Senate committee advances bill allowing private plan checks when local reviews exceed 30 days

AB 253, authored by Assemblymember Ward, would allow homeowners and developers to hire licensed third-party professionals to perform post-entitlement plan checks when a local building department cannot complete its review within 30 business days for small residential projects (generally one- to 10-unit projects). The bill passed the Senate committee on a 6-0 vote and was sent to the Committee on Housing as amended.

Supporters told senators the bill targets lengthy permitting delays that stall construction and increase costs. "The average delay for a fully entitled apartment building to receive post-entitlement permits is 9 months," Eduardo Mendoza, a policy researcher at California YIMBY, said in committee testimony. Mendoza said AB 253 would provide a capacity tool for jurisdictions while preserving local authority over final approvals and permit issuance.

"These reviews are done in 5 days on average, if not quicker. 5 days versus 45 days, that's a factor of 9 times greater in receiving comments back," Andrew Slocum, CEO of Green Development Company, said, describing private plan-check turnaround in jurisdictions that already allow the practice.

Opponents, including the California State Association of Counties, said outsourcing plan review risks shifting oversight away from an independent public reviewer and raises public-safety and liability concerns. "We still have remaining concerns essentially on the continued kind of outsourcing of a lot of the responsibilities of local government... ensuring that state and local building code and ordinances, and most importantly, safety of these residential buildings, is still observed," Mark…