Do we need drawings for a Richmond kitchen remodel that moves no walls?
Usually not. The Building Division's handout for an interior remodel says drawings are not required in most cases when there is no addition and no floor plan change, provided the application's work description states that the work is non-structural, with no removed or moved framing members and no new or modified openings, and lists everything being installed. A permit is still needed, and some alterations bring HERS verification and a registered energy compliance form with them.
A previous owner finished a room in our Richmond house without a permit. What now?
The city added a legalization route to its building code in March 2026, open until the end of 2031. It starts with a Code Compliance Permit so a contractor and designer can investigate and map the existing conditions; the City Clerk's office holds whatever records exist for the address, and an inspection can be requested. Permit drawings must then be prepared by a licensed engineer, separating the legally built parts from the rest, with structural analysis and a written structural observation before final inspection.
How big can an addition be in Richmond before it goes to a board?
Residences and residential additions of less than 500 square feet and less than 15 feet in height are exempt from design review, and only one such exemption is allowed in any twelve-month period. Between that and 1,200 square feet of total floor area, still under 15 feet, the Zoning Administrator decides it as minor design review. Anything larger is major design review at the Design Review Board, and the Zoning Administrator may refer a minor case there as well.
Will we have to prove where our Richmond remodel debris went?
Only if the work increases the conditioned area, volume or overall size of the house, which is the trigger the city's recycling acknowledgment uses for residential renovations. A kitchen rebuilt inside its existing walls is not covered. When it is, the easy method is to send every load to a designated facility, such as the landfill on Parr Boulevard in Richmond, and hand the receipts in before final inspection.
Our Richmond house dates from 1948. What does its age change?
Two things beyond the plaster you will find behind the cabinets. The house sits well inside the pre-1978 line the federal renovation, repair and painting rule draws, so disturbing painted surfaces past the rule's thresholds means lead-safe work practices. And the Air District's asbestos rule wants a job number before a renovation disturbs more than 100 square feet, 100 linear feet or 35 cubic feet of friable regulated material, which old sheet flooring, mastic and joint tape can reach faster than people expect.
What happens if our Richmond permit runs out before the job is finished?
The Building Official's memo of January 22, 2026 sets the clocks out. An application expires 180 days after the record is created, though every upload or answered comment resets it, with warning emails 30 and 10 days ahead. An issued permit runs a year, and each passed inspection resets it to a year from that inspection. Staff can extend an active permit on a written request, but not a lapsed one: work cannot restart until a fresh permit is issued, and a gap longer than a year is treated as an entirely new permit.
