GUIDE TO: SUCCESSFUL PLAN REVIEW

1. GUIDE TO: SUCCESSFUL PLAN REVIEW

2. WE ARE HERE TO HELP YOU • The goal of this presentation is to help our customers achieve first time success in plan review. Today we will be focused primarily on residential submittals.

3. REMEMBER THESE THREE THINGS: 1. Each application needs to have ONE PERSON WHO IS RESPONSIBLE for compiling a complete and accurate submittal package. 2. The plans are required to demonstrate Code compliance and be clear enough that a qualified 3rd party is able to understand the proposed project without any prior knowledge.

4. 3. We are a valuable source of information for you. Our staff is always available to answer questions an we encourage pre-submittal meetings.

5. LET’S GET STARTED PUTTING THE PUZZLE TOGETHER!

6. STEP ONE… • Each applicant begins by presenting a site plan and all other documents to one of the Planners at the front counter…

7. PLANNING, ZONING, & STORMWATER ISSUES For the purposes of this presentation let’s assume there aren’t any, however…………………

8. PLANNING AND ZONING • Please remember to Always consult with one of our staff Planners for other potential requirements.

9. COMMON MISTAKES MADE WHEN PREPARING A SITE PLAN • Only a portion of the parcel is shown on the site plan; the entire parcel boundary must be delineated. • Distance from the proposed structure to the property lines, and to other existing structures are not labeled. • Site plan is not on an 8.5x11 sheet of paper. • Site plan is not drawn to scale.

10. COMMON MISTAKES MADE WHEN PREPARING A SITE PLAN 5. Streams, drainage ways, and other land features are not delineated. 6. Current easements are not shown on the site plan. • Existing roads, driveways, parking areas, decks and other impervious areas are not shown or labeled on the site plan. • Directional arrows are not labeled.

11. STEP TWO………… After review and approval by the front counter Planner for land use requirements, the applicant will proceed to one of the Permit Techs.

12. STEP TWO… • This is the point where your submittal is actually entered into “TRAKiT”, our project tracking software system. • At the time your Building Permit Application is accepted and entered into our tracking system, the Plan Review Fee is due and will be collected by the Permit Tech; so please remember the checkbook.

13. INITIAL REVIEW FOR COMPLETENESS & COMMON ERRORS • The Permit Tech will do a preliminary review of the plans and other submittal documents; truss sheets, HVAC design, engineering, etc. to verify if the submittal is complete. • Please remember that the Permit Techs do not performa complete review for Code compliance, but they do look for common inadequacies and may ask for additional information or corrections. The final Code review will be performed by one of the Plans Examiners after the submittal is accepted.

14. IS THE SUBMITTAL COMPLETE? • Incomplete submittal packages to “Get in line” will usually not be accepted. • This practice is unfair to those who have done their due diligence to compile a complete package.

15. RESIDENTIAL BUILDING PERMIT SUBMITTAL REQUIREMENTS AND CHECKLIST • This “Submittal Checklist”, which will be covered in detail later, is required to be included in the Building Permit submittal package and must be completed and signed. This list will be covered in detail later

16. TECHNICAL QUESTIONS MAY BE ASKED… • The person who brings in the submittal package should have adequate knowledge of the project. “He told me to just drop it off?!”

17. STRUCTURE AREA • The SQUARE FOOTAGES of all living spaces, garages, decks, and covered porches are required to be clearly noted on the plans. • The areas are necessary to calculate fees and is required information for the Fire Districts. AREAS Basement 1000 sq ft First floor 1000 sq ft Bonus Room 500 sq ft Decks 750 sq ft Garage 750 sq ft Total 4000 sq ft

18. OUTSIDE AGENCY APPROVAL • By Ordinance, relevant outside agency approval must be provided to us before a Building Permit can be issued. • At the time of submittal, as a courtesy, the Permit Tech will send notification by e-mail to the relevant outside agencies, such as Panhandle Health District, the Fire District, etc. that there is a proposed project in their jurisdiction.

19. PLEASE FOLLOW-UP • It is important to remember that it is the responsibility of the APPLICANT to follow up with any additional requirements an outside agency may have. • Please remember: You can track Permit approval progress on our website at “PERMIT SEARCH”: http://permits.kcgov.us/index.asp • If an outside agency is not responding, please contact THAT AGENCY to follow up.

20. AFTER ALL REVIEWS AND APPROVALS ARE COMPLETE….. • The applicant will be notified to come in to our office for the Permit to be issued. • Remaining fees will be collected at that time. Again, please don’t forget the checkbook.

21. PERMIT TRACKING • Again; the public can search the status of all Building Permits on the Kootenai County website! Please visit: http://permits.kcgov.us/index.asp

22. TRY ELECTRONIC SUBMITTAL! • Kootenai County Building and Planning Department now accepts and encourages electronic plans for review. • Both Building and Site Disturbance Permits. • Upload to Net Account, or • On CD.

23. A LITTLE BIT OF PAPER IS STILL REQUIRED…… • At this time permit applications are required to be submitted in person. • The 8 ½ x 11 site plan must also be submitted in person to check for land use issues. • If the structure is residential over 3,600 square feet (or commercial) one paper set is required by the Fire Districts to be submitted to us and receive our stamps for the applicant to take to them for review.

