Article 3. General Requirements And Administration of California Health And Safety Code >> Division 12.5. >> Chapter 2. >> Article 3.

The appropriate enforcement agency which meets the requirements of Sections 16017 and 16018 shall review the design and inspect the construction of essential services buildings or the reconstruction, alteration, or addition to any essential services building to the extent it deems necessary to ensure that:
  (1) When the enforcement agency is a local agency, drawings and specifications comply with the locally adopted editions of the model codes, as defined in Section 18916, the administrative regulations contained in Part 1 (commencing with Section 1-101) of Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations, and the regulations contained in Part 2 (commencing with Section 101), except for Chapters 23 to 30, inclusive, and Chapter 47 of Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations.
  (2) When the enforcement agency is the Office of the State Architect, that drawings and specifications comply with all parts of the State Building Standards Code, as contained in Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations, as adopted by that agency.
  (3) For the protection of life and property that the work of construction has been performed in accordance with the approved drawings and specifications and this chapter.

Essential services buildings of one-story Type V and Type II N construction that are 2,000 square feet or less in floor area are exempt from the provisions of this chapter.

Unless a contract for the construction or alteration of an essential services building is entered into prior to July 1, 1986, before adopting any drawings or specifications for the essential services building, the governing board, authority, owner, corporation, or other agency proposing to construct any essential services building shall submit the design calculations, drawings, and specifications of the essential services buildings to the appropriate enforcement agency. The enforcement agency shall stamp the drawings and specifications if the construction or alteration is approved by the enforcement agency. Included with the stamp shall be the signature of the qualified person referred to in Section 16018 or Section 16019.

In each case, the application for approval of the drawings and specifications for essential services buildings shall be accompanied by comprehensive and complete drawings, design calculations, and specifications, and required fees, all of which shall comply with the requirements prescribed by the enforcement agency. This review shall not preclude incremental submission and approval of drawings and specifications.

The enforcement agency shall approve or reject all drawings and specifications for the construction or the alteration of all essential services buildings, and in doing so, shall review the design calculations, drawings, and specifications to ensure compliance with the requirements of this chapter. A record shall be kept by the enforcement agency indicating that design calculations, drawings, and specifications have been reviewed and conform with:
  (1) When the enforcement agency is a local agency, the locally adopted editions of the model codes, as defined in Section 18916, the administrative regulations contained in Part 1 (commencing with Section 1-101) of Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations, and the regulations contained in Part 2 (commencing with Section 101), except for Chapters 23 to 30, inclusive, and Chapter 47 of Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations.
  (2) When the enforcement agency is the Office of the State Architect, all parts of the State Building Standards Code, as contained in Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations and adopted by that agency.

(a) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (b), drawings and specifications submitted pursuant to this chapter for construction, reconstruction, remodeling, additions, or alterations which affect structural elements of structures in existence on January 1, 1986, shall be based upon an assessment of the geological conditions of the site and the potential for earthquake damage, relying upon geologic and engineering investigations and studies by personnel who are competent to report on geologic conditions and their potential for causing earthquake damage. One-story Type V and Type II N construction of 4,000 square feet or less shall be exempt from this section, unless the project is within a special studies zone established pursuant to Section 2622 of the Public Resources Code.
  (b) The requirements of subdivision (a) may be waived by the enforcement agency if it determines that these requirements for the proposed essential services building project are unnecessary and would not be beneficial to the safety of the public.

All drawings and specifications shall be prepared under the responsible charge of an architect, civil engineer, or structural engineer, who shall sign all drawings and specifications for approval of the enforcement agency. Observation of the work of construction shall be under the general responsible charge of the same architect, civil engineer, or structural engineer when feasible, as determined by the enforcement agency, except that if drawings and specifications do not involve architectural or structural conditions, the drawings and specifications may be prepared and the work of construction may be administered by a registered professional engineer qualified in the branch of engineering that is appropriate to the drawings, specifications, estimates, and work of construction.

Except as provided in Section 16011, on and after July 1, 1986, construction of an essential services building shall not begin unless the drawings and specifications comply with this chapter and the requirements prescribed by the enforcement agency and approval of those drawings and specifications has been obtained from the enforcement agency.