Our clients often ask these questions about storage rack permitting and the process in Southern California.
The permitting process has multiple stages handled by City Solutions and the local municipality.
The first step is for City Solution Staff to conduct a site visit to gather the information needed to prepare all drawings and engineering for submittal to the city for review. From the date of the site visit, we will take 3 weeks to prepare all drawings, engineering and applications to submit to the city.
The second step is the review process of the City, this depends on the municipality but on average this can take 3-4 weeks for (1st review submittal). After that 2 things can happen, either the plans are approved by the municipality or they can require additional information. If the plans require additional information (2nd review submittal) the plans get returned to City Solutions, at that point the plans are revised to meet the requirements by the City. If the plans require additional information this will take another 1 week to complete and another 2 weeks for the city to review. Timeline = Approved 1st submittal = 3-4 weeks or Additional Information required 7 weeks.
The third step once the plans are approved, is to call for inspections by both the City Building Dept. / Fire Dept. The inspectors will compare the approved plans to the work that was completed. This step typically can be completed in 1 week.
On average the permitting process can take around 11-12 weeks from start to finish.
The cost associated with a storage rack permit can vary greatly depending on the project size and the engineering required for the size of the project.
Once the City inspector has cited a business owner for not having the appropriate permits for their warehouse, typically the 1st citation is a 30 days notice at that point it is critical for the business owner to contact City Solutions. Once City Solutions is hired to obtain the permits, we will contact the city inspector and advise them of our timeline to submit plans to the city. We will handle all the communication with the City.
We offer a free warehouse consultation to assess what permits are required for your warehouse!