Reviewing Public Comments

Agency staff can review comments submitted by registered public users during public comment periods for Planning and Zoning applications. Public comments are collected from the public-facing Public Comments page and are associated with the application and the comment period that was open when the comment was submitted.

The Public Comments page is available from the planning application details pages when public comments exist for the application. Staff can search comments, filter by comment period, preview submitted comments, view full comment details, download comments, and delete comments when they have the appropriate permissions.

Public comments are available for review only when comments have been submitted for the planning application.

The Delete action is available only to users with the appropriate role, such as Planning and Zoning Administrator or System Administrator.

Here's how to review public comments for planning and zoning applications:

1. Open the planning application details for the Planning and Zoning application.

2. In the left navigation panel, select Public Comments.

   The Public Comments page lists comments submitted by registered public users during open public comment periods.

3. Review the submitted comments.

   Each comment includes the comment period, comment preview, the name of the public user who submitted the comment, and the date and time the comment was submitted.

4. To narrow the list of comments, use the available search and filter options.

   You can search by comment text and filter by comment period. Commenter name and submitted dates aren’t searchable.

5. To view the full text of a comment, select the comment preview.

   The Comment details drawer opens with the full comment, created by information, and comment period.

Let's take a look at the Public Comments page in the planning application details:

Page Element	Description
Search	Search public comments by comment text. Commenter name and submitted dates aren’t searched.
Comment Period	Filter the list of comments by public comment period. The filter value shows the date range of the public comment period associated with the comment.
Created by	Shows the first and last name of the registered public user who submitted the comment.
Submitted date and time	Shows when the public comment was submitted.
Export	Downloads public comments for the application.
Delete	Deletes the selected public comment. This action is available only to authorized users.

Public comments are sorted by comment period, with the most recent comment period start date shown first. Within each comment period, comments are sorted by submitted date and time, with the most recent comments shown first.

For information about setting up planning and zoning activities that allow public comments, see Defining Planning Application Activity Rules.