Mayor Eric Garcetti today announced a new initiative that will reduce construction time and costs for 600 building projects a year.
Garcetti said that through the new
Inspection Case Management (ICM) program, the Department of Building and Safety will provide a single point of contact to coordinate inspections among departments for major projects, restaurants, and charter schools from the time projects pull their first building permits through the last day of construction. Previously, builders would have to independently coordinate inspections among various city staff and facilitate problem-solving themselves.
The new program is expected to shorten construction times by 3 to 6 months, which will also reduce costs, encouraging investment in L.A. The program is underway in its initial stages and thirteen projects with a combined valuation of $903.6 million are currently being assisted through it.
"This back to basics initiative cuts red tape and increases customer service to make L.A. more attractive to investments that create jobs," Mayor Garcetti said. "When you're investing in L.A., City Hall should be there to help you and not add delays to your work order."
The ICM will utilize experienced inspection staff as case managers to facilitate the construction inspection process, providing a single point of contact and offering assistance in navigating through the city's regulatory procedures and policies.
ICM Case Managers will create a partnership with construction teams and utilize a series of “all-hands” meetings to streamline construction timelines and overlapping inspection disciplines, solve technical problems, and speed the issuance of a project’s Certificate of Occupancy.
Major projects with valuations greater than $10 million are eligible for a full-time dedicated inspector for the duration of project construction, which would be funded by the project. Smaller projects will be evaluated and assisted based on client needs. Applicants wishing to utilize the Inspection Case Management program may call (213) 482-0464 or
apply online.
Since July 2013, the city has experienced a 40 percent increase in both construction valuation (from $3.8 billion to $5.3 billion) and housing units permitted (from 7,923 to 11,035 units). The accumulated construction valuation in the first quarter of FY14-15 was $1.8 billion – 55 percent higher than the same quarter of last year. Based on this quarterly statistic, year-end construction valuation for FY14-15 could be the highest in L.A. history.
Article originally posted on LAMayor.orgRead more about Inspection Case Management