52:27D-130 Permit required; application; contents; issuance; transfer.

12. Except as otherwise provided by this act or in the code, before construction or alteration of any building or structure, the owner, or his agent, engineer or architect, shall submit an application in writing, including signed and sealed drawings and specifications, to the enforcing agency as defined in this act. The application shall be in accordance with regulations established by the commissioner and on a form prescribed by the commissioner and shall be accompanied by payment of the fee to be established by the municipal governing body by ordinance in accordance with standards established by the commissioner. The application for a construction permit shall be filed with the enforcing agency and shall be a public record; and no application for a construction permit shall be removed from the custody of the enforcing agency after a construction permit has been issued. Nothing contained in this paragraph shall be interpreted as preventing the imposition of requirements in the code, for additional permits for particular kinds of work, including but not limited to plumbing, electrical, elevator, fire prevention equipment or boiler installation or repair work, or in other defined situations.

Upon the transfer of ownership of property that is the subject of a construction permit, and prior to beginning or continuing work authorized by the construction permit, the new owner shall file with the enforcing agency an application for a permit update to notify the enforcing agency of the name and address of the new owner and of all other changes to information previously submitted to the enforcing agency. If the municipality has adopted an ordinance requiring a successor developer to furnish a replacement performance guarantee, and a performance guarantee has previously been furnished in favor of the municipality to assure the installation of on-tract improvements on the property that is the subject of an application for a permit update for the purpose of notifying the enforcing agency of the name and address of a new owner, the enforcing agency shall not approve the application for a permit update until it receives notification from the governing body or its designee that the new owner has furnished an adequate replacement performance guarantee.

No permit shall be issued for a public school facility unless the final plans and specifications have been first approved by the Bureau of Facility Planning Services in the Department of Education or a municipal code official who is appropriately licensed by the Commissioner of Community Affairs for the type and level of plans being reviewed. Approval by the Bureau of Facility Planning Services in the Department of Education shall only be required when a review for educational adequacy is necessary. Requirements determining when a review for educational adequacy is necessary shall be established jointly by the Department of Community Affairs and the Department of Education. The standards shall thereafter be adopted as part of the Uniform Construction Code regulations by the Department of Community Affairs. After the final plans and specifications have been approved for educational adequacy by the Bureau of Facility Planning Services in the Department of Education, a local board of education may submit the final plans and specifications for code approval to either the Bureau of Facility Planning Services in the Department of Education or a municipal code official who is appropriately licensed by the Commissioner of Community Affairs for the type and level of plans being reviewed. The Bureau of Facility Planning Services in the Department of Education when approving final plans and specifications shall be responsible for insuring that the final plans and specifications conform to the requirements of the code as well as for insuring that they provide for an educationally adequate facility. In carrying out its responsibility pursuant to the provisions of this section the Department of Education shall employ persons licensed by the Commissioner of Community Affairs for the type and level of plans being reviewed.

L.1975, c.217, s.12; amended 1983, c.496, s.4; 1990, c.23, s.3; 2013, c.123, s.5.