What is Mesa's Annual Facilities Permit for plumbing work? City Code 4-1-4(F)

Section 4-1-4(A) lists Annual Facilities Permit holders among those exempt from individual permits. The permit is "an administrative system intended to simplify the permitting and inspection process for qualified facilities by allowing inspectors to review plans and maintaining inspectors familiar with the construction history of such facilities."

The limits are written into subsection (F):

• What it covers. Work regulated by the chapter on existing buildings, structures and utilities associated with the qualified facility.
• What it does not cover. Work that increases floor area or changes the use or occupancy classification. Those still need normal permits.
• No code holiday. The permit "shall not exempt compliance with the technical requirements" of the chapter, the technical codes or other city, county, state or federal laws.
• Not transferable. An Annual Facilities Permit cannot be transferred to a new owner.
• Renewal. It may be renewed every 12 months on payment of the renewal fee in the city's Schedule of Fees and Charges. Fees are due before the permit expires, or a new application is required, and work done after expiration violates the chapter and is subject to penalty.
• Notice before concealed work. The agent must notify the Building Safety Director before starting work that changes the building structure or fire-rated assemblies, or that installs structural, mechanical, plumbing or electrical work intended to be enclosed or concealed. The director decides what plan review and inspection is needed, and the city invoices the facility for those services at the scheduled rates.

Under (H)(2), the application goes on a city form with an application fee and names the person authorized to act for the owner, the agent responsible for code compliance, and the location and total square footage of the facility. If the agent is a contract employee, the agent and the owner's authorized person cannot be the same individual. The permit is valid only while the named agent stays employed by the facility. If the agent leaves, the facility must notify the city within seven calendar days and obtain a replacement agent within 45 days, or the permit is deemed suspended (4-1-4(M)).

• Qualified facility. A firm, corporation or political entity in manufacturing, processing, service or property management that occupies and controls specialized buildings and equipment, with full-time personnel needed to manage, operate or maintain them.
• Agent. A full-time or contract employee of the facility who is an Arizona registered architect or engineer, responsible for compliance with the chapter and the technical codes.
• Existing buildings, structures and utilities. The permit is for changes to what already stands and was already approved, not new construction.

Owners that fit the qualified facility definition, and the plumbing contractors who do repeat work for them. A single-tenant shop or a one-building landlord without full-time building staff is unlikely to qualify, and should look at the regular tenant improvement track instead.

A manufacturer with in-house engineers. The plant holds an Annual Facilities Permit. When maintenance reroutes a process water line, the agent notifies the city before the pipe is closed in, and the city decides which inspections it needs.

A property manager. A manager with full-time building staff and a contract engineer as agent qualifies. If the same person is both the facility's authorized signer and the contract agent, the application does not meet (H)(2).

The edge case. The permit expires on a Friday, and a contractor finishes a repair on Monday. That work falls after the expiration date and is a violation of the chapter, subject to penalty.

1. 1Decide whether your facility fits the qualified facility definition, including full-time staff.
2. 2Line up an Arizona registered architect or engineer as the agent, and a separate person to act for the owner if the agent is a contractor.
3. 3Apply on the city's form with the fee from the current Schedule of Fees and Charges and the facility's total square footage.
4. 4Calendar the 12-month renewal so it is paid before expiration.
5. 5Give the Building Safety Director notice before any concealed plumbing work.

• "An annual permit skips inspections." The director decides which reviews and inspections apply, and the facility pays for those services.
• "It covers expansions." Added floor area and changes of use fall outside it.
• "It moves with the building." It is not transferable.
• "It relaxes the code." The technical requirements still apply in full.