); training; and ongoing support. The Vendor must provide a structured implementation plan with defined milestones and staffing continuity. The Town requires clear demonstration that the proposed system can meet operational needs within the proposer’s existing platform architecture.

The system must allow both internal staff and external applicants to access appropriate project status information and documentation, and shall include an option for non-applicant members of the public to view project status information, with appropriate limitations on accessible content. Ease of use, administrative control, and reliability are critical. The Town places high importance on both staff functionality and public-facing usability.

Vienna currently operates an existing system. Offerors shall describe in detail how transition to the proposed system would occur, including timeline, data migration approach, staff training, and risk mitigation.

Additional functional capabilities and technical requirements are described in Section 5 under Software Features.

The Town of Vienna is an incorporated municipality located in the northeastern portion of Fairfax County, Virginia. The Town encompasses approximately 4.4 square miles and has an estimated population of 16,562 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2024). Vienna operates as an independent municipal government within Fairfax County, which encompasses approximately 391 square miles and a population exceeding 1.1 million.

The Town processes approximately 2,000 zoning, site development, and related plan reviews annually for residential, commercial, and institutional projects. Vienna maintains authority over zoning compliance, site development review, advisory board and decision-making processes, bond management, inspections related to site conditions, and enforcement of Town Code provisions.

Fairfax County retains responsibility for the issuance of building permits and building inspections, and there is no direct system integration between Town and County software platforms. Permit applications are reviewed concurrently by staff across multiple Town departments for compliance with Town Code and development standards, while Fairfax County conducts separate reviews for building code (structural, plumbing, electrical), fire, and health regulations, as applicable. The final building permit is issued by Fairfax County after the applicant provides documentation reflecting the outcome of the Town’s review.

As a result, the Town’s review process requires coordination across multiple internal departments as well as interaction with an external county agency. The selected software must support this distributed review structure, enable concurrent internal review, and clearly distinguish Town-level approvals from County-issued permits.

The system must fully support internal Town workflows and is not required to integrate with Fairfax County systems. However, the Town welcomes solutions that offer optional integration or data exchange capabilities with external systems, provided such functionality is clearly described and does not introduce additional complexity or risk to implementation. systems.