Watching the latest spinoff, “Fixer Upper: Colorado Mountain Home,” DePablo said he noticed that the biggest stumbling block for any project in Colorado is permitting.

“It’s the same in Florida,” he told the County Commission on Feb. 10, during a wide-ranging presentation on his department’s overhaul. “But Hernando can change that. Hernando can change the way that we do business.”

As reported last week, the department has used artificial intelligence to slash permit review times from 30 days to 15 minutes, a 93% reduction that has saved builders millions and earned the department a national award for efficiency and AI implementation. The commission also voted 5-0 to approve a nearly $1.7 million, four-year contract with SwiftGov to expand the AI-assisted review services.

DePablo provided the fuller picture: a department-wide transformation aimed at making Hernando “the nation’s premier development services department” — not by mimicking other municipalities, but by setting the standard statewide.

A Culture Shift

Since his confirmation as director on Sept. 21, 2024, DePablo said, his team has pursued what they call a “spring schedule” to overhaul how the public sees the department.

Development services oversees planning, zoning, code compliance, and the building division. DePablo said his team has rewritten processes and procedures, cross-trained staff so a single employee can handle a customer’s needs without sending them bouncing between offices, and shifted the department’s culture.

“The culture that we’re trying to get in is a more ‘customer-centric,’ more focus, more hands-on,” he said. “Our theme this year is ‘Here to serve.'”

Introducing AI is not the total solution if underlying processes are broken, DePablo said. The department first addressed its procedures, then looked at how to cut bureaucracy, fees, and redundancies before layering technology on top.

Using the Swiftbuild.ai platform, the department has processed 1,000 permits across 32 subdivisions. The system can be trained on specific home models from builders like Lennar or Pulte, enabling it to recognize and approve plans automatically unless changes are made.

Builders and developers say the faster turnaround helps them recoup loans and sell homes more quickly. One developer said it saved about $1.5 million on a single phase.

The department is also transitioning to Tyler Technologies’ digital system to replace paperwork and implement geographic information systems so residents can better understand what they can and cannot do on their property. Drones are being used to check projects, and the department is shifting from code enforcement to code compliance.

DePablo said a lot of other counties are looking to Hernando to share its experiences.

“We’re excited about that,” he said.

By the Numbers

All statistics reflect 2025 activity, DePablo said.

The building division conducted 85,454 inspections, including 14,508 video inspections, and issued 20,228 permits, many of them for single-family homes.

In planning and zoning, the department handled 75 rezonings, 20 special exception permits, 15 conditional use permits, 67 concurrency evaluations, three comprehensive plan amendments, and three community development districts. The numbers might look low, DePablo said, but rezoning applications can take months and often reflect larger projects.

Administrative permits that don’t require hearings included 135 tree permits, 31 fence permits, 32 chicken permits, 158 site-clearing permits, and 75 utility shed permits. DePablo said the chicken permits will likely increase until they are removed from the code.

Storm recovery has also driven a significant workload: 2,500 homes damaged, six community workshops, 40 application training classes, 11,060 substantial damage letters mailed, and 832 permits issued.

DePablo also cited contract oversight that resulted in an $11,500 refund, a completed fee study, and reduced vehicle and equipment costs through drone use. The department is also working on a comprehensive plan and code rewrite.

State Pressure

DePablo warned that under some state initiatives, if the county doesn’t approve permits within a certain time frame, they can be approved “by right” and go straight to construction — meaning an entire subdivision could bypass the review process.

He said he wants to not only meet the state requirement of 10 days but get it done in two.

“That’s a dangerous place to be, and we’re going to see that start to be on the news across the landscape with those counties that are not ready,” he said. “I’m happy to say that we are, and we’re fast-paced on how we’re getting there.”

County Administrator Jeff Rogers said the state’s demands leave municipalities with two options: “Add staff or technology.”

Rogers said the county won’t be adding as many people but will need more inspectors to keep pace. He promised to bring the board lists of permits and other items to consider streamlining, as well as plans for increasing employee skills so staff can handle more tasks in one location and deliver more consistent results.

Commissioners Weigh In

Commissioner John Allocco said AI helps the county save money through less need for staff and the salaries and benefits they require. He noted that even at the end of the building boom, developers are putting in infrastructure because of the long lead times for approvals, positioning themselves for the next wave of construction.

Allocco added that if the county doesn’t move fast enough on requests, it faces fines or has to hire more people, creating long-term liabilities.

“That’s why I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do with it and how far we can implement it,” he said.

Commissioner Ryan Amsler commended DePablo and the department’s national award. “I think it’s going to come out amazing,” he said, adding that technology can help pare government “down to a reasonable size through time.”

Commissioner Steve Champion, while praising the department as “the best of the best,” struck a different tone.

“Am I the only one that’s concerned about the massive expansion of government?” he asked. “The real question should be, ‘Should we be doing half of what we’re doing?'”

Champion said government red tape at every level has stretched the time it takes him to build a house from three months to 12. “Government is in the way,” he said, adding that while a few rules have been cut, it’s “way too big and way too intrusive.”

Addressing Amsler, Champion asked when he had ever seen the government cut anything. “I’ll believe it when I see it,” he said.