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 Neuberger of CSAC said in testimony.

Committee members pressed on liability and scope. Several senators asked whether third-party reviewers would supplant fire department or other code checks. The author and supporters said the option is limited to plan review (not inspections or final occupancy) and that local officials, including fire authorities, retain the ability to review submitted work. The bill also includes an administrative process in which the city reviews the third-party work and resumes responsibility at inspection and final approval.

The committee adopted amendments the author said would clarify liability allocations and other technical points, and then moved the bill forward. The vote was recorded as 6-0 in committee.

How it would work

- Trigger: an applicant may seek a licensed third-party plan check when the local agency cannot complete its review within 30 business days. - Scope: the bill targets small residential projects; it does not remove local final-approval authority or change inspection or occupancy procedures. - Safeguards: local agencies retain discretion to review and reject third-party results; amendments added language about liability and local review timelines.

Why it matters

Supporters say AB 253 addresses a widely reported bottleneck in California's post-entitlement permitting stage that delays housing production and raises carrying costs for projects that are otherwise approved. Opponents warn the change could reduce independent oversight and increase litigation risk if problems are discovered at later inspection stages.

What’s next

AB 253 was passed as amended by the Senate Committee on Local Government and referred to the Committee on Housing for further consideration.

Provenance

Topic introduction: "And senators, first, I really wanna thank our committee staff here today... So AB 253 is before you and it would allow homeowners and developers to hire licensed third party professionals to conduct building plan checks if it would take the local building department longer than 30 business days to conduct that same review." (transcript block starting at 147.655)

Topic finish (vote): "The motion is due pass as amended to the Committee on Housing... D'Arazzo, aye. Choi, aye... Six-zero. The vote is six-zero the bill is out." (transcript block including roll call and committee clerk summary)

Speakers

- Assemblymember Ward — Author - Eduardo Mendoza — Policy researcher, California YIMBY (support) - Andrew Slocum — CEO, Green Development Company (support) - Mark Neuberger — California State Association of Counties (opposition) - Jolena Voras — League of California Cities (opposition) - Claire Sullivan — Cities of Carlsbad, Rancho Cucamonga, Belmont (opposition) - "Bridal Marmontus" — American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (testified with concerns)

Authorities

- statute: "state building codes" — referenced_by: ["topicintro"]

Actions

- kind: "motion" identifiers: {agenda_item_id: "AB 253"} motion: "Do pass as amended to the Committee on Housing" mover: "not specified" second: "not specified" vote_record: [] tally: {yes: 6, no: 0} legal_threshold: {met: true, notes: "committee vote recorded; bill advanced"} outcome: "approved" notes: "Amendments adopted in committee; clarifications on liability and scope included."

Clarifying details

- "30 business days" trigger for when third-party plan checks may be used. - Targeted to small residential projects (1–10 units or similar small projects as discussed). - Supporters cited an average nine-month delay for post-entitlement permits for some projects; third-party review examples show 5-day turnaround in some opt-in cities.

Proper names

- California YIMBY (organization) - Green Development Company (business) - California State Association of Counties (association)

Community relevance

- Geographies: statewide (California) - Impact groups: small residential builders, homeowners seeking permit approvals, local building departments

Searchable tags: ["permitting","housing","plan check","third-party review","local government","building code"]

Provenance_segments:[{"block_id":"block_147.655_196.86","local_start":0,"local_end":177,"evidence_excerpt":"And senators, first, I really wanna thank our committee staff here today for their really hard work and ongoing conversation on this bill. Happy to accept the committee's amendments which are outlined on page 7 of your analysis. So AB 253 is before you and it would allow homeowners and developers to hire licensed third party professionals to conduct building plan checks if it would take the local building department longer than 30 business days to conduct that same review.","reason_code":"topicintro"},{"block_id":"block_2384.61_2402.31","local_start":0,"local_end":120,"evidence_excerpt":"The motion is due pass as amended to the Committee on Housing. Senator D'Arazzo? Aye. D'Arazzo, aye. Choi? Aye... Six-zero. The vote is six-zero the bill is out.","reason_code":"topicfinish"}]