Governor Gina Raimondo announced a new funding program to help streamline the permitting process for small businesses – as well as all other businesses and developers in the state – in addition to a new batch of available grants to fund smaller “Main Street” projects to infuse new life into the downtowns of municipalities.

The announcements came from the main lobby in Warwick City Hall Wednesday morning with city officials and politicians lining the hallways and stairwell.

The program, officially called the Technical Assistance for Municipal Zoning and Permitting, was allotted $200,000 in Raimondo’s proposed FY19 budget and specifically seeks to help municipalities set up an online resource for residents to access various permitting forms, view zoning regulations and essentially get started on processes that may have required dozens of trips to town and city halls otherwise.

“It’s more exciting than you might think,” Raimondo said cheekily of the long name of the program. “I think it’s a game changer for small businesses because it’s money in the budget and a new program led by Commerce [The Commerce Corporation] and DBR [The Department of Business Regulation] to work with mayors to improve zoning regulations and the development processes to spark economic development.”

The concept – which Warwick and Mayor Scott Avedisian helped pioneer, along with Mayor Charles Lombardi of North Providence and Mayor Donald Grebien of Pawtucket in 2013 – is to make a complicated process easier and, with the added state funding, at a minimal cost of about $1,000 to individual communities.

“Zoning is too hard. It’s a hassle,” Raimondo said. “We’ve heard you – every small business out there, to every developer out there, we’re going to bring relief to zoning to make it easier and quicker and more streamlined.”

Phil Slocum, owner of Slocum Realty in Warwick, spoke at the event as an example of a small business owner who had benefited from the ease of use of the system – which he utilized when moving his business from Apponaug to Centerville Road. His wife Lauren, director of the Central Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce, was one of the local municipal leaders to help beta test the online portal in its initial stages.

“Last year when we started to formulate our move, I can tell you that it was the most daunting task in the world. It was literally six months of our lives,” Slocum said. “We had an opportunity to be one of the early folks involved in the permitting process in Warwick…It was a seamless and positive experience. As a consumer, they helped me to accomplish the goal of moving my business and helping my employees and our families get to the next level.”

Raimondo said that, prior to the online portal becoming available, a new business owner would have to fill out 40 different forms to get off the ground. With the streamlining in place, that number is down to just one form.

There is an abundance of other available services on the portal, which is accessible from the WarwickRI.gov homepage by scrolling over the “Online Resources” tab and clicking “Online Permitting System.” You will be prompted to click through what you’re trying to accomplish and then will need to register with the portal system.

Once you begin the process, all departments will have access to your application and you will be able to see what each department has accomplished and where your application stands, including what documents you need to submit and to whom. If you ever need assistance, staff remain ready to assist you in person at City Hall.

In total, 21 municipalities have now set up e-permitting capabilities and four more will be doing so in the coming weeks. Avedisian had a message for the remaining Rhode Island communities who have yet to jump on board.

“There will be 14 of you left, but we are coming after all of you,” he said, drawing laughs from the audience. “We are going to show you that if you are a franchise that wants to have multiple locations in the state of Rhode Island, it doesn’t make sense that you can file an e-permit in one community but you can’t in another.”

Rhode Island Commerce Secretary Stefan Pryor gave credit to Liz Tanner, formerly of the Commerce Corporation but now the director of the Department of Business Regulation, as the architect behind the e-permitting process. Main Street improvement grant applications sought Governor Raimondo made an additional announcement that the state is now once again accepting applications for the third wave of the Main Street Improvement Fund, which has awarded out over $2 million to 16 projects around the state since it was incepted.

The goal of the fund is to finance the smaller projects that add value to downtown districts – the Main Street corridors – and help the revitalization of commerce in Rhode Island cities and towns.

“Rhode Island is built on strong Main Streets,” Raimondo said. “These are programs for new facades, new streetscapes, new benches, new lighting – it might only be $50,000 or $150,000 but it makes a huge difference, especially if you’re a merchant on Main Street. It makes it more inviting and better for foot traffic.”

Warwick has already benefited from this program, nabbing $69,000 in a grant which will go towards constructing three stamped crosswalks – similar to the new ones built throughout the Apponaug Circulator – which, if all goes to plan, will be placed at the corners of Transit Street & West Shore Road; Beach Avenue & West Shore Road; and Maplewood Avenue & West Shore Road this upcoming spring.