Bellevue’s vision is clear: a thriving community supported by a high-quality built and natural environment. By streamlining permitting, we can deliver the homes and workplaces our growing city needs—without compromising design standards or environmental stewardship.
The Development Services and Information Technology departments have launched a public-private design partnership with Govstream.ai, a government-focused AI startup, to pilot cutting-edge permitting tools that amplify the capacity of our staff and make the permitting process faster and more responsive for applicants.
Our collaboration with Govstream.ai brings advanced AI tools into the permitting process so staff can keep pace with demand while maintaining Bellevue’s hallmark quality.
What We’re Piloting—and Why It Matters for Housing and Economic Goals
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Phase 1: Permit Guide
- AI Capability
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24/7 web, email, and voice assistants assist staff and answer routine questions like “Do I need a permit?”
- Community Impact on Housing & Development
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Customers can get instant, code-based answers prior to an application being made
- Impact on City Staff
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Fewer routine calls and inquiries free up staff to focus on complex questions
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Phase 2: Application Assistant
- AI Capability
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Real-time application guidance with application triage and code checks before submission
- Community Impact on Housing & Development
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Cleaner applications reduce resubmittals, shortening timelines for new housing and commercial space
- Impact on City Staff
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Intake teams receive well-formed packets, speeding initial reviews
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Phase 3: First Review
- AI Capability
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Automated triage that flags basic code issues and routes straightforward cases
- Community Impact on Housing & Development
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Faster first-touch decisions keep construction schedules on track and unlock units sooner
- Impact on City Staff
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Reviewers spend more time on high-impact, nuanced projects
Mission-Driven and Responsible Innovation
The pilot emphasizes enhancing—not replacing—human expertise and includes strong ethical safeguards around transparency, accountability, inclusion, and data security. Staff will be working closely with Govstream.ai to pilot these solutions, gather feedback and ensure they meet operational and customer needs. In addition to efficiency, our partnership also elevates these shared values to the forefront.
- Transparency: Every AI response links to its underlying data or code citation.
- Accountability: Human reviewers retain final authority; AI augments expertise.
- Inclusion & Equity: Continuous bias testing ensures fair outcomes across neighborhoods.
- Security: Complies with Bellevue’s cybersecurity standards; resident data never trains external models.
Achieving Results for Residents
City of Bellevue and Govstream.ai have set out to achieve clear goals for our initial collaboration:
- 30% reduction in effort and time required to guide pre-application inquiries
- A 50% reduction in resubmissions during the application phase
- Faster issuance of building permits that directly support Bellevue’s housing and economic-development goals
Metrics will be published after each phase.
Questions or feedback? Email innovation@bellevuewa.gov.