Features

enCodePlus is loaded with robust standard features and unique upgrades.

These unique and powerful tools are available only on enCodePlus – the one-of-a-kind, industry-leading technology platform transforming the way local governments operate.

Premium Features

enCodePlus offers a full spectrum of optional advanced features to help elevate your experience with the platform. Each integrated upgrade delivers additional functionality to give you even better support exactly where you need it.

AppTrak+

Streamline development review processes with online application submission and payment, digital plan review, GIS mapping, and project tracking capabilities. Easy-to-generate maps and reports document the application journey from submission and review to approval and permitting.

Archive Manager

The archive feature produces section footnotes to document adoption and effective dates and ordinance number(s). An amendment history table is auto-generated each time an ordinance is published. Any adopted ordinance may be selected from a drop-down list to display the current version of the code as of the effective date. Archiving is automated as part of the codification workflow.

Cloud Library

Upload and store documents in this password-protected virtual library. Any individual ordinance may be queried by ordinance number, adoption date or key word.

Custom Indexing

View related standards or provisions by clicking a drop-down menu or a tag within the document.

Custom Site Branding

Customize project websites to blend seamlessly with your county or municipal website. You can include a video welcome message, logo, color scheme, photographs, layout of tables and figures, page header and other site customizations.

Definitions Library

This comprehensive glossary features more than 30,000 planning and zoning definitions for jurisdictions of all types and sizes across the U.S. and Canada. A live document, it is always up to date.

Development Calculators

On-the-fly calculators, uniquely calibrated to reflect local standards, can be embedded in a document or made accessible via a button on the home screen. This allows users to quickly and precisely calculate requirements for their projects.

Bufferyards: Use this tool to quantify planting requirements to meet local standards. Calculations are based on the zoning of the subject and adjacent sites, width of bufferyard, plant types, etc. The results specify the precise number of shrubs and large and small trees required, based on the site dimensions. A bufferyard simulator can also be customized to test different combinations of bufferyard widths, types and densities of vegetation, and the use of structures and landforms to meet the relative opacity standards defined in the applicable regulations.

Development Yield: This calculator determines the number of permitted dwelling units based upon the zoning district, minimum required open space and allowable density. It displays the minimum required and proposed open space ratio, acres of open space and developable area, and any incremental increases (bonuses) in density. <

Fees: This calculator can be organized by category, such as building permit, inspection, site development, subdivision and zoning, and the affiliated fees. For instance, for site development, fees may be calculated for erosion control, master plan review, revised site plan review, subdivision construction plan review and many others.

Landscaping & Screening: This calculator measures the landscape surface area required to meet site landscaping and screening requirements and displays plant material quantities, types and densities.

Parkland Dedication: Use this calculator to determine the required square feet and acres of land dedication on a per dwelling unit basis or alternatively, a fee in lieu of dedication. It can also specify acres by park or greenway type.

Parking, Loading & ADA: This calculator employs a web-based form with drop-down menus for specifying a land use and an input box for entering the independent variables of a specific project (e.g., dwelling units, square footage, employees). It accepts input for as many as 10 different occupancies to accommodate mixed-use developments or large-scale master plans. The calculator also provides the required spaces to meet the standards for Accessible Parking for people with disabilities.

Shared Parking: This calculator is based on hourly parking-demand tables prepared by the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE). The shared parking requirements for multiple occupancies is determined by performing calculations for each hour of the day, employing the percentage-of-demand ratio for each use type, aggregating the hourly requirements, and selecting the highest number resulting from the iterative calculations. It also offers the conventional parking requirements for the occupancies for comparison purposes.

Signage: Use this calculator to determine the allowable face area and height of signs based upon sign type, location and district.

Floor-Area Ratio: Total allowable floor area is calculated based on a user-selected district and input of other district variables (e.g., lot area, landscape surface area, maximum height, bulk plane requirements).

Digital Summary

This new generation of an interactive summary is a dedicated website designed to enhance the readability of large technical documents like plans and ordinances. A highly graphic home page and series of subpages present the document in an interesting, aesthetically pleasing way. Users will find links to and from documents or sections within a document, as well as access to static, semi-dynamic or interactive maps and videos, and much more.

