Commercial Plan Review

The Commercial Plan Review Section is responsible for the review and authorization to permit the construction of commercial buildings, commercial structures, and commercial interior projects located in unincorporated Forsyth County. Commercial buildings include all buildings or structures other than one and two family dwellings or townhomes. Commercial structures include site retaining walls, cell tower installations, racking systems, and signage foundations.

To prevent unnecessary delays in the review process, it is important that building plans are complete. Plans lacking pertinent project information will not be accepted. Please see our minimum plan submittal form for a list of common shortages.

When preparing plans and supporting documents; please refer to the checklist below regarding issues that may need to be addressed depending on the scope of the project and applicable requirements.

• Minimum plan submittal checklist
• Building, Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing checklist
• Design review checklist
• Fire department checklist
• Water Department Pre Treatment checklist

Digital Submittal

For your convenience you can use EplanSolutions to submit your plans electronically. No other form of electronic submittal will be accepted. EplanSolutions has a submittal fee. All Planning and Community Development plan review fees will be due at the time of permitting.

When submitting plans through EplanSolutions, please group the submittals in groups of Architectural, Structural, Electrical, Mechanical, and Plumbing when uploading your plans. No further forms will be required when submitting through EplanSolutions. The information will be collected on their website. Once your plans are approved see our commercial building permit page on how to receive your permit.

We accept plans digitally through eplanSolutions and by paper. If you initially submit via paper, we request that you stay with that method and conversely with eplan. We do not allow switching methods. Please read through the process below before you decide how to submit your plans.

Two printed copies on paper shall be required at the end prior to obtaining a permit

Paper submittal

Step 1 - Plan Submittal

The deadline for submittal each week (including new submittals as well as revisions) is Friday by 4:00 p.m. If offices are closed Friday, plans and supporting documents must be submitted by 4:00 p.m. the prior business day. Holiday closings are posted on: www.forsythco.com.

An application submittal includes: completed application and four sets of plans. For projects that involve exterior work: submit exterior building elevations with an exterior finish schedule, roof plan, architectural lighting plan and sample board. Please note that a land disturbance permit must be applied for prior to submitting for shell, new structure, addition or foundation only. Due to the fact that Land Disturbance Permit and Building Plan Review applications may take place concurrently, changes to civil drawings during the LDP process may impact building plans. It is the applicant's responsibility to coordinate these changes and update plans accordingly. Applications may be submitted to the Department of Planning and Community Development located at:

110 East Main Street, Suite 100 Cumming Ga 30040

If the application and building plan submittal form is complete, Planning and Development will distribute the plans and supporting documents to the appropriate departments for their review, except the Fire Department. Two sets of the plans along with their application must be delivered to the Fire Department located at:

3520 Settingdown Road, Cumming, GA 30040

The building plan review and Fire Department plan review fee must be paid at the initial plan submittal. Building permit and impact fees for all permits will be collected at the time the permit is issued. Please see Planning and Communtiy Development Fee Schedule.

When you submit plans you will be given a plan status checklist with the deadline date when you should have received a response to your plan. Also included on this checklist will be contact information of who to contact if you have not received any notification by the deadline date.

Step 2 Receiving Responses

You will receive one of the responses below from each department on or before your deadline date:

• Comments – After the above checklist is complete, the plans will have to be corrected to address all of the comments that you received and generate a narrative of changes on an 8" X 11". Once the corrections have been made. You must resubmit three sets of plans and the narrative to the fire marshal's office first; once they have done their final review they will contact you to pick up all the plans along with a narrative to bring to the planning and communtiy development department. The building department will review the resubmitted plans within three business days after they are received and if approved you will be contacted to pick up your plans and permit.
• No Comments – If you receive a "No Comment" response from each of the departments, then all departments have approved the plan "as is" and no corrections are required by the designer. Two of the original plan sets will be taken to the Tuesday review meeting (see below) for approval stamps from all departments

Step 3 The Plan Review Meeting

Plan Review functions on a 7 day business day review cycle: Plan Review meetings take place on Tuesdays, 7 business days after the plan submittal deadline. The morning of the plan review meeting applicants must first sign in between 8:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. on a first-come, first-serve basis in Plan Review Meetings begin at 9:00 a.m. Plan review staff will call applicants in the order as signed in. The meeting adjourns when the last customer has been seen, which may include customers that do not have a review date, as is the case for some initial plan final approvals or plan revisions. If offices are closed Tuesday for a holiday, then the review meeting will be conducted the business day prior to the holiday. Applicants attendance is optional. We will contact you by email and the conclusion of this meeting when the plan is ready for permit.

Step 4 - Permit Issuance

Once your plans are approved see our commercial building permit page on how to receive your permit.

Plan Revision Review - Inspectors have the option in the field to accept minor changes provided those changes are in a handwritten document stamped by the designer. To revise a paper plan that already has a permit and is currently under construction. You must submit this application and follow the steps above to revise the plan.