Building Permit Process

After an application for a building permit has been filed, the Building Division - Permit Section becomes the hub for routing and recovering the project drawings from the appropriate reviewing sections, agencies, and the plan examiner assigned to the project. Final building permit approval may not be given to any project until all sections and agencies have returned the required written approvals to the Building Division - Permit Office.

Typically for exterior commercial construction, the routing of contract documents will include:

  1. Plan Exam review
  2. Zoning review
  3. Cultural Resources Office review
  4. Air Pollution review
  5. Street Department review
  6. Plumbing Section review
  7. Mechanical Section review
For certain projects such as restaurants, institutional or high hazard use groups, the following agencies may also be included in the review process:
  • Board of Public Service
  • Fire Marshal
  • Plumbing Section
The Building Division - Permit Section has a goal of reviewing, approving and issuing building permits as quickly as possible, usually within 3-5 working days after the building permit application has been made; however, if there are problems with Zoning, outside agency approvals or revisions needed and/or required to the submitted construction documents, this process can be significantly extended. For this reason, it is strongly recommended that preliminary plan exam reviews occur as early as practical in the project. This can be arranged through the Building Division - Plan Exam Section or through the Business Assistance Center (BAC) Project Steward Program. See Section on One-Stop-Shop for Permits.

Early project reviews with a Plan Examiner help identify any problem areas with the project, if any special outside agency approvals are required and will allow Owners, Developers and Design Professionals the lead time needed to contact the appropriate agencies to review the project to insure the quickest possible turn around in obtaining the building permit when the required submittals are ready for building permit application.

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This Page Last Modified: Monday, 19-Nov-2007 16:42:42 CST