Santa Monica building permits

Requirements

• THE CITY TELLS YOU IT IS BEHIND, WHICH IS RARE AND USEFUL: "Plan review timelines are currently delayed beyond the estimated timeframes." Two reads of the page under different framings returned that sentence identically.
• BUT THE SENTENCE CARRIES NO DATE, AND THAT IS THE PROBLEM WITH IT. There is no posting date, no review date and no expiry on the notice, so a reader cannot tell whether "currently" means this week or eighteen months ago. It is a true statement with no shelf life attached.
• AND THERE IS NO PUBLISHED FIGURE FOR IT TO BE LATE AGAINST. The page refers to "the estimated timeframes" as though they are stated somewhere, but no first-review or recheck figure appears on the pages read. The delay is announced relative to a number the reader has not been given.
• A COMPLETE SUBMITTAL IS A CONDITION, NOT AN ASPIRATION: "submittals must be complete with all required supporting documentation and fee payments at the time of submission." Fee payment is part of completeness here - an application with documents but without payment is not a submittal.
• THERE IS A COUNTER ROUTE FOR SMALL WORK: "Same-Day Review - for certain minor projects such as reroofs, mechanical installations, facade remodels/repairs that can be reviewed and approved at the public counter." Note the words "such as" - the three named are examples and the eligible set is not enumerated on the page, so ask rather than assume your scope qualifies.
• OVER TWO THOUSAND BUILDINGS ARE IN THE SEISMIC PROGRAMME. If the property is commercial or multi-family, check whether it carries an "Order to Structurally Analyze Potentially Seismically Vulnerable Building" before planning other work, because a retrofit obligation changes the scope of anything else.

Required documents

• Optional
• Optional

Fee schedule