What plumbing details does Pinal County want in a restaurant plan review?

The packet's "Contents and Format of Plans and Specifications" says plans should also include a plumbing schedule. The exact wording is the quote above. Under it the packet adds four more instructions:

• Clearly designate all food preparation sinks.
• Clearly designate "adequate hand-washing lavatories in the immediate area of food preparation and dishwashing, and for each restroom."
• Clearly designate a mop sink or curbed cleaning facility with facilities for hanging wet mops.
• Clearly designate the location of proposed or existing grease traps or interceptors, including type and size.

The plans also have to show the source of water supply and the method of sewage disposal, with evidence of compliance with state and local regulations. On drawing format, the packet asks for plans at least 8.5 x 11 inches at a minimum scale of 1/4 inch = 1 foot, or all dimensions shown if the plan is not to scale.

The process flow chart gives the order of events. The applicant gets a permit application and the packet online, at an office or by phone. The plan submission and meeting with Environmental Health Services follows, where fees for plan review and operating permit are paid. Review is "Within 30 business working days." If plans are not approved, additional information is requested. Plan approval "expires 1 year after issuance." The applicant then contacts Environmental Health Services for construction inspections "before final plumbing and after equipment installation," and for a preoperational inspection "at least 5 business days prior to operation."

• Plumbing schedule. The packet lists its contents but does not define the format. Treat it as a list or table on the plan set.
• Recovery rate. In general plumbing use, how fast water heating equipment heats water after use. The packet asks for it alongside capacity and gives no definition.
• Curbed cleaning facility. The packet's alternative to a mop sink. It does not describe the curb.
• Business working days. The packet's phrase for the review window. It does not define holidays. Its Appendix C separately says review time frames may be temporarily suspended (see the edge case below).

Food establishment projects where Pinal County Environmental Health is the plan reviewer, including food service tenants in the City of Maricopa, whose guide sends them to Pinal County.

This does not apply to projects in Maricopa County, which reviews restaurant plans under its own guide. The packet is also undated and cites the 2013 Food Code. Pinal County's own health code was not opened for this page, so confirm with Environmental Health that this is the current packet.

A new restaurant on a county road. The designer submits a scaled plan with the plumbing schedule, and the Environmental Health reviewer has everything needed. Approval is issued within the 30-business-day window.

A schedule that lacks recovery rate. The plan lists a water heater by size only. The packet asks for capacity and recovery rate, and its flow chart shows plans that are not approved going back with a request for more information. Putting both numbers in the first submittal avoids that.

The edge case. An owner gets approval, then loses a year to a lease dispute. The flow chart says plan approval expires 1 year after issuance, so construction that has not started needs fresh approval. The packet does not say whether the one-year clock can be extended.

A review that stalls on a request for more information. Appendix C of the packet, "Licensing Time Frames," says that under A.R.S. 11-1605 review time frames "may be temporarily suspended" for public hearings, for state or federal approvals, and "to wait for the applicant to submit additional information as requested by Pinal County." It also says time frames "include Pinal County's review time and not the time the applicant takes responding to notices of deficiencies," and that "Applications that have been inactive for more than one year since the date of a suspension notice will be administratively closed." So the 30-business-day window runs while the county reviews, not while the packet waits on you, and an application left unanswered for a year after a suspension notice is closed and has to be started over. Appendix C also carries a separate table of licensing time frames in calendar days for the permit application, which does not match the flow chart's 30 business days, so ask Environmental Health which clock applies to your plan review.

1. 1Request the permit application and packet from Pinal County Environmental Health online, at the office or by phone. The packet lists 971 Jason Lopez Cir., Bldg D, Florence, AZ 85132, phone 520-866-6864.
2. 2Build the plan set: scaled floor plan, site plan, proposed menu, seating capacity, food equipment schedule, and the plumbing schedule with every item listed above.
3. 3Attach the permit application and the Plan Submittal Checklist (Appendix A) with the plan submittal.
4. 4Meet with Environmental Health Services and pay the plan review and operating permit fees at submission.
5. 5Request a construction inspection before final plumbing and after equipment installation, then a preoperational inspection at least 5 business days before operating.

• Myth: Maricopa County's rules apply to every Arizona restaurant nearby. Pinal County is a separate reviewer with its own packet.
• Myth: The plumbing schedule can wait until rough-in. The packet asks for it as part of the plans, and inspections are tied to final plumbing.
• Myth: A plan approval is good indefinitely. The packet says approval expires 1 year after issuance.
• Myth: A city permit covers the health review. The City of Maricopa's guide says all food service facilities will require separate approval by Pinal County.