Letter to Council - Request: Staff review of CrossBeam (AI-assisted code compliance) to improve permitting timelines
Video outlining CrossBeam’s approach to improving municipal building-permit throughput.
Mayor and Council,
Request: Staff review of CrossBeam (AI-assisted code compliance) to improve permitting timelines
I’m writing to ask Council to direct staff to evaluate CrossBeam, an AI-assisted building code compliance and plan-review tool, as a potential way to shorten building permit timelines and reduce review costs in Abbotsford.
CrossBeam (created by Mike Brown, no relation to me) is described as software that helps builders and municipalities identify building-code issues earlier, streamline correction cycles, and accelerate plan review. It also won first place (gold) in the Claude Code hackathon announced last week.
If Council is open to it, I suggest a short staff review and a report back that covers:
- Whether a limited pilot is feasible for Abbotsford (for example, a specific permit type or a subset of projects).
- Compatibility with the BC Building Code and local bylaws, including how code updates are handled.
- Data governance, privacy, and security considerations (including what information is uploaded, stored, and retained).
- Expected impacts on turnaround time, re-submittals, staff workload, and applicant experience.
- Costs, procurement approach, and any integration requirements with existing systems.
Thank you for considering this.
Related links:
https://x.com/claudeai/status/2024986294820958647 (Claude Code hackathon gold announcement)
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