Commentary provided by Chris Parker, Pacific Crest Consultants at PCC
On Thursday, April 21, 2022, the Department of Building and Safety announced its in-person process. The following is from notes taken by PCC staff.
Here are my notes from the LADBS call. This was an LADBS-only call; Osama made the point that if we want to know what Planning, LADOT, Public Works, etc., are going to do, we need to ask those departments.
If anyone else heard something that the team should know, please reply-all to this email chain. Thanks!
Opening on Monday by appointment only:
- 4th floor: Building, mechanical & electrical plan-check counters; express permits, records, and soft story
- 5th floor: Green and DAS
- 8th floor: plan-check verifications and plan-check counter
- The other tower: Inspection and Code Enforcement
Appointments will be needed for these departments/counters. Appointments have to be made through Build LA. All departments on the same appointment system. Will be launched tonight or tomorrow morning.
Approved plans can be picked up on the 8th floor. No appointment is needed.
If you are going into Metro for an appointment or pickup, you need to show proof of vaccination and you must wear a mask inside the buildings.
No more drop-off at Metro. West LA and Van Nuys are the places to go for drop-offs. If you have plans for Metro, you’ve got to deliver to Metro. Plans won’t be transferred from WLA and/or Van Nuys to Metro or vice versa.
Zoning Information counter is not available in-person but will be available via email or phone.
They’re creating a dedicated staff for online submissions (“E-plan group”), urging that we submit online for “small” projects. Promise it’ll be reviewed in a couple of days.
If you want OTC and/or ECPC, make an appointment for in-person review. The plans will be screened and processed as normal and LADBS staff will make the determination on whether they’re OTC and/or ECPC.
They’re hoping to create an online waiting room to take questions and answer questions (like the info counter of pre-pandemic). It’ll take 4 weeks at least.
They’re creating a “joint stamping” system so that once LADBS is done, the plan-checker will alert the other departments (Fire Dept., Planning, BOE, Health) so those plans can be stamped. Fire already doing it; Planning and Health may not be ready to do this until June. LADBS says LID won’t need to stamp plans anymore.
GPI requests will be available for appointments 7:30a-9:30a. All other Grading functions will still be done via drop-off.
We can make appointments now to view records such as historic building plans.
SATT: Unrelated to PCC notes: John Doe started a Petition asking Mayor Garcetti to direct LADBS to open their development service centers to the public and follow the examples set by neighboring cities.
