Reno, Sparks and Washoe County launch program to streamline business license and building permits

The City of Reno, the City of Sparks, Washoe County and the Washoe County Health District joined together to launch the new online program that streamlines the business license and building permitting process.

The new program is called ONE and acts as a one-stop shop where anyone can apply for licenses and permits online. The program also allows users to track the status of their applications online, submit electronic documents and pay fees online.

“During this time of growth and progress, I truly appreciate the cooperative effort of Reno, Washoe County, and the Health District to make it easier to do business in our area,” Sparks Mayor Geno Martini said in a press release. “Our customers can virtually take care of all their business permits and licenses for the City of Sparks in the comfort of their own home or office, saving time and money. This is a significant milestone for commerce in the Truckee Meadows.”

The one platform makes it easier and more convenient to navigate through the licensing and permitting process, Michael Chaump, business relations manager for the City of Reno, explained in a phone interview with NNBW.

“If you needed a business license in all jurisdictions you had to go to all three jurisdictions and apply,” Chaump said.

While customers can still submit licenses and permit applications in person, the new program gives customers more flexibility when conducting business in Washoe County.

“As the economy has been improving, we are seeing an upswing in business in general in the region,” Chaump said. “It is nice to have that flexibility if (business owners) don’t have time to come down.”

The program also allows users to renew their existing business licenses and permits online. The system has the ability to notify people that their business license permits are ready via email.

“It really does help the communication and the transparency of where their permits are in the process,” Kim Jolly, management assistant for the City of Reno’s Community Development department said about the program.

Chaump and Jolly explained that ONE is regularly attracting more users. It was launched on Oct. 31 of last year; however, discussions for this type of program began back in 2012. Programs like ONE are becoming increasingly common in other cities and countries and the implementation of ONE allows Washoe County to stay competitive with other regions.

The jurisdictions are continuing to fine-tune the program and to make improvements.

“In our ever-changing world of new technology, ONE is a system that makes sense to implement now in an effort to make it easier for our valued citizens to conduct business within our county,” Bob Lucey, chair of the Washoe County Board of Commissioners, said in a press release.

To access the ONE portal, go to ONENV.us. For questions with the new system, visit ONENV.info or contact Washoe County at 775-328-2000, the City of Reno at 775-334-4636, or the City of Sparks at 775-353-5555.