Building & Safety Department

The Building and Safety Division of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works serves under contract as the City’s Building and Safety Department.  The Department’s offices are located at 26600 Agoura Road, #110, Calabasas.  Office hours are from 7:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and office personnel can be reached at (818) 880-4150.

The County Building and Safety Division was originally established as a Department in March 1933 by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.  This action was taken in the wake of the Long Beach earthquake, which brought to focus the importance of maintaining and enforcing effective building laws.

The primary function of the Building and Safety Division is the enforcement, through the plan check and inspection process, of the Building, Plumbing, Mechanical, and Electrical Codes, as well as other local and State requirements relevant to the construction and occupancy of public and private structures.  Some of the other pertinent State and local requirements enforced by Building and Safety include zoning requirements, general hazards mitigation, National Pollution Discharge Elimination System, Standard Urban Stormwater Mitigation Plan, geology, disabled access, sound attenuation, energy conservation, and environmental protection.

Plan Check

Building and Safety maintains a staff of engineers who are qualified to review all aspects of any project including architectural, structural, disabled access, plumbing, electrical, mechanical, geology, grading and drainage including National Pollution Discharge Elimination System and Standard Urban Stormwater Mitigation Plan compliance, and Title 24 energy conservation.  For almost all building projects, building permits are required.  The process normally begins with the submittal of plans to the City Planning Department for a zoning clearance.  Following approval by the Planning Department, plans can be submitted to Building and Safety for plan check. For the purpose of coordination, Building and Safety has established a formal plan referral system with other agencies such as the Fire Prevention Bureau and Health Department to ensure that all applicable regulations are complied with prior to issuance of permits.  Depending on the complexity of the project, the plan check process may be accomplished “over the counter” or may take weeks to complete.  Plan check fees also vary depending on the size and complexity of the project (i.e., complex projects may involve grading, architectural, structural, electrical, plumbing and mechanical plans). Both plan check and building permit fees are collected in accordance with the City fee schedule.

Building Permits and Inspections

Building and Safety utilizes a program of combination inspection, whereby one inspector is responsible for inspecting all phases of construction on a single job and inspects all jobs in a given geographical area.  The individual inspector is aided, as needed, in more complex inspections by his or her supervisors and by staff engineers who are experts in their field.  The use of combination inspectors better serves the needs of the public than specialized inspectors, in that a builder or homeowner deals consistently with one individual who is familiar with the specific job.  A full time inspector is assigned to the City to handle exisiting and new construction inspection. Following plan check, building permit(s) may be issued for a construction project, and inspections will be conducted throughout the construction process.  The building contractor is responsible for contacting City building inspectors to schedule an inspection 24 hours in advance to avoid work delays.

Citywide Building Inspections

As part of the daily routine, City building inspectors survey City business districts and residential neighborhoods to assure that ongoing construction activities have been issued appropriate permits.  Where such activities have not been properly permitted, a “Stop Work” order is issued barring any further work on site until plan check and building permit requirements have been met.