Leading California legislators are urging seven San Francisco Bay Area public health officials to match the state and federal classification of housing construction as an essential business during the COVID-19 Shelter In Place restrictions. "We believe the Bay Area health order should mirror the state and federal approach to housing - broadly classifying housing construction as essential activity and avoiding arbitrary choices that certain housing can be built while others cannot," wrote state Sen. Scott Wiener and Assemblyman David Chiu, both Democrats of San Francisco, in a letter that was also signed by 14 additional state lawmakers. Full Story

Effective immediately City of San Jose inspectors will provide final inspections, as allowed under the March 31 County Public Health Order Section 13(d) , for all projects where work was ready for a final inspection prior to March 31. Specifically, final inspections will be rescheduled for those that were canceled at the start of the County Order and where construction was completed and confirmed as ready for final inspection. No continuation of construction that is not allowed under the County Order should proceed. Inspectors will wear protective gear, practice social distancing, and will not proceed at any site where conditions appear unsafe. Staff will contact applicants of eligible projects to reschedule.   For more information, see the  Construction Guidance  and  Remote Procedures  at  www.sanjoseca.gov/permitcenter . 

The City is now accepting online pre-applications for the following permits:  planning permits ,  building permits , and  engineering permits . This new process allows for City staff to continue working remotely during the current  Shelter in Place Order  and for projects to promptly move forward once the City's  Development Services Center  reopens.  The pre-application is avail able on the City's Accela Citizen Access (ACA) online portal at  Fremont.gov/CitizenAccess . To submit a pre-application, applicants need to be a registered ACA user.  For more information, including how to register for ACA and submit a pre-application, please read this   City News Brief.