Electronic Plan Check Review

Why is Plan Checking Necessary?

Plan checking is the detailed City's review of construction drawings submitted by an applicant, to ensure that all applicable building codes are complied with, in order to ensure the health and safety of the occupants and the general public. Even though an applicant may have retained a reputable engineer, architect or other professional, the plans may not be in compliance with the code requirements used by the City. In this manner, the City can be assured of safety in all aspects of construction.

When is Plan Checking Necessary?

Any time construction is proposed, plans are required to be submitted. This could range from a simple partition wall or trellis, to a complete multi-story building. The length of time for plan checking is commensurate with the complexity of the plans and proposed construction. Thus, whenever plans are required to be submitted, plan checking will also be required.

Plan Check Requirements:

The first step, before doing anything else, is to check with the Planning Division to determine if a Precise Plan of Design approval is required for your construction project. In most cases, a Precise Plan of Design must be obtained from the Planning Division prior to any plan check submittal to the Building Division.

The following must be submitted at the time of filing:

1. Complete a building permit application for plan review.

2. All plan review fees, including building, electrical, fire sprinkler, mechanical, and plumbing. The approximate plan review turnaround time can be determined upon submittal. Plan review time may vary due to the complexity of the project and/or the volume of projects submitted previously.

(if applicable):

A. Soils Report ( Approved by The City Geologist Prior to Submittal )

B. Structural Calculations

C. Title 24 Energy Calculations

All drawings, structural and energy calculations are to be wet stamped and signed by the responsible discipline of record, architect and/or engineer. In addition, each drawing must contain the owner's name, address and phone number

Review Timeline

• Once the project status has been set to accepted, the 1st submittal will take up to 10 business days.
• Subsequent submittals and revisions once accepted will take up to 5 business days.
• Corrections/Approvals notifications will be sent by email directly from Transtech  via Gopost. Be sure to check your spam messages.
• The applicant will be contacted from an RPV Building & Safety Staff once the plan check is approved.

Plan Check Expiration 

According to the City of Rancho Palos Verdes Municipal Code:

• 105.3.2 Time limitation of application. An application for a permit for any proposed work shall be deemed to have been abandoned 180 days after the date of filing, unless such application has been pursued in good faith or a permit has been issued; except that the building official is authorized to grant up to two extensions of time for additional periods not exceeding 90 days each. The extension shall be requested in writing and justifiable cause shall be demonstrated.

• 15.18.050 - Administrative code amended—Expiration of permits.

Revision submittals must contain the following:

• File includes the original issued full plan set with the City approval stamp. If a digital or scanned copy of original approved plans are not available to you, please request the City to mail out your original paper copy of approved plans. Please keep in mind the mail out process could take up to 2-3 business days to prepare for shipping. 
• Building Permit Number of original approved plans.
• A clear and concise description of work summarizing revisions to the original plans must be present on a new plan check application.
• A separate file containing the newly revised sheets only, changes clearly highlighted, clouded, and delineated with date of revision. (i.e.: Cloud all changes and note delta number on the title block.)
• Check with the Planning Division to see if your Planning Clearance needs to be updated prior to submitting. ( If Applicable )
• Review period is usually up to 5 business days.

Resubmittal Requirements 

After your initial submittal, you will receive a comment letter outlining the corrections needed or your project may be approved. If you receive comments, you will need to address each plan check comment and resubmit adhering to the original submittal requirements. Additional instructions for resubmittals:

• Include a response letter with a detailed explanation how you addressed each plan check comment.
• Use the same format, plan size and scale as the original submittal.
• Resubmit a complete set of plans.

Submitting Plans

Plan Check Application must be submitted with all plan checks and both pages must be signed along with a detailed scope of work provided and the valuation must be provided or your plan check will be denied.

The 2022 California Building Standards Code was adopted by the Rancho Palos Verdes City Council on November 1, 2022. The code and local ordinances will become effective on January 1, 2023. All construction and development projects submitted to the City of Rancho Palos Verdes on or after this date will be required to comply with the new code requirements. 👉🏽 Click here for more information.

The City of Rancho Palos Verdes adopts State construction codes, which are implemented by the Building Safety Division. Title 15 of the city’s Municipal Code contains the Building and Construction standards, and incorporates some specific amendments to the state codes as adopted by the city.

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