Plain English Breakdown
The official text is truncated at the end regarding indemnification agreements required from applicants.
AB-2418: Rules for Private Review of Nonresidential Building Plans
This law requires local agencies to provide estimated review times and allows applicants to hire private experts if the government takes too long or estimates a delay.
What This Bill Does
- Requires local agencies to give an estimated time frame for reviewing nonresidential building permit applications after receiving a complete submission.
- Shortens the definition of 'excessive delay' from more than 50 days to more than 30 business days before private review options trigger.
- Mandates that cities or counties hire a private plan-checking entity if an applicant requests it and there is an excessive delay or estimated delay.
- Allows applicants to pay for their own private professional provider at their sole expense if the local agency says no qualified providers are available.
- Requires the city or county, within 10 business days of receiving a report from a private provider, to either issue the permit or notify the applicant that plans do not comply.
- Prohibits cities and counties from reducing, eliminating, or failing to fill budgeted civil service positions in the building department because they use private reviewers.
Who It Names or Affects
- Cities, counties, or city-counties that issue nonresidential building permits.
- Applicants seeking to build, alter, improve, demolish, or repair nonresidential structures.
- Private professional providers hired to check construction plans and specifications.
Terms To Know
- Nonresidential
- Buildings used for business purposes rather than as homes for people to live in, though the bill excludes certain types of nonresidential buildings.
- Plan-checking function
- The process of reviewing construction drawings and documents to ensure they meet safety codes and laws before a permit is issued.
- Excessive delay
- A situation where the local agency takes more than 30 business days to check plans, allowing applicants to use private reviewers.
Limits and Unknowns
- The law does not apply to certain types of nonresidential buildings as specified in the bill.
- Cities and counties can set limits on building size or specify eligible business types for this process, provided they do not effectively prohibit the use of private providers.
- Special rules regarding liability immunity for public entities expire on January 1, 2037.