Ring that Bell!

If you’ve ever seen the classic Jimmy Stewart movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” you know that every time a bell rings, an angel gets his (or her) wings.

Of course, there are exceptions to that rule.

If you’re visiting the County Department of Planning and Land Use (DPLU) offices in Kearny Mesa and you hear a bell, it means someone’s just gotten their building permit!

DPLU Director Eric Gibson said the department instituted the practice a few years ago after streamlining the building permit process and that it’s become a popular feature of the department’s lobby.

“It’s a fun way for us to remind the County’s customers that we care about them and their projects,” Gibson said, “and that getting their permits issued to them is just as important to us as it is to them.”

Every time a customer is issued a permit, DPLU’s counter staff gets to ring the 7 ½ inch brass “Ye Olde Permit Issuance Bell,” situated behind DPLU’s permit counters.

The department bought the bell on the web for about $45.

The building permit process is one of the County’s most important public safety services. Issuing building permits ensures that the homes, businesses and building in which County residents live, work and play are safe — for example, that buildings are structurally sound enough to resist earthquakes and that faulty wiring in electrical systems won’t cause fires.

In February alone, DPLU issued more than 500 building permits, green-lighting everything from building new homes, to remodeling projects, home additions, garage conversions, business improvements, electrical and plumbing upgrades — even the installation of electric car chargers.