The city of Goleta is accepting electronic building permit applications and plan submissions in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The city is also offering virtual building and safety inspections as an alternative to on-site inspections.
“These changes will allow the City to continue to safely provide all basic permitting and inspection services during this health emergency in support of construction projects, including housing projects, recognized as “essential” and allowed to continue to work under the Governor’s March 19 Stay at Home Order,” city spokeswoman Kelly Hoover said.
Ms. Hoover said the city was already interested in offering electronic submissions and virtual building and safety inspections. They sped up the rollout of the program because of state mandated social distancing rules.
“As the Planning and Environmental Review Department strives to continue to provide basic permitting and inspection services during this public health crisis, we are excited to implement these new remote and paperless technologies. They will continue to provide enhanced customer service and greater operating efficiencies long after this crisis is over,” City Planning and Environmental Services Director Peter Imhof said.
City Planning and Building staff are available during regular business hours for remote consultation on permitting requirements and inspections by phone or email.
Builders can submit electronic plans by email if they are less than 50MB in size. They can send large files by accessing a file transfer site or by cloud storage service.
Contact the Planning Division at (805) 961-7543 or cwalshbeck@cityofgoleta.org and the Building & Safety Division at (805) 961-7552 or at buildinggroup@cityofgoleta.org with email submittals and for directions on accessing a file transfer site.
To schedule a building and safety inspection, email building.inspector@cityofgoleta.org or call (805) 961-7550 at least 24 hours in advance.
The parameters of the virtual inspection process are:
- Between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. on the morning of your scheduled inspection, a city building inspector will call you.
- The inspector will coordinate with you a specific time that day to call you and conduct a Google Duo or Facetime inspection.
- It is the responsibility of the permittee (contractor, architect, or owner) to have access to Google Duo or Facetime on his/her smartphone.
- It is the responsibility of the permittee to have 4G connectivity on his/her smartphone or tablet at all locations of the job site where the inspection is occurring, including all interior spaces to be inspected.
On-site inspections may take place while observing social distancing guidelines.
For more information and instructions on virtual inspections, visit the Planning and Environmental Department page on www.cityofgoleta.org
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