Oxnard, CA Building Safety: Building Inspections (2026)

3, typically higher-risk structural work. The owner, not the contractor, must retain the structural observer, and the code names only two eligible people for the role: the registered design professional responsible for the structural design, or another registered design professional that person designates. Structural observation does not substitute for or waive the separate building inspections required under Section 110 or the special inspections required under Section 1705; Oxnard runs all three inspection layers side by side. Before the building official will issue the permit, the registered design professional must submit a written statement spelling out how often and how extensively observations will occur, and that statement becomes part of the construction documents.

At the end of construction, the structural observer files a final report certifying that every deficiency observed during the work has been resolved; the building official will not accept the work until that report is in hand. Sec. 3, though footings on buildings three stories or under, resting on undisturbed earth or rock with a specified concrete strength no greater than 2,500 psi, are exempted from that special inspection and testing requirement, as are nonstructural concrete slabs like patios, driveways and sidewalks poured directly on the ground.