Primary responsibility for compliance and enforcement with the Building Energy Efficiency Standards (Energy Standards) rests with the local enforcement agency, typically associated with a city or county government. A building permit must be obtained from the local jurisdiction before; a new nonresidential or high-rise residential building, outdoor lighting system, or a sign may be constructed; before constructing an addition, and before significant alterations (including tenant improvements) may be made to existing buildings or systems. Before a permit is issued, the local jurisdiction examines the building plans and specifications for the proposed building to verify compliance with all applicable codes and standards. Verification of compliance with the Energy Standards, by comparing the requirements specified on the Certificate(s) of Compliance with the building plans and specifications for the building, is the responsibility of the enforcement agency's plans examiners. The enforcement agency's plans examiner must also verify that the building plans and specifications for the building are in compliance with the building, plumbing, electrical, and the mechanical codes, and all other applicable codes and standards adopted by the local enforcement agency.
Once the enforcement agency has determined that the proposed building (as represented in the building plans and specifications) complies with all applicable codes and standards, a Building Permit may be issued at the request of the builder or the owner of the proposed building. This is the first significant milestone in the compliance and enforcement process. After building construction is complete, if the enforcement agency's final inspection determines that the building conforms to the building plans and specifications and Certificate(s) of Compliance approved during plan check, and complies with all applicable codes and standards, the enforcement agency may approve the building and issue the Certificate of Occupancy. The enforcement agency's final approval is also a significant milestone.
While obtaining the Building Permit and Certificate of Occupancy are two significant steps, the compliance and enforcement process is significantly more involved and requires participation by a number of other persons and organizations, including: the architect or building designer, specialty engineers (mechanical, electrical, civil, etc.), building developers, purchasing agent, general contractor, subcontractors/installers, energy consultant, plans examiners, inspectors, realtors, the building owner, and third-party inspectors (HERS raters). This chapter describes the overall compliance and enforcement process and identifies the responsibilities for each person or organization.
Where the building construction is under the jurisdiction of a state agency, no construction of any state building can begin until the Department of General Services (DGS), or the state agency that has jurisdiction over the property, determines that: the construction is designed to comply with the requirements of Title 24, Part 6 (Building Energy Efficiency Standards); the documentation requirements of §10-103(a)1 have been met (Certificate(s) of Compliance); and that the building plans indicate the features and performance specifications needed to comply with the Energy Standards. The responsible state agency must notify the Energy Commission’s Executive Director of its determination.
Contigent upon availabilty and approval of nonresidential data registry by the Energy Commission, all Certificate of Compliance documentation for the construction and alteration of nonresidential buildings will be required to be registered. Registration requirements are described in this chapter, and elsewhere in this 'manual, as applicable. Also, Reference Joint Appendix JA7 provides detailed descriptions of document registration procedures and individual responsibilities for registration of Certificate(s) of Compliance, Certificate(s) of Installation, and Certificate(s) of Acceptance Testing. More details regarding the registration requirements may also be found in Reference Nonresidential Appendix NA1.
When registration is required, persons responsible for completing and submitting compliance documents (Certificate(s) of Compliance, Certificate(s) of Installation, and Certificate(s) of Acceptance) are required to submit the compliance form(s) electronically to an approved nonresidential data registry for registration and retention. Registration of the nonresidential compliance documentation will be 'in 'addition to registering Certificate(s) of Verification with an approved HERS provider data registry when HERS testing is required (see Section 2.2 of this chapter).
Compliance documents submitted to an approved nonresidential data registry shall be certified and signed by the applicable responsible person (§10-103). The nonresidential data registry shall assign a unique registration number to the document(s), provided the documents are completed correctly and a certification/signature is provided by the responsible person. The "registered" document will be retained by the nonresidential data registry, and copies of the unique registered document(s) will be made available via secure internet website access to authorized users of the nonresidential data registry for use in making electronic or paper copies of the registered document(s) for submittals to the enforcement agency as required, including posting copies in the field for enforcement agency inspections, and providing copies to the building owner (see Section 2.3.2 of this chapter).
Examples of authorized users of the nonresidential data registry may include energy consultants, builders, building owners, construction contractors and installers, enforcement agencies, the Energy Commission, and other parties to the compliance and enforcement process that the documents are designed to support. Authorized users of the nonresidential data registry will be granted read/write access rights to only the electronic data that pertains to their project(s).
NOTE: Documents submitted to public agencies for code compliance are considered public information.
This chapter is organized as follows:
2.1 Overview
2.2 The Compliance and Enforcement Process
2.3 Final Inspection by the Enforcement Agency and Issuance of the Certificate of Occupancy
2.4 Compliance Documentation
2.5 Roles and Responsibilities