Sunnyvale, CA Building Safety: Building Permits (2026)

Section 16.16.030 locally amends Chapter 1, Division II of the 2025 California Building Code. Its scope provision, 101.2, applies the permit requirement to grading and to the construction, alteration, movement, enlargement, replacement, repair, equipment, use and occupancy, location, maintenance, removal, and demolition of every building or structure or any appurtenance connected to it, including the plumbing, drainage, mechanical, electrical, and fire safety systems serving that structure. A short list of exemptions applies, covering federal and state property, work primarily in a public way, public utility towers and poles, unregulated mechanical equipment, and hydraulic flood control structures; detached one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses up to three stories may instead comply with the Residential Code.

Section 109.2, Schedule of Permit Fees, ties the requirement to money: a fee for each permit on buildings, structures, electrical, gas, mechanical, and plumbing systems, or alterations requiring a permit, must be paid according to the city's current fee resolution. If work covered by the code starts before a permit issues, Section 109.4 doubles the fee, and Section 109.4.1 authorizes a special investigation, with an added investigation fee under 109.4.2 equal to the permit fee. Every permit expires if work has not begun within 12 months of issuance or is suspended for 12 months, per Section 105.5, though the building official may grant extensions of up to 180 days at a time on written request showing justifiable cause. Section 114.1, Unlawful Acts, backs the whole scheme: performing any of the covered work, or causing it to be done, contrary to or in violation of the administrative or technical code, is unlawful, with each day of an ongoing violation treated as a separate offense.