California Senate Approves Bill to Address Commercial Plan-Checking Delays

An industry-sponsored measure to address prolonged commercial plan-checking delays has passed the California Senate in a unanimous 38-0 vote. Introduced by Assemblymember Mark Gonzalez (D-Los Angeles), Assembly Bill 2418 is sponsored by the California Business Properties Association and co-sponsored by BOMA Greater Los Angeles, BOMA California local associations and NAIOP SoCal with critical support from the Commercial Real Estate Development Association California.

The bill allows applicants to utilize a qualified third-party plan checker, at the applicant’s expense, only after an extended review delay. Local agencies retain authority to establish reviewer qualifications, determine project eligibility and make all final permitting decisions.

“This legislation originated from a simple problem we have been dealing with for years: projects that should take weeks to review are instead taking several months,” said Stephane Wandel, president of NAIOP SoCal. “AB 2418 gives building permit applicants additional options to speed up the process by hiring a third-party plan checker when city departments are overworked and delays become too unreasonable.”

AB 2418 now returns to the State Assembly for a concurrence vote on recent Senate amendments before heading to the Governor.