What is the Bureau of Engineering (BOE)?

The Bureau of Engineering (BOE), commonly known as Public Works, is the department within a jurisdiction that is responsible for the oversight and approval of construction permits located within the city’s public right-of-way. The BOE covers projects that may affect city streets, lanes, alleys, parkways, sidewalks, and other city facilities. Among other things, conducting work on main sewer lines, easements, or parking lots will often trigger a review with the BOE department. Keep in mind that all jurisdictions and municipalities have different requirements for BOE reviews.

In Los Angeles the Bureau of Engineering incorporates the following divisions: sanitation, industrial waste, public works, environmental health, civil engineering. In Las Vegas, the Public Works department incorporates the following divisions: city engineering, traffic engineering, water pollution control, environmental oversight services, and sewer line warranties. Each jurisdiction is different and has its own set of submittal requirements that must be signed off on before the building department can give you the “Ready to Issue” letter.

What Types of Things are the BOE Looking At?

While the Building Department often analyzes the project as a whole, the Bureau of Engineering takes a close look a project specifications as it applies to sanitation, water waste, sewer lines, sidewalks, landscaping, environmental quality, etc. Some of the specific items the BOE looks at includes:

• Site conditions
• Erosion control measures
• Water retention
• Grading plans
• Pollution control
• Landscape plans

What is the Process for Getting BOE Approval?

Typically an applicant can make an appointment to submit their plans and application to the Bureau of Engineering. They will need to provide civil drawings, soil reports, fault study reports, Surface Water Intake Protection Program (SWIPP) reports, and/or any other required material. If a jurisdiction permits, we recommend submitting concurrently to the BOE and other building departments. Generally, BOE approval takes longer than other building departments due to its complexity. Depending on the scale of the project and the jurisdiction that you’re in, it is generally wise to budget for several months for the initial review process with the BOE.

How Can We Help You?

Permit Advisors can support you in the process of obtaining BOE/Public Works approval. We conduct due diligence to determine what departments you’ll need to submit to. We provide a checklist of the items required for the submittal. We negotiate shorter review times and concurrent reviews to speed up the process of getting approval. In addition, we act as a point of contact between the city officials and the client so that we can ease the process as much as possible. For questions about Permit Advisors, contact us.