Energy Storage Permitting Guidebook - Report - Page 20
20
Energy Storage Guidebook
Typical Permit Review
The building permit process exists to protect public health, safety, and welfare.
The process ensures that buildings, and certain kinds of installed equipment,
such as ESS, meet the standards set out in California’s Building Standards Code.
More details on the building codes and standards that impact ESS are included in the previous section,
Section 2: Codes and Standards Impacting Energy Storage Permitting.
A wide range of permitting agencies exist in California. These range from AHJs affiliated with municipalities
(i.e., city and county governments) to AHJs located within special districts (e.g., independent fire districts that
provide permitting to state and federal agencies). Along with AHJs, other permitting agencies in the state
include:
The Division of the State Architect, which provides oversight for primary and secondary schools,
community colleges, and other state facilities.
CAL FIRE Office of the State Fire Marshal Plan Review Section, which provides construction plan review
for buildings used by certain state agencies.
The California Department of Health Care Access and Information (which was formerly known as the
Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development), which provides permitting for hospitals and
certain kinds of healthcare facilities.
California Department of Housing & Community Development, which provides registration for mobile
homes and inspections of mobile home parks.
Water districts, which provide self-permitting for infrastructure related to water delivery.
Federal agencies for federally managed properties, such as military bases, which typically follow their
own federal building code.
Building permits must be reviewed following the state’s requirements, but AHJs structure the permitting
process for their areas of oversight. They have significant influence over the codes that govern construction
and how projects are reviewed against these codes and standards. A standard process follows a flow as
shown in Figure 3. AHJs seeking to expedite their permitting process may be able to automate the plan
review for typical residential solar plus storage installations using an online automated permitting software.
