Senate Bill 1214 (SB-1214) Authorization

Senate Bill No. 1214 (SB-1214) requires local planning agencies to ensure copyrighted architectural drawings are made available to the public in a manner that does not facilitate their copying, public distribution, or online posting unless the copyright owner of the architectural documents grants permission. Such authorization is optional and not required by the Planning Department to process project applications. 

Project sponsors have the opportunity to select one of the options below when submitting architectural floor plans to the Planning Department:

• Yes: Project applicant (or owner of the copyright, if different from the project applicant) grants permission for the Planning Department to publicly distribute and post online architectural documents submitted as part of the Project Application. 
• No: Project applicant (or owner of the copyright, if different from the project applicant) declines permission for the Planning Department to publicly distribute and post online architectural documents submitted as part of the Project Application.

If “No” is selected above, project applicants must also submit a reduced plan set including a “massing diagram”* and “site plan”, as defined in CA Government Code Section 65103.5 (f), for public distribution and posting online. 

If the owner of the copyright elects not to submit a site plan or massing diagram upon submission of an official copy of architectural drawings to a local planning agency, permission is deemed granted and the Planning Department shall not be subject to any restrictions on the copying or distribution of the full architectural drawings.

*“Massing diagram” means a document that displays the three-dimensional form of a building and describes the general profile, bulk, setbacks, and size of the building, but does not contain specific architectural detail.