Temecula, CA Building Safety: Building Inspections (2026)

Section 18.21.020 requires that "all construction, grading and encroachment related work for which a permit is issued... shall be subject to inspections by the city engineer," carried out under the standards in the Engineering and Construction Manual. Once rough grading finishes, Section 18.21.040 lets the city engineer require written approvals, reports and plan supplements before conducting the rough-grade inspection. Section 18.21.060 governs closeout: the permittee must notify the city engineer when the site is ready for final inspection, and "final approval shall not be granted until all work, including installation of all drainage facilities and their protective devices, and all erosion and sediment control measures, including landscaping and its irrigation system, have been completed in accordance with the approved grading plan." Where erosion control landscaping was required, the security deposit is not released until a licensed landscape architect certifies the planting is established.

Section 18.21.080(A)(3) adds a building-permit trigger: before the city issues a building permit for a graded lot, the project's civil engineer must submit a pad certification letter confirming the pad elevations, cut slopes and lot sizes match the approved plans. Section 18.21.120 allows the city engineer to require special inspections under Chapter 17, Section 1704 of the California Building Code for complex grading or paving work, and Section 18.21.140 gives the city engineer stop-work authority whenever permitted work does not match approved plans or is being done in a hazardous manner.