Escrow

The source code for your website is held in escrow by a mutual third party and made available to the client jurisdiction to ensure uninterrupted access. The escrow provides assurance as to continued maintenance, updating, recompiling or reinstallation of the software. This gives you the peace of mind of knowing your mission-critical applications will be kept up and running.

eReader

Our useful eReader makes difficult-to-navigate documents easy to understand. Any document hosted on the enCodePlus platform can be viewed from any desktop or mobile device. A user can swipe through the table of contents, print pages or sections, and click on embedded hyperlinks.

Expert-Level Training

Expert-Level Certification is a three-day immersive training event in a classroom setting (on-site or remotely via video conference) with your whole team. Each trainee receives personalized experiences with hands-on exercises. Trainees have 30 days of access to a personal training site to practice their skills.

GIS Interactive Map

This one-of-a-kind package of municipal GIS software applications delivers a unique collection of automated, intuitive online GIS mapping tools for in-depth property and zoning research and analysis. Based on a feature-rich foundation of intelligent Esri GIS technology, enCodePlus is designed for the layperson and requires no technical GIS skills.

GeoZone: Explore zones for permitted land uses and applicable regulations, standards and conditions. Query by parcel ID or address to display property information, permits, approvals and other useful information.

Land-Use Lookup: Users can explore land uses from a drop-down menu on an interactive GIS map that displays applicable districts and standards. Or, click on a specific parcel to view associated requirements and other GIS attributes. Smart technology can even relate common terms within land-use categories. Links to the MLS tool display available properties along with related zoning information.

GeoComment: Facilitate input, gauge sentiment or generate support for projects, plans and other initiatives.

GeoLocator: Developers can navigate interactive GIS maps to shortlist potential properties, identify trends, explore data and analytic reports, review zoning district information, download reports and reference relevant third-party data.

Buffer & Mail Merge Tool: Send targeted alerts to property owners within a user-defined area.

3D Urban: Build proposed projects to help visualize real-world context.

Land-Use Lookup

Users can explore land uses from a drop-down menu on an interactive GIS map that displays applicable districts and standards. Or, click on a specific parcel to view associated requirements and other GIS attributes. Smart technology can even relate common terms within land-use categories. Links to the MLS tool display available properties along with related zoning information.

Project WebManager

An easy-to-use, dedicated project website can be created with Project WebManager to communicate information to the public during a project. It can help engage the public with surveys and public commenting and can serve as a geo-engagement tool.

Research Assistant

Through a partnership with Municode, users can access the most comprehensive database of ordinances and zoning regulations in the United States to research sample legislation from more than 3,500 nationwide jurisdictions of all sizes.

Site Navigator

Similar to the Digital Summary, this feature helps to organize and summarize a document, making it easier to navigate and find information. It is a helpful tool to better organize a lengthy document into categories that are more understandable and less intimidating than scanning a pages-long table of contents. Like other enCodePlus products, it can be branded and graphically formatted.

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Standard Features

The enCodePlus planning technology platform includes powerful standard features to help clerks, attorneys, consultants, economic developers, managers, planners and zoning administrators collaborate and streamline workflows.

Archiving

The archiving feature provides a date stamp for each adopted ordinance (from the build forward) resulting in a running record of the ordinance history. The record can be recalled by ordinance number, date or keyword, and is then displayed with a clear “archive” watermark. Footnotes can also be added to individual sections, showing the adoption and effective dates.

Retroactive Archiving: An ordinance archive can be established by building an original ordinance and then amending that ordinance with subsequently adopted ordinances. The retroactive build includes re-creation of tables and graphics from the original documents, with tagging definitions and hyperlinking cross references.

AUTO-NUMBERING/TRACKING

Each article, chapter, or section number is anchored, meaning that cross-references are automatically updated when that content is moved elsewhere within the document, eliminating errant references and saving significant editing time.

