Los Angeles County · California

Engineering Services in Long Beach

MEP, structural, civil, and energy-compliance engineering for Long Beach projects — permitted through City of Long Beach Development Services Department, Building and Safety Bureau and designed to the city's adopted codes and amendments.

Services in Long Beach

Long Beach Design Environment

Permit Office (AHJ)
City of Long Beach Development Services Department, Building and Safety Bureau
Building Code
2022 Long Beach Building Code, based on the 2022 California Building Code (2021 IBC) with City of Long Beach amendments
Energy Code
2022 California Energy Code (Title 24, Part 6), enforced with 2022 CALGreen mandatory measures and local green-building provisions
Electric Utility
Southern California Edison (SCE); Long Beach Utilities Department provides municipal natural gas and water service, with sewer service managed by City Public Works

Long Beach Municipal Code Title 18 adopts the California codes with local amendments. Coastal-zone, seismic, grading, floodplain, and local green-building provisions can be site-specific additions; port-related facilities may also face separate fire, harbor, air-quality, and public-works requirements.

Long Beach's market combines Port of Long Beach logistics and industrial facilities with healthcare, higher education, multifamily infill, hospitality, and adaptive reuse. Waterfront and port-adjacent work layers heavy vehicle circulation, air-quality, utility, and resilience issues onto the standard Southern California permit process.

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Long Beach Engineering FAQs

Which agency issues building permits in Long Beach?
The City of Long Beach Development Services Department, Building and Safety Bureau administers building permits and plan review through the City's LBDS online process. Depending on scope, Planning, Fire, Public Works, and coastal or harbor agencies may review the project as well.
Who supplies electricity, gas, and water in Long Beach?
Southern California Edison provides electricity. The City of Long Beach Utilities Department provides municipal natural gas and water, while City Public Works manages sewer service. That divided utility responsibility should be mapped early for a major service upgrade or electrification project.
What hazards should a Long Beach building site evaluate?
Long Beach is a high-seismic California jurisdiction, and some coastal or fill sites also have liquefaction, high groundwater, coastal-flood, and sea-level-rise considerations. A site-specific geotechnical report and flood/coastal screening guide foundation, finished-floor, drainage, and critical-equipment design.

Verified Local Sources

Reviewed 2026-09-11. Code editions and local requirements can change; confirm the current requirements with the authority having jurisdiction before design.

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Build in Long Beach with Apex Grid

Long Beach Development Services accepts permit applications and plan-review materials through its online LBDS portal and routes commercial plans among Building and Safety, Planning, Fire, Public Works, and other reviewers. Project scope determines whether the work can use a streamlined permit path or requires full plan check; coastal, port-adjacent, and historic sites can add agency approvals before permit issuance.

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