D.C. would offer pre-approved plans for small housing projects

The Department of Buildings would offer optional, standard housing plans. Plans would cover rowhouses and buildings with up to eight homes; the department could add other housing types. Plans developed by the department would be free except for reasonable copying or processing fees. Privately owned plans could carry designer fees. Designers who remain legally responsible for a plan’s use could charge extra for related insurance. Previously approved plans could be reused until the next building code adoption.

The department would offer faster permit review for applications that meet its rules. Applications would need to follow a pre-approved plan and meet the department’s conditions. Site conditions or major plan changes could remove a project from faster review. The department could still require reviews of each site for health, safety, and rules about what can be built there. The department would set permit review deadlines through rules; the bill gives no fixed deadline.

The department would update or remove pre-approved plans when changes to building codes or other laws substantially affect them. An approved project would not need redesign solely because its plan was later changed, unless the law otherwise requires it. That protection would apply when approval to use the plan came before the later building code change.