BOOLEAN SEARCH

This type of search allows users to combine keywords with modifiers – AND, NOT and OR – to further produce more relevant results. For example, a search for “hotel” AND “motel” would limit search results to only sections containing both keywords.

CLOUD HOSTING

Use of redundant cloud resources makes the enCodePlus platform and client websites accessible 24/7. A network of connected virtual and physical cloud servers hosts each website, ensuring greater flexibility, scalability and security.

CODIFICATION

From drafting and accepting comments to track-change edits and ordinance, resolution or bill adoption, all track-changes can be accepted one-by-one to ensure accuracy and integrity. Ordinance, resolution or bill numbers, dates and history notes can be added and displayed as footnotes for each applicable section. The auto-generated amendment history table includes links to ordinances, resolutions or bills stored in the cloud-based library internal to enCodePlus.

Codification Tool: This handy, password-protected Maintenance Module tool creates a user-defined placeholder in the text where a legal citation, ordinance, resolution or bill date and number is to be inserted. A pop-up box appears with the required form fields to add notes and history and to upload and link the document within the text. The history table is automatically populated.

COLLABORATIVE DRAFTING

Hosted by Microsoft Azure, enCodePlus-powered websites enable an unlimited number of registered users to work collaboratively and simultaneously to draft, comment and respond, track changes, edit and publish documents directly to the web.

Commenting

This feature allows draft amendments to be written, stored and published for viewing and commenting. Staff members or the public can offer comments on individual sections of draft ordinances, resolutions or bills. A designated user is notified via email of posted comments, and the commenter may view the comment and response in the online draft document. All comments and responses are cataloged by commenter, date and section for future reference. They can also be tagged for follow-up, which bumps the comment to the top of the list and highlights it in a distinct color. Comments and responses can then be embedded in the respective section of the online document during the review and public comment process.

Content Management

In addition to codification and online publishing, enCodePlus is also a full-featured content-management system for codes, plans and any other documents. This facilitates collaboration among team members by integrating document management, digital asset management and records retention functionalities. It also allows users to document the history of actions and organize records for research and retrieval.

CSS

A Cascading Style Sheet is used to set the style of web pages that contain HTML elements. It ensures consistency throughout a document by defining background colors; font styles, sizes and colors; tab and line spacing; line type and color; and more. When brand standards are revised, the stylesheet can be quickly adapted and the automatically reformatted document can be published in real time.

Document Management

Local governments accumulate volumes of official documents that require long-term management and the ability to research, retrieve and update them. The enCodePlus system captures, tracks and stores documents in an electronic and fully editable format. Documents can be translated from PDFs, Adobe InDesign desktop publishing, MS Word processing files or digital images of paper-based content. The document management feature provides benefits such as document security, access control, centralized storage, audit trails and streamlined search and retrieval.

Dynamic Tables

Any term within a table can be hyperlinked within the online document. For example, a zoning district designation can link directly to the relevant standards for that district. Additionally, roll-over pop-up definitions are also active within tables. Tables can include buttons that link to other tables or sections of the code, or to external web resources like an interactive GIS map.

External Hyperlinking

Terms, maps, figures and icons can be hyperlinked to URLs both within a document and to external resources, such as downloadable PDFs, state statutes and related or referenced plan or policy documents not housed in enCodePlus. Links can be easily established and edited to open in new windows or tabs.

Google Analytics Use Reporting

This feature tracks and reports how users interact with a website. Data can be used to demonstrate the extent and value of the site for providing public access and information, as well as to understand how the site can be customized to improve the user experience. It can also be used to populate “favorite” links for quick access to highly visited sections of the site. NOTE: This feature requires a free Google Analytics account and tracking identification.

Graphics Manager

All graphic images and illustrations used on a site can be viewed in an inventory table featuring individual file names and the corresponding section(s) of the document where the file is used. This feature is accessible through the Maintenance Module. Graphic files can also be organized and stored, while not necessarily being placed in a document. Unused images can be easily identified and removed. Essentially, all graphic file formats can be accommodated (JPG, TIF, GIF, PNG, and others).

