Housing: building permits.

Under existing law, the building department of every city or county is required to enforce the provisions of the State Building Standards Code, the State Housing Law, and the other rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to that law pertaining to, among other things, the erection, construction, reconstruction, or repair of apartment houses, hotels, or dwellings. Existing law permits the governing body of a local agency to authorize its enforcement agency to contract with or employ a private entity or persons on a temporary basis to perform the plan-checking function. Existing law, when there is excessive delay in checking plans and specifications submitted as part of an application for a residential building permit, requires the local agency, upon the applicant's request, to contract with or employ a private entity or persons temporarily to perform the plan-checking function, as specified. This bill would establish a 5-year pilot project in 3 unspecified local agencies that would permit the governing body of a local agency to authorize a building department to create and implement a program whereby a building permit may be issued upon submission of plans prepared by an architect and reviewed by another unaffiliated architect, for specified types of projects.