photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

A single-family home under construction along Cedar Grove Way in west Lawrence is shown on July 7, 2025.

The City of Lawrence will add two new programs that aim to streamline the building inspection process for contractors and residents in the city.

The two tools, which the city announced in a press release Wednesday, are called Video Recorded Inspections and SelecTXT.

The Video Recorded Inspections are an expansion of a city program that started during the COVID-19 pandemic and allowed for remote video inspections. The new inspection option now permits an inspection to be recorded by a contractor and submitted for review and approval, making it possible for the contractor to record, submit and move on to another project while waiting for the review.

Those recorded inspections will need to be scheduled by the contractor through the city’s Enterprise Permitting & Licensing software. More information is available on the city’s website at lawrenceks.org/pds/building_permits.

The other new program, SelecTXT, would allow contractors to schedule inspections and check inspection results via text. The city says it would replace a phone call scheduling system and contractors would not need to log in to the city’s permitting and licensing software. Instead they can schedule, reschedule or cancel inspections with a simple text message. The city said that program should be live starting in October.

Brian Jimenez, assistant director of planning and development services, said in a statement the city has been evaluating ways to improve the inspection process for developers and residents, and these options “improve flexibility and make it easier for (anyone) to work with our team more efficiently.”