(a) A person proposing to build or remodel a food facility shall submit complete, easily readable plans drawn to scale, and specifications to the enforcement agency for review, and shall receive plan approval before starting any new construction or remodeling of a facility for use as a retail food facility.

(b) Plans and specifications may also be required by the enforcement agency if the agency determines that they are necessary to ensure compliance with the requirements of this part, including, but not limited to, a menu change or change in the facility’s method of operation.

(c) (1) All new school food facilities or school food facilities that undergo modernization or remodeling shall comply with all structural requirements of this part. Upon submission of plans by a public school authority, the Division of the State Architect and the local enforcement agency shall review and approve all new and remodeled school facilities for compliance with all applicable requirements.

(2) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD) shall maintain its primary jurisdiction over licensed skilled nursing facilities, and when new construction, modernization, or remodeling must be undertaken to repair existing systems or to keep up the course of normal or routine maintenance, the facility shall complete a building application and plan check process as required by OSHPD. Approval of the plans by OSHPD shall be deemed compliance with the plan approval process required by the local county enforcement agency described in this section.

(3) Except when a determination is made by the enforcement agency that the nonconforming structural conditions pose a public health hazard, existing public and private school cafeterias and licensed health care facilities shall be deemed to be in compliance with this part pending replacement or renovation.

(d) Except when a determination is made by the enforcement agency that the nonconforming structural conditions pose a public health hazard, existing food facilities that were in compliance with the law in effect on June 30, 2007, shall be deemed to be in compliance with the law pending replacement or renovation. If a determination is made by the enforcement agency that a structural condition poses a public health hazard, the food facility shall remedy the deficiency to the satisfaction of the enforcement agency.

(e) The plans shall be approved or rejected within 20 working days after receipt by the enforcement agency and the applicant shall be notified of the decision. Unless the plans are approved or rejected within 20 working days, they shall be deemed approved. The building department shall not issue a building permit for a food facility until after it has received plan approval by the enforcement agency. Nothing in this section shall require that plans or specifications be prepared by someone other than the applicant.

(Amended by Stats. 2013, Ch. 76, Sec. 123. (AB 383) Effective January 1, 2014.)