The zoning and permitting questions that send residents in circles.

Setbacks, height limits, permitted uses, permit fees. Your zoning code has every answer. GovToKnow puts them at residents' fingertips, 24/7, on your city's website.

The Problem

Zoning codes have the answers. Finding them is the problem.

Your code covers setbacks, heights, fees, and permitted uses. Almost no applicant can navigate it without staff help.

Code books are hundreds of pages

Zoning ordinances and building codes are comprehensive and completely inaccessible to the average resident. Finding the setback requirement for a specific zone or the fee for a particular permit type requires knowing exactly where to look.

Every question goes through staff

Builders, homeowners, and developers call your planning and permitting office for information that's already published in your code. Your staff becomes a lookup service for documents that are technically public.

Projects stall on confusion

When applicants can't quickly find out what's allowed, what's required, or what the process looks like, projects slow down before they even start. Clear access to published requirements keeps projects moving.

What residents ask

Zoning. Permits. Setbacks. They ask about all of it.

GovToKnow is trained on your municipality's published zoning code, fee schedules, and permit procedures.

“What's the setback requirement for my zone?”“How much does a building permit cost?”“What uses are permitted in a B-2 zone?”“How long does permit approval take?”“Do I need a permit for a deck?”“What's the maximum height for a fence?”“Can I run a business from my home?”“What documents do I need to apply?”“What's the impervious surface limit?”“How do I apply for a variance?”“What are the parking requirements?”“Where can I find the zoning map?”“What's the minimum lot size in my zone?”“Can I subdivide my property?”“What are the sign regulations for businesses?”“Do I need a permit to finish my basement?”“What's the setback requirement for my zone?”“How much does a building permit cost?”“What uses are permitted in a B-2 zone?”“How long does permit approval take?”“Do I need a permit for a deck?”“What's the maximum height for a fence?”“Can I run a business from my home?”“What documents do I need to apply?”“What's the impervious surface limit?”“How do I apply for a variance?”“What are the parking requirements?”“Where can I find the zoning map?”“What's the minimum lot size in my zone?”“Can I subdivide my property?”“What are the sign regulations for businesses?”“Do I need a permit to finish my basement?”“What's the setback requirement for my zone?”“How much does a building permit cost?”“What uses are permitted in a B-2 zone?”“How long does permit approval take?”“Do I need a permit for a deck?”“What's the maximum height for a fence?”“Can I run a business from my home?”“What documents do I need to apply?”“What's the impervious surface limit?”“How do I apply for a variance?”“What are the parking requirements?”“Where can I find the zoning map?”“What's the minimum lot size in my zone?”“Can I subdivide my property?”“What are the sign regulations for businesses?”“Do I need a permit to finish my basement?”

“Do I need a permit to finish my basement?”“What are the sign regulations for businesses?”“Can I subdivide my property?”“What's the minimum lot size in my zone?”“Where can I find the zoning map?”“What are the parking requirements?”“How do I apply for a variance?”“What's the impervious surface limit?”“What documents do I need to apply?”“Can I run a business from my home?”“What's the maximum height for a fence?”“Do I need a permit for a deck?”“How long does permit approval take?”“What uses are permitted in a B-2 zone?”“How much does a building permit cost?”“What's the setback requirement for my zone?”“Do I need a permit to finish my basement?”“What are the sign regulations for businesses?”“Can I subdivide my property?”“What's the minimum lot size in my zone?”“Where can I find the zoning map?”“What are the parking requirements?”“How do I apply for a variance?”“What's the impervious surface limit?”“What documents do I need to apply?”“Can I run a business from my home?”“What's the maximum height for a fence?”“Do I need a permit for a deck?”“How long does permit approval take?”“What uses are permitted in a B-2 zone?”“How much does a building permit cost?”“What's the setback requirement for my zone?”“Do I need a permit to finish my basement?”“What are the sign regulations for businesses?”“Can I subdivide my property?”“What's the minimum lot size in my zone?”“Where can I find the zoning map?”“What are the parking requirements?”“How do I apply for a variance?”“What's the impervious surface limit?”“What documents do I need to apply?”“Can I run a business from my home?”“What's the maximum height for a fence?”“Do I need a permit for a deck?”“How long does permit approval take?”“What uses are permitted in a B-2 zone?”“How much does a building permit cost?”“What's the setback requirement for my zone?”

How it works

From code book to instant answer.

GovToKnow lives on your existing website. No new portal for applicants to learn. No new system for your staff to manage.

We load your published zoning and permitting documents

Zoning ordinances, building codes, fee schedules, application requirements, and permit procedures: we import every public-facing document your planning and permitting department has released.

Residents and applicants ask in plain language

No code book to navigate. No index to search. A resident types a question on your city's website and gets an answer in seconds.

Every answer cites its source

Responses link directly to the code section or document they came from. Applicants can verify. Staff can trust. Nothing is interpreted beyond what's published.

GovToKnow · Permits & Planning

› What's the front yard setback in an R-1 zone?

In an R-1 Residential zone, the minimum front yard setback is 25 feet from the right-of-way line. Corner lots require a 15-foot setback on the side street. [Source: Zoning Ordinance §240-42, Dimensional Requirements]

› How much does a residential addition permit cost?

Residential addition permits are calculated at $12 per $1,000 of construction value, with a minimum fee of $75. A $200,000 addition would carry a permit fee of $2,400. [Source: Fee Schedule 2024, Building Permits]

› Can you approve my permit application?

I can't do that. Permit approvals require submission through the Planning & Zoning office. Here's how to start an application →

Only answers from your published code. No permits issued.

Important distinction

Not a permit issuer. A permit guide.

This is what your Planning Director and IT department will ask. Here's the short answer.

GovToKnow does

Answer questions about permit fees and application requirements

Explain setbacks, heights, and permitted uses from your zoning code

Describe the permit review and approval process

Reduce routine pre-application calls to planning staff

Work 24/7 without staff involvement

GovToKnow does not

Issue, approve, or deny permit applications

Make zoning interpretations or variance decisions

Provide legal advice on land use matters

Access your permit management or GIS systems

Require your IT department to manage anything

Document layer only

GovToKnow reads from your published zoning code and permitting documents only. No connection to your permitting software or internal planning systems.

US-based infrastructure

All data lives on AWS servers in the United States. Nothing leaves domestic borders.

Always current

Your documents are re-indexed on a schedule you configure, daily, weekly, or at whatever frequency your content changes. Residents always get answers from your latest published records.

Staff impact

Give your planning staff their time back.

Planning and permitting staff spend a significant portion of their week on the phone answering pre-application questions: "what zone is my property in?", "what are the setbacks?", "what does the permit process look like?" These answers are in your published code.

When GovToKnow answers those questions from your published documents, it handles the routine lookups, freeing your planners and permit technicians to focus on actual applications, reviews, and decisions that require professional judgment.

~6 hrs/week

Avg. planning staff time on routine code lookups

24/7

GovToKnow availability vs. office hours only

0 staff

Required to run GovToKnow after go-live