Harris County commissioners earmarked over $750,000 for an artificial intelligence program to speed up the permitting process for new construction projects.
Commissioners voted unanimously last week to factor those funds into the 2027 fiscal year budget — which could reach $3 billion in total for the first time in the county’s history.
In September of last year, the commissioners court directed the county engineering office to develop a plan to use AI to streamline the process of evaluating construction permits. Last week, the court approved funds for a contract with Archistar, an Australia-based software company.
Milton Rahman, the executive director of the Harris County engineering office, last week cited successes with other major cities using AI in their permitting process, like Austin and Los Angeles.
“We’ll be working to understand their experience, how they embedded all of the local regulations,” Rahman said. “The city of Austin has a lot more regulations than we do. So we’ll be working very closely to make sure that our processes have been embedded in the implementation side of the business.”
The program is supposed to cut the time required to process new building permits by 50%. The process will hinge on the AI software pre-checking plat applications and performing technical reviews to ensure the builds comply with county codes and regulations, according to county documents.
County staff will still be responsible for conducting a final review and approving new building permits. The new system also includes a chatbot to help applicants.
In September, officials said that while permit volumes have increased about 20% in the past three years, staffing levels have remained flat.
County officials conducted site visits and meetings with staff from the cities of Austin and Los Angeles County to understand the scope of the software. However, research conducted by Harris County staff found that few counties across the United States utilize AI for permitting processes.
