Buena Park Plan PreCheck

Buena Park Launches Plan PreCheck, Offering Every Applicant a Free AI-Powered Plan Check Before They Submit
City-funded pilot aims to reduce the amount of plan check corrections to speed up development

BUENA PARK, Calif., October 5, 2026 - Starting today, anyone building in Buena Park can upload their construction plans to Buena Park Plan PreCheck and get back a list of corrections before they submit for a permit. The list is written the way a City plan checker writes a corrections letter. It is free to use and needs no account. The City of Buena Park pays for it.
Buena Park is one of the first cities in the state, and the first in Orange County to offer every permit applicant a free AI review pre-check. Buena Park Plan PreCheck was built by CrossBeam, an Orange County company working to speed up new development by helping to clear one of the sources for delay in building permit issuance, building plan check.
"Every week a project waits on building plan check corrections is a week a family isn't moving into a new home, or a business owner isn't expanding their shop. Buena Park Plan PreCheck gives our residents, businesses and builders an opportunity to speed up their building plan check by getting one or more free plan reviews before they even submit their plans to the City. Buena Park is proud to be offering this service at no cost to the customer because we believe it helps everyone when development, specifically housing development, is easier to build in our community." said Aaron France, Buena Park City Manager.
Building permits rarely stall because of one long wait. They stall because of correction letters. A project often goes through several rounds of corrections, and each round can add weeks to the development process. Every extra week adds carrying costs, holds up contractors, and makes financing harder. In Buena Park, like most cities, the average number of rounds for building plan check is three. For a family adding an accessory dwelling unit (ADU), or a developer looking to construct new homes, that delay and uncertainty can decide whether a project gets built at all. The City's goal for projects utilizing Buena Park Plan PreCheck is one round.
Buena Park Plan PreCheck also frees up the City's plan checkers. Much of their time reviewing first submittals goes towards identifying routine omissions, such as a missing note, numbers that don't match from sheet to sheet, or a required document that was left out. Buena Park Plan PreCheck catches these before the plans reach the City Building Counter, so plan checkers can spend their time on the more complex elements of a building plan review which require their expertise.
"Our plan check staff are experienced professionals, and their time is best spent reviewing aspects of the plans that really need their expertise. When plans arrive with the routine errors already fixed, applicants get through review faster which is better both the applicant and the City." said Matt Foulkes, Director of Community & Economic Development.

How it works

• Upload plans. Applicants, designers or agents go to www.buenapark.com/planprecheck, drop in their plan set as PDFs, a folder or a ZIP file, and enter an email address and a Buena Park project address. Buena Park Plan PreCheck works on any plan set, including new homes, ADUs, remodels and commercial tenant improvements.

• Get a corrections list. Results usually arrive within the hour. Each item points to the exact spot on the sheet, cites the relevant section of the California building codes or Buena Park's local requirements, and says what needs to change. Buena Park Plan PreCheck also checks public records the drawings may not show, such as the state's official seismic hazard maps.
• Fix and re-check. Applicants can revise and re-check the same project up to three times.
• Earn a FastPass. Applicants who resolve more than half of the items found during pre-check, as confirmed by the re-check will receive a FastPass certificate to include with their submittal. FastPass submittals receive priority review when they are submitted to the City. While a FastPass is not an approval or a guarantee that a permit will be issued, the City expects that most FastPass plans will be nearly permit ready during first review.

Importantly, Buena Park Plan PreCheck's report is advisory only. It is not a permit, nor does it approve or reject plans. All plans submitted to the City for building plan check are reviewed by the City's Plan Check staff and the Building Official is still the final authority on every permit decision. Use of Buena Park Plan PreCheck is voluntary and is not required by the City to submit plans for building plan check. Users must agree to the terms and conditions prior to uploading their plans and confirm they have the right to share the plans. The plans and the reports generated remain theirs and are not kept or stored on Buena Park Plan PreCheck after pre-check is complete.

Buena Park Plan PreCheck is available now. Visit a short walkthrough of the applicant experience.