News

Department of Building Inspection Customer Communication

DBI Update – New In-house Review Recheck Process, Site Permit Reform Update & Electronic Plan Review
May 25, 2023

Dear Customers,

As part of our ongoing efforts to provide better customer service and speed up permit-processing, we are now prioritizing rechecks to keep projects moving towards completion. In the past, we noticed that projects in the recheck phase could sometimes get delayed in the plan check queues based on workloads and projects in progress.

We believe prioritizing rechecks helps us get permits issued sooner, so we redesigned the In-house review recheck process to be interactive for faster approvals. To facilitate this, we set aside dedicated counter space in the Permit Center for in-person rechecks.

Learn more about how to schedule your In-house Review and Over-the-Counter (OTC) rechecks  here.

 

We also want to update you on the Site Permit Reform process.

In April, the Department of Building Inspection (DBI), the Planning Department and the SF Permit Center hosted a stakeholder meeting to present the proposed improvements and solicit feedback. A big thank you to everyone who joined us and shared your perspectives on the potential changes.

Last week, the Building Inspection and Planning Commissions held a joint hearing on the Site Permit Reform plan where they heard more public comment and suggestions on how to make the proposal even stronger.

if you’d like to learn more, here’s a link to the presentation and stay tuned for more opportunities to provide feedback.

 

Finally, a reminder that Bluebeam Electronic Plan Review (EPR) is not only less expensive than submitting paper plans (at $4.00 a page!) but is significantly faster too.

Recent data documented that Form 3 building permits issued in 2023 using EPR generally moved through the process 37% faster than paper permits. That’s a significant time savings for you and your client.

Learn more about how to submit plans using Bluebeam Electronic Plan Review here. Additional Electronic Plan Review information is located here, and specific information for how to use Bluebeam on a Mac is here.

 

Thank you for your ongoing support and partnership!