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Westfield Valley Fair and Oakridge Mall

Welcome to San Jose Express Plan Check!

YOUR HUB FOR THE INFORMATION, TIPS AND TRICKS TO GET YOUR PERMIT APPROVED IN THE QUICKEST AND MOST COST-EFFECTIVE WAY.

Table of Contents

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Welcome to San Jose Express Plan Check!

This resource is designed to help you navigate City of San Jose's plan check process and provide helpful information on how to get approved for permits as quickly as possible. 

Feel free to reach out to our team for any additional information or questions as needed. 

Happy Permitting! 

Elizabeth Jun
Director of Production

 

 

Contact Information

Email: sf@permitplace.com

Phone: 415.663.2112

Your Permit Place Team

Permit Place’s San Jose Plan Check Express program is run by a senior team with deep, city-specific expertise. Our staff includes former municipal reviewers, veteran permit expeditors, and entitlement specialists who work in San Jose every day and know its codes, workflows, and unwritten rules. They understand exactly how to prepare, submit, and shepherd plans through the Express process to avoid rejections and delays. The result is faster reviews, cleaner corrections, and a plan check process that actually moves.

Plan Check Express Appointments

Permit Place has a remote meeting with the City every week to shepherd qualified commercial tenant improvement projects through the City of San Jose's plan check process every THURSDAY.

The Plan Check Express appointments are limited to four per week. Plans are submitted on the scheduled Thursday and comments are issued within 2-3 business days. 

To request an appointment, complete the form on the right. We can't guarantee appointment dates at this time, but will do our best to accommodate you. 

Permit Review Date Request

Plan Check Fees

Once plans have been submitted, a plan check fee invoice will be generated and sent to your team.  Fees typically range from $4,000 - $7,000 depending on the size and scope of your project.  If fees are not paid, the plans will not be routed to the plan checkers.  Payment can be made online, by credit card.  Permit Place will send you the invoice as well as instructions for online payment. 

Permit Submittal Materials

Send materials to:

sf@permitplace.com

Building Permits

For the permit submittals, provide a PDF set of drawings that meet the following requirements:

  • Landlord approved* 
  • Formatted to be full size - minimum 18”x24”, maximum 24”x36”.
  • Digital stamp and signature on every page
  • Title 24 forms imaged into plan set, in appropriate trade sections (Mechanical with Mechanical sheets, Electrical with Electrical sheets)
  • Accessibility compliance form imaged on cover sheet (not a separate attachment)
  • PDF set of applicable calculations or attachments
  • send to:  sf@permitplace.com

All of these materials should be sent to the Permit Place office, no later than the Monday before your scheduled submittal date. 

* Landlord will send you stamped “FOR PERMITTING” approved drawings.

Health Permits

If your project requires a Health permit, the Health permit will need to be approved before the final Building approval. Typically, we will submit for health while waiting for Building comments, so we can get those comments around the same time. We will not be able to resubmit back to Building until we have the final Health approval.

To submit for Health:

  1. Provide and send the following to Permit Place:
    • One set of plans, minimum 18”x24” maximum 24”x36”
    • Application 
    • Submittal checklist
    • Copy of menu and equipment manual
    • Plan check fees (confirm with Permit Place Project Manager)
  2. To expedite the review, an additional fee of $493 will be due when Santa Clara County approves the expedite request -  this can be paid by credit card online
  3. Once approved, send two full sets to Permit Place for the Health department to stamp
  4. We will pick up the Health stamped plan sets
  5. We will keep the Health approved sets as we will need them to get final Mechanical/Plumbing approval, but will send them where directed as soon as the Building permit is approved

Exterior Work

Exterior work might include:

  • New Installation, or replacing rooftop units
  • Exterior façade, street facing store fronts 

If there is exterior work as part of your project, we will have to provide a separate submittal to planning with the following items:

  • PDF drawings showing the site plan and elevations (and a roof plan for equipment as applicable, showing dimensions between equipment from parapet and elevations showing height of parapet)
  • Photos of what is existing and elevations of what is proposed.
  • The application fee of $302
  • The minor adjustment application

Building Permits Overview

There are some items you should be aware of.

  • After the plan check appointment, you will receive correction notices within 1-2 business days
  • Building, Fire, Planning, Public Utilities, and MEP are all reviewed simultaneously
  • Demo plans can be submitted separately
  • Racking plans can be submitted separately
  • Sign permits are required to be submitted separately
  • Fire Sprinklers are required to be submitted separately
  • If you wish to start demo or rough framing before permit approval…there’s a form for that! 
  • It is very helpful to send PDF drawings to the Permit Place Project Manager for preliminary permit comments.

