What is an Issue for Permit?
The Issue for Permit set of documents is one of the two major deliverables in the Construction Documents Phase. The two major deliverables packages for the Construction Documents phase are the ‘Issue for Permit’ and the ‘Issue for Construction‘. These sets of documents need to contain all necessary legal, conforming documentation to meet all local, state and federal Code requirements set forth and dictated by the Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) – otherwise known as the Building Department. Throughout the design process, the Architect of Record will work closely with the AHJ and the Fire Marshal to ensure all Code related items are being met and documented in the two final release packages.
The ‘Issue for Permit’ set of documents are submitted to the AHJ for a final review. Depending on the individual AHJ’s requirements, they may have as much as 30 days to review the Issue for Permit documents and return review comments back to the A&E design team to address. Any final AHJ review comments must be addressed and incorporated into the final set of deliverables, the ‘Issue for Construction’. The Architecture and Engineering design team members of Record will sign and seal these two final sets of deliverables – both the drawing sets and the project specification book will be signed and sealed prior to submission to the AHJ.
- Issue for Permit sets of documents are required to be signed and sealed by the Architects and Engineers of Record.
- Issue for Permit documents are submitted to the local Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) for a formal review in an effort to obtain the necessary building and site permits prior to the commencement of construction.
- Issue for Permit documents will have review comments generated by the AHJ which the A&E design teams will need to formally comment and resubmit prior to obtaining a formal set of building permits. Multiple individual permits are required for various components of buildings to enable construction.
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Understanding an Issue for Permit
The Construction Documents (CD) phase is without a doubt the most important design phase of a theme park project. The final deliverables – the drawings and project specification book – will need to capture any and all project scope for construction. The goal – but not often the case in reality – is to have as few major design changes as possible in the CD design phase. Major design changes this late in the overall design process are more costly and can severely impact the overall project’s budget and greatly impact the Architecture and Engineering team’s design budget.
Depending on the Architectural and Engineering design team’s contract with the Owner and/or the Owner’s corporate requirements and Substantial Completion of Construction has been determined, often the Architects and Engineers of Record may be required by contract to provide a final ‘As-Designed’ and/or a ‘As-Built’ set of record documents. If required, these final sets of documents will be issues by the Architects and Engineers of Record at the end of the project’s construction phase and it shall incorporate any and all permitted, design modifications incurred during the construction phase of the project.