Constituent Stories · Public Case-File Index

What constituents tell us, on the record.

Each story below is a Bates-numbered case packet — the storefront that nearly died on Cedar Street, the records lookup that took 36 hours, the renewals closed in a single sitting.

Case packet index SORTED BY DATE ISSUED · 6 OF 12 SHOWN

CASE BFC-2026-04127 · MARCUS & TALIA BRENNAN · CEDAR DISTRICT

Issued

Storefront permit + façade grant + parklet license — 64 days, no surprises.

Building and Heritage gave conflicting answers on the storefront permit. Eleni got both departments in one room, wrote the answer down, and the case was unstuck the same day. Two weeks later they had keys.

“Eleni got both departments in one room, wrote the answer down, and the case was unstuck the same day. Two weeks later we had keys.”

Marcus & Talia Brennan · Cedar District small-business owners · § 14.04.025

CASE BFC-2025-03811 · JORDAN MARSHALL · RIVERSIDE

Resolved

Certificate of occupancy lookup pulled from archive in 36 hours.

Records request for a 1972 duplex. The county assessor had quoted six weeks. The OCS pulled it from city archive in 36 hours, no FOIA scavenger hunt.

“I needed a certificate of occupancy lookup for a 1972 duplex. The OCS pulled it from the archive in 36 hours. The county assessor had told me it would take six weeks.”

Jordan Marshall · Riverside neighborhood resident · § 2.18.115

CASE BFC-2025-08442 · EMILY & WEN TANAKA · HILLSIDE

Issued

One case-file portal replaces four sub-portals.

ADU applicants previously juggled four different city sub-portals. With the OCS, the entire ADU file lives on one tab — permit, lender escrow, contractor licensing, and inspection schedule.

“The case-file portal alone was worth it. I stopped logging into four different sub-portals trying to remember what was waiting on what.”

Emily & Wen Tanaka · ADU applicants · Hillside · Ord. 2024-118

CASE BFC-2026-01244 · NEHA RAMACHANDRAN · CEDAR DISTRICT

Issued

Three renewals closed in one 18-minute sitting.

Annual parklet license, business license, and health permit — all renewed together with pre-filled forms. Total counter time: 18 minutes.

“We renewed three permits in one sitting. Forms were pre-filled. The whole thing took 18 minutes. I’ve had DMV visits worse than that.”

Neha Ramachandran · Annual renewals · Cedar District · § 9.07.10

CASE BFC-2025-09823 · DANIEL HUANG · CEDAR DISTRICT

Issued

Façade grant pre-screen saved a $14,000 redesign.

Café owner came in for a façade grant. Eleni walked through the historic-overlay rule before any architect was hired. Knowing the signage limits up front saved a redesign cycle.

“Eleni walked me through the historic-overlay rule before I’d paid an architect. We saved roughly $14,000 on a redesign by knowing the signage limits up front.”

Daniel Huang · Café owner · Cedar District · Ord. 2025-44(a)

CASE BFC-2025-11078 · AMARA OKONKWO · EAST BEACON

Resolved

Three-month-stuck case unstuck in nine days, no FOIA filed.

Family services case had stalled at another department for three months. The OCS escalation team got a written response from the right custodian in nine business days. No FOIA, just a fix.

“Our case was stuck for three months. The OCS got us a written response in nine days. They didn’t make us file under FOIA — they just fixed it.”

Amara Okonkwo · Resident · East Beacon · § 2.18.110

Constituent Service Stat Reel FY24 · OCS ANNUAL REPORT TABLE 7

2,400+
Constituents served / year
FY24 · OCS Annual Report Table 7
64d
Permit median (was 142 days)
Permitting throughput study
4.8/5
Constituent satisfaction
FY24 exit survey · n=412
2024
OCS founded
Council Ordinance 2024-118