24. IT’S A MUCH EASIER AND MORE EFFICIENT METHOD • MUCH LESS PAPER • Corrections can be e-mailed or downloaded between the Plans Examiner and the Designer. • Plan review is faster. • Easier to store plans. • It’s GREEN!

25. INCLUDE ALL CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS • Construction drawings • Engineering calculations • Truss data sheets • RESCHECK • HVAC design • ETC. • Everything is required to be in PDF format

26. ELECTRONIC SUBMITTAL • Contact the Building Division to set up a Web Submittal Account. • It is necessary to provide an e-mail address and choose a password. • We’ll teach you how to download and retrieve documents. • You will be notified automatically by e-mail when any document is downloaded to your account.

27. UPON APPROVAL • After all documents are approved, we will e-mail or download the approved set to you for printing. • The applicant is required to get one approved set printed which will then be kept on the jobsite as the approved plans required for inspections. • The approved and printed jobsite set is required to be brought in by the applicant for signing at the time the permit is issued.

28. New customer computer! • Please check out the NEW customer self-help computer in our office. • There are links to many helpful sites and tools, and we’ll keep adding to the list.

29. GREAT SOURCES OF INFORMATION……… • Kootenai County Building and Planning: • http://www.kcgov.us/departments/bandp/ or call 208-446-1040 • International Code Council: www.iccsafe.org • Idaho Association of Building Officials: www.idabo.org • Air Conditioning Contractors of America: http://www.acca.org/ • Stairway Manufacturers Association: www.stairways.org

30. GREAT SOURCES OF INFORMATION ……… • Idaho Division of Building Safety: www.dbs.idaho.gov • APA-The Engineered Wood Association: www.apawood.org • American Wood Council: www.awc.org • Simpson Strong Tie: www.strongtie.com • Wood Truss Council of America: www.woodtruss.com • N.I.C.E. has donated the most relevant Codes and Commentaries to five area libraries: www.nice.idabo.org/index.htm

31. RESIDENTIAL REQUIREMENTS AND CHECKLIST

32. WHY ALL OF THE PLAN REQUIREMENTS? • Not all requirements can be assumed on the plan, but most are. • In the IRC alone, there are approximately 30,000 requirements.

33. Besides the basics, many of the plan review requirements are based on issues commonly encountered by the field inspectors.

34. Most would agree that It’s MUCH easier to make a correction on paper than by demolition.

35. WHO’S THE TEAM LEADER? • AGAIN………….PLEASE REMEMBER: • It can’t be stressed enough that for successful plan review, each permit application must have ONE PERSON WHO IS RESPONSIBLE for compiling a complete and accurate submittal package.

36. WHO IS ON THE TEAM? • YES - A design TEAM creates the construction documents. • Architect?...................................YES • Designer?...................................YES • Engineer?...................................YES • General Contractor?...................YES • Home owner?.............................YES • Sub Contractors?.......................YES • Building and Planning Staff?......YES

37. WITHOUT TEAMWORK, well…… ?

38. HERE’S WHAT THE BUILDING CODE REQUIRES OF THE PLANS: Braced wall lines shall be identified on the construction documents, including, but not limited to, bracing methods, location and length of braced wall panels, attachment of the braced wall panels at the top and anchorage of the braced wall panel at the bottom.

39. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? The days of plans on a napkin are behind us now!

40. ACCURACY IS A MUST • The scope of work and Code compliance is required to be clearly and accurately indicated in the plans.

41. PUT THE PIECES TOGETHER • Please put the pieces of the puzzle together before you come in to submit for an application.

42. PUT THE PIECES TOGETHER • Most delays in the permit process are a result of incomplete, inaccurate, conflicting or unclear documents.

43. Is there too much information in the General Notes? • Are the plans to scale? • Are the notes, details, truss data sheets, RESCHECK, engineering, etc. consistent with each other?

44. CLEAR AND ACCURATE? • Have canned plans been modified to reflect what will actually be in the scope of the proposed work? • Flipped or mirrored plans will not be accepted. • Old “whiteout” plans that have been used before will not be likely be accepted.

45. DETAILS • If generic file details are used on the plan, include ONLY those which specifically apply to your project. • Two story section for a one story house, etc. • Cross reference all details to the location they will be used such as: 3 A 1.1

46. OLD HANDOUT DETAILS • All old details we have provided in the past are obsolete; PLEASE put them in the recycle bin.

47. DON’T LEAVE IT TO OTHERS • We can’t accept notes on the plan such as these: • “By Others” (Who is Mr. Others?) • “By Vendor” • “Preliminary” • “See Engineering” (if there isn’t any)

48. BUILDING ORDINANCE 450 • The Building Ordinance contains all of the Code adoptions and amendments. It is a companion to the various Codes. • The Building Ordinance also lists the relevant design criteria. • The Building Ordinance details code violation and appeal requirements

49. IS A PERMIT REQUIRED? There are few things that don’t require a building permit. IRC Section R105.2 lists exempt work. It is always best to contact us and ask.

50. USE THE CORRECT CODES(And note them on the plan) • 2009 International Residential Code • 2009International Building Code • 2009 International Energy Conservation Code • Plumbing and electrical under jurisdiction of the State of Idaho