Dataset: Applications For Permits And Licenses

About this Dataset

Applications For Permits And Licenses

The dataset is one row per application for permits and licenses in the City of Somerville through the Citizenserve application system. The current dataset contains applications handled by the Inspectional Services Department (ISD), representing approximately 85% of the applications processed by the City of Somerville. Soon to come are applications handled by other teams, including Engineering, the Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development (OSPCD), the City Clerk’s office, and Fire Prevention.

This dataset contains application information for over 88,000 applications for permits and licenses since 2014, including project details, status, and location information. The dataset is best for exploration of general patterns for a number of reasons:

This dataset contains only applications that have been processed in the Citizenserve application system, which first came online in 2014 with limited application types. Over time, it has been expanded to include other application types. This means that total application counts are not precisely comparable over time; volumes within application type/subtype are more reliable.

Some of the fields (e.g. Project Description) are entered by the applicant and will therefore not be consistent across the dataset, even for similar applications.

There are some tests in the dataset that are difficult to identify and remove without inadvertently removing real applications (this should not be a substantive volume of overall applications).

The fields/columns provided here are not exhaustive of all the information that is stored in the Citizenserve system. More will be added over time as access pipelines are set up. For example, information about cost of construction, the number of new units, and contractor company name are all fields that will be included in future updates.

Currently, this data can be viewed in the Tableau Visualization by Application Date or Issue Date. When you select “View Permits and Licenses by Application Date,” any Application which does not have an Application Date will be filtered out. The same is true for viewing by Issue Date. If an application has neither field, the application will not display in the Tableau Visualization. Such applications will, however, appear in the Dataset.

This data set should be refreshed daily with data appearing in the early morning. If the data becomes out of date, please email data@somervillema.gov. This data dictionary was last updated 4/30/2025.
Organization: City of Somerville
Last updated: 2025-05-03T17:17:36.139422

Tables

Table 1

@usgov.city_of_somerville_applications_for_permits_and_licenses.table_1

6.85 MB
88922 rows
24 columns


CREATE TABLE table_1 (
  "application_number" VARCHAR,
  "application_category" VARCHAR,
  "application_type" VARCHAR,
  "application_subtype" VARCHAR,
  "status" VARCHAR,
  "file_number" VARCHAR,
  "department" VARCHAR,
  "project_description" VARCHAR,
  "application_date" TIMESTAMP,
  "issue_date" TIMESTAMP,
  "expiration_date" VARCHAR,
  "close_date" TIMESTAMP,
  "business_days_to_issue" DOUBLE,
  "application_amount" DOUBLE,
  "amount_paid" DOUBLE,
  "application_address" VARCHAR,
  "assessor_s_parcel_number" VARCHAR,
  "application_latitude" DOUBLE,
  "application_longitude" DOUBLE,
  "application_block_code" BIGINT,
  "application_ward" DOUBLE,
  "application_precinct" VARCHAR,
  "application_neighborhood" VARCHAR,
  "applicant_company_name" VARCHAR
);