City county and state authorities (AHJ)
Kind: Who make the build legal
Tag: code adoption, review, permits, inspections
Role in the system
Authorities set the legal envelope for what can be built, how it must be documented, and when it is approved for construction and use. The key term is AHJ: authority having jurisdiction. In practice, planning, building, fire, public works, utilities, and state-level code or licensing frameworks may all matter.
Personas
| Persona | Type | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Planner / zoning reviewer | Info + decisions | Determines whether the proposal fits land-use rules, setbacks, notice requirements, and discretionary review paths. |
| Permit technician / intake staff | Info processing | Checks completeness, fees, forms, and routing into the right review workflow. |
| Plan reviewer | Info + decisions | Reviews documents for adopted-code and local-rule compliance and issues correction comments. |
| Building inspector | Hybrid | Inspects staged work in the field, documents findings, and can issue violations or stop-work orders. |
| State code / licensing layer | Info + decisions | Often shapes code adoption/amendment and occupational licensing rules for certain trades. |
Receives / consumes
- Applications and forms
- Plan sets and calculations
- Agency referrals
- Inspection requests
- Correction responses
Produces / sends
- Approvals / permits
- Review comments
- Inspection results
- Conditions of approval
- Final signoffs / occupancy permissions
Key decisions
- Whether the proposal can proceed
- What must be corrected
- Whether field work complies with approved plans and code
- Whether legal completion / use is allowed
Related terms
- AHJ (Authority Having Jurisdiction), Plan check - review comments, Plan reviewer, Occupancy - use signoff
Related notes
Evidence
- S11 - International Code Council - Code adoption resources, S12 - SF Planning - Homeowners, S13 - Sacramento County - Building Permits & Inspection Division, S17 - BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook - Construction and building inspectors, S21 - BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook - Electricians, S22 - BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook - Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters, S31 - Seattle SDCI - New building permit for single-family residential or duplex