New software at city hall will “simplify” development design process

The City of Cupertino is using software by Gridics to make the development design process simpler.

The city of Cupertino announced this week that they’re now partnering with a software company “to bring simplicity, transparency, and efficiency” to the development design process.

The city is working with Gridics now. Residents who come to city hall can work with staff members to use Gridics software tools to create a 3-D model of buildings using permitted property size, heights, and setbacks. The software also has all the zoning codes for every property in the city.

“While this tool isn’t capable of designing a home for our residents, it does allow our residents to walk away with a better visualization of what they can do with their property based on our city’s zoning code,” Mayor Steven Scharf said in a statement on the city website. “The city continues to try and simplify its processes, and this is a great step forward.”

According to the city website, the Gridics tool allows planning staff to “instantaneously change the property’s building mass based on heights, setbacks, and inquiries from the property owner.”

The software can minimize the time it takes to do multiple steps during planning review. Summary reports are then provided.

 “Taking the design process from pencil and paper to a 3-D world significantly improves communication and understanding between residents and staff,” said Erick Serrano, a city associate planner.

“We’re excited to have partnered with Cupertino and assist them with building a more integrated Cupertino for the future,” said Jason Doyle CEO of Gridics. “Our team of software engineers, urban planners, and architects have been working side-by-side with the City of Cupertino to help them bridge the gap between text, map, and City staff in a single software platform; the first of its kind in the world.”

For more information and to read the City’s full statement, click here.