What's the Deal with DSA - A Primer

The Division of the State Architect (DSA) has been mentioned a few times in this series.?So, Here’s the deal:?DSA is the regulatory agency charged with, “… design and construction oversight for K-12 schools, community colleges, and various other state-owned and leased facilities.”?What this means is if you want to build a new space, building, or campus, put something on your building that you haven’t had before, or modernize a facility, you get approval from DSA.?DSA is similar to your local city or county building departments because they issue an approval equivalent to a permit.?They also inspect the work and approve and close the approval process in most cases.

DSA is in charge of structural, fire & life safety, and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) code compliance.

Structural:?DSA does things a bit differently than your local municipality.?One difference is schools in CA are constructed under heavier structural requirements than houses or private businesses called the Field Act.?Since K-12 education is mandatory and parents have to send their pride and joys to enter the school building and be there all day, the buildings are held to a very high standard.?They are very earthquake resistant!

Fire & Life Safety:?This area of oversight covers the fire systems (which often connect to the heating and ventilation systems), emergency evacuation routes, and safe dispersal areas.?Safe dispersal areas are areas of the campus within the fence line where the kiddos can congregate safely during an emergency.

ADA:?DSA oversees not only new construction compliance with laws and code regulating access for the disabled but also the ongoing efforts in CA to bring public school facilities closer and closer to full compliance on existing campuses.?This includes, but is not limited to:?clear, unobstructed paths of travel, correct heights, and clearances for things used such as handrails, faucets, toilets, door hardware, etc.?The general rule is:?You touch it, you bring it up to code!

Another difference is inspections.?Local municipalities often send an inspector out once at the end of the job to see what they can see and sign off.?On more complex projects they are sent out at the end of various phases of the work.?DSA oversight usually includes the district (thus the taxpayers) paying for a DSA certified Project Inspector (PI) who must be on-site enough to inspect the progress and installation of the work and for most large projects the PI is there 8 hours a day, 5 days a week!?This is in addition to the regular site visits by the architect and engineers in charge of the design and installation of the work according to code who also need to regularly visit the site!

What about electrical, mechanical, plumbing, and other codes??Well, DSA is not directly overseeing those except as they may intersect with the 3 areas above.?However, they say they don’t ignore things along the way, either!?The laws in CA put all of the design code requirements under the purview of the agency itself to hire all necessary licensed professionals such as architects and other engineers who have to design the work and put their licenses at risk to make sure it’s installed correctly.

Lastly, DSA gets into the mix as CA regulations shift.?They are involved heavily with updates to codes and regulations, CALGreen (CA green building standards for public K-14 schools), sustainability and water conservation, the ZNE initiative (zero net energy construction), stormwater regulations, and other ever-changing things related to public works.?DSA is a key partner for school districts and others for the construction of their public works!