7-128 Work Performed Without a Permit

1. Compliance examination. Construction or alteration of any health facility, governed under these regulations, performed without the benefit of review, permitting, and/or observation by the Office when review, permitting and/or observation is required, and without the exemption by the Office provided for in Section 7-127, shall be subject to examination by the Office to assess relevant code compliance.

   1. Whenever it is necessary to make an inspection to enforce any applicable provision of the California Building Standards Code or the Alfred E. Alquist Hospital Facilities Seismic Safety Act, or the Office, or its authorized representative, has reasonable cause to believe that there exists in any building or upon any premises any condition or violation of any applicable building standards that makes the building or premises unsafe, dangerous, or hazardous, the Office or its authorized representatives may enter the building or premises at any reasonable time for the purpose of inspection and examination authorized by this chapter.

   2. Examination by the Office may include, but is not limited to:

      1. Review of existing plans;
      2. Site visit(s) as necessary to assess the extent of unpermitted work;
      3. Inspection of work for the purpose of determining compliance including destructive demolition as necessary in accordance with California Building Code Section 110.1 including the removal and/or replacement of any material required to allow inspection, and potentially destructive testing needed to demonstrate compliance with the California Existing Building Code; and
      4. Participation in a predesign conference with architects/engineers to resolve code issues relevant to the corrective or remedial work necessary.

2. Plan review. Construction or alteration of any health facility, governed under these regulations, performed without the benefit of review, permitting and/or observation by the Office, and construction or alteration found in violation of any applicable section of the California Building Standards Code during examination, shall be brought into compliance with the current enforceable edition of the California Building Standards Code. Application for Office review of construction documents and reports for the construction or alteration and corrective work necessary to remedy any violations, unsafe, dangerous, or hazardous conditions, shall be made in accordance with Sections 7-113 through 7-126. The construction documents and reports shall be prepared under an architect or engineer in responsible charge pursuant to Section 7-115 and shall clearly and separately delineate the following:

   1. Portions of the building or structure that existed prior to the unpermitted construction or alteration;
   2. The unpermitted construction or alteration work that is proposed to remain, including all associated dimensions, assemblies, specifications and details; and
   3. New corrective or remedial work necessary to bring the unpermitted construction or alteration work into compliance with all applicable parts of the current California Building Standards Code.

3. Construction observation. The construction, inspection and observation of any construction or alteration of any health facility, governed under these regulations, previously performed without the benefit of review, permitting, and/or observation, and of any new corrective or remedial work deemed necessary by the Office, shall be in accordance with Article 4 of this Chapter. The Office shall make such observation as in its judgment is necessary or proper for the enforcement of these regulations and all applicable parts of the California Building Standards Code. Any violations found in existing, previously constructed or altered, or new corrective or remedial work shall be corrected as required under California Building Code Section 110.6.

   (d) Fees. Fees associated with compliance examination, plan review and field observation shall be in accordance with the following:

   1. The fee for examination shall be the Office's actual costs associated with:

      1. Field investigation and Office support as described in Section 7-128(a)2; and

      2. Legal and administrative costs associated with documentation and reporting of violations of licensing statutes and/or pursuing claims of misconduct with the relative Departments and Boards, including but not limited to:

         1. The California Department of Public Health;
         2. The California Architects Board;
         3. The Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists; and
         4. The Contractors State License Board.

   2. A separate, additional, fee for plan review described in Section 7-128(b) and field observation described in Section 7-128(c) shall be based on the estimated cost of construction as specified below:

      1. The fee for hospital buildings is 2.0 percent of the estimated construction cost. The estimated construction cost shall include fixed equipment cost or estimated value (including shipping, installation, and taxes) but exclude design fees, inspection fees and off-site construction work.
      2. The fee for skilled nursing and intermediate care facilities, as defined in Subdivision (c), (d), (e) or (g) of Section 1250, Health and Safety Code, is 1.5 percent of the estimated construction cost. The estimated construction cost shall include fixed equipment but exclude design fees, inspection fees and off-site work.
      3. The estimated construction cost for a project shall be determined as described in Section 7-133(a)4 and shall include the value of the previously unpermitted construction, or alteration, plus the value of any new corrective and remedial work.
      4. The final approval of the work shall be in accordance with Section 7-133 (a) 7.
4. Occupancy. Upon determination that construction or alteration of any health facility, governed under these regulations, has occurred without the benefit of review, permitting, and/or observation by the Office, and without the exemption by the Office provided for in Section 7-127, the Office may order the area of construction or alteration to be vacated and remain unoccupied, or that the current certificate of occupancy for the building be revoked under California Building Code Section 111.4, until the Office provides a certificate of occupancy upon the completion of all field observation and final construction inspection of the construction or alteration, and associated corrective and remedial work.

Authority: Health and Safety Code Sections 18929 and 129765 - 130070.

Reference: Health and Safety Code Section 129850.