Inline Graphics & Tables

Illustrations, graphics and tables are built in HTML format (in lieu of PDF images) and embedded in line with the text. All headings, subheadings and body text alternating rows are formatted according to a customized CSS stylesheet. Illustrations and graphics can be easily updated or replaced via the Maintenance Module.

Internal Cross-Referencing

Internal cross-references can be quickly established automatically at the section or document level. Once linked, the cross-referenced text becomes a self-updating field that will automatically change if a section name or number is altered. This feature is used to ensure internal cross-references are always correct and up-to-date.  It is especially useful for document updates or rewrites.

Keyword Search

Within section attributes, a licensed user can establish one or more keywords to direct users to appropriate articles, chapters or sections of a code or plan. The search engine reveals every instance of the term across one or more documents including a highlighted box of “Best Bets,” which can be customized to direct user queries to the most relevant sections of the document. Keywords can be informed by Google Analytics research. They can also be manually added to sections to ensure that they are included in search results for unique terms or phrases.

Microsoft Word/PDF Exporter

An entire document or any title, article, chapter or section of an online document can be exported directly to MS Word or Adobe PDF with its document formatting intact. The export can include headers, footers, page numbers and any online track changes. The export generates a near-perfect, fully formatted document.

Mobile Device Access

Every document on the enCodePlus platform is responsive and available for viewing on iPads and tablet computers, as well as both Android phones and iPhones. Some viewing limitations apply based on device capabilities.

My Favorites

To help users quickly locate information, favorite sections and tables can be established and changed at any time. Favorite sections may be those used regularly by staff or the public. This feature can also link to other internal or external resources.

Pop-Up Definitions

Definitions pop up on the screen when the user rolls the cursor over the term. Both lengthy definitions and graphics can be accommodated in the pop-up boxes. In the Maintenance Module, you can determine whether a pop-up definition occurs every time the term appears in a section or only the first time. Inclusion of pop-up definitions in titles or headings can be toggled on or off.

Real-Time Web Publishing

Amendments, edits, updates or new regulations or plans can be created in the software and – upon approval or adoption – published directly to the web. User permissions are established to define the roles and authorization of individual licensed users to publish official content.

Search-Term Statistics

This feature reports the most often queried terms, giving you the intelligence you need to customize the site to better serve your users. For example, the “Best Bets” search engine uses this information to direct users to the appropriate sections of the document.

Social Media Links

Any article, chapter or section of online documents can be posted to a user’s Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn account.

Track-Change Editing

Track changes can be used to edit a document with unique colors to indicate input by individuals or groups of users (departments, divisions, etc.). Track-change versions can be published to the web and archived in the same manner as the official version.

Training

Getting Started Training: Before your site goes live, registered users will receive remote training to familiarize them with the key functions of the enCodePlus platform

A more in-depth, three-day training course is available to educate users about all product features and capabilities. This training includes hands-on exercises and can be conducted on or off site. Trainees will complete the course with expert proficiency.

Redaction Tool

To protect sensitive information, individual words, sentences, or sections of any online document can be redacted from the public-facing user module. Redacted text is inaccessible for public viewing, copying or printing, yet available in the password-protected Maintenance Module.

User Guides & Tutorials

Available in the password-protected Maintenance Module, “how-to” guides and tutorials offer step-by-step instructions and annotated illustrations for each feature and function of the software.

User Subscription/Notification

Regular users can choose to subscribe to alerts distributed when a document is amended or published.

Version Management

Version management allows users to track and view changes made when a contributor saves a new version. A list of revisions can be viewed along with previously saved and published versions. Reversion to a previous version is possible at any time.

Video Animation

Animated video can be embedded directly into the site. This might include a welcome message from an elected official or department manager or a video fly-through to help illustrate provisions of a code or plan.

Web Content Accessibility Compliance (WCAG)

These important guidelines define how web content can be made more accessible to people with disabilities, including those with visual, auditory, physical, speech, cognitive, language, learning and neurological disabilities. This enhances both the functionality and interoperability of the web. The enCodePlus system is 100% WCAG 2.0 compliant.

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