Typical First Round Comments

To help you put your best foot forward out at the outset, below is a list of typical first round comments, separated by trade. These comments have been collected from multiple projects and have a tendency to come up time and time again.

Architectural/Structural

  • Be sure to include the accessibility compliance form on the cover sheet.
  • If special inspections are required (typically anchorage and field welding), Special Inspection form should be completed with all signatures and sent with plans, please see forms below if needed.
  • If project valuation is $200K or more, CALgreen forms need to be completed and included with plan set (imaged onto sheet, not separate packet).
  • If racking/shelving plans are included in the TI and not deferred and designed by another engineer, AOR will need to provide letter approving the other engineer’s design, see City directive.
  • Be sure to include thorough attachment and anchorage details for storefront systems showing means of attachment on top and bottom. Include a set of digitally stamped calculations as applicable.
  • Mop sinks cannot be located in restrooms. Relocate or enclose. If enclosing the mop sink, ensure that the enclosure does not encroach on accessibility clearance.
  • For roof top or floor mounted equipment 200 lbs. or more, provide anchorage details (and calculations if 400 lbs. or more).
  • For suspended equipment 100 lbs. or more, provide connection details (and calculations if 200 lbs. or more).
  • Show all accessibility clearances around fixtures.
  • Provide height and elevations of cash wrap to show accessibility.

Electrical

  • All Title 24 forms require digital signatures, and need to be imaged onto plans as part of set

Mechanical/Plumbing

  • NRCC-MCH-01-E forms are required for any alteration to HVAC system.
  • NRCC-MCH-03-E forms are required by City of San Jose.
  • Provide trap primer details if applicable.
  • Label all rooms on floor plan in MECH and PLUMB drawings.
  • All Title 24 forms require digital signatures, and need to be imaged onto plans as part of set.

Kiosks

  • Show accessibility: height of counters, location of cash wrap, entry into kiosk must be wide enough for accessibility requirements.
  • Provide fire ratings for all materials used on kiosk.
  • Show where location of kiosk is in relation to surrounding tenants—must be 20' from other kiosks, 10' from storefronts.
  • Anchorage: provide type and location of all anchors. Provide signed special inspection form if a special inspection is required.
  • If there is an electrical connection, please show:
    • What the circuit is.
    • The panel number.
    • What the load on that circuit is.
    • Distance of feeder to panel.

Re-submittals

So, you've received some comments on the plans you submitted, now what? 

  1. Request your Project Manager to hold a date for the resubmittal. 
  2. Address all comments, cloud revisions and provide a narrative response. 
  3. Send revised plans (same requirements as listed in Materials section).

Permit Approval

Time to Celebrate

Time to celebrate! Once plans are approved for permit, you will be notified by the Project Manager with a “Ready to Issue” memo. It will include the plan check number for your project and further instructions on how to pull the permit.

Permits are issued digitally - please provide all items listed on the right to sf@permitplace.com.

To Pull the Permit

Provide your plan check number and the following items to pull the permit.

  • San Jose City business license.
  • Contractor’s license.
  • Proof of worker’s compensation insurance.
  • Method of payment for plan check fees.*
  • Building application, with GC info.
  • Industrial use designation – it will be N/A, but it still needs to be provided.
  • Construction valuation form. 
  • Letter of authorization if whoever is pulling the permit is not listed on the contractor's license

* Unfortunately, the City of San Jose will not calculate fees until the permit is actually ready to issue and they have a completed construction Valuation Form

Post Permit Revisions

If you have an approved permit and are under construction, but need to revise the plans per field conditions, or an owner/landlord change request, there is a process for that.

  • The revised plans will need to go to a regular Thursday appointment, and since revisions are time sensitive to accommodate inspections it is best to request the appointment as soon as the revision comes up as a possibility.
  • Two sets of plans containing the affected sheets ONLY need to be provided with the changes clouded and a narrative explaining the revision.

THE TOUGH PART: Along with the two sets of revised sheets, we will also need to show the Building Department the permit approved field set of drawings. This can be coordinated between the GC and your Permit Place Project Manager, but the revision will NOT be approved without the field set included.

Forms and Documents

Click any document below to download. 

Accessibility Compliance Form

Special Inspection Form

CALGreen Forms

San Jose City Directive on Multiple Designers

Planning/Permit Adjustment

Health Application

Health Submittal Checklist

San Jose Building Application

Industrial Use Designation Form

Construction Valuation Document

Early Start/Notice of Intent to Rough Frame
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