The City of San José’s Streamlined Restaurant Program (SRP) helps qualified restaurant and food/beverage businesses get Building tenant improvement permits in as soon as 1–2 months instead of 4–6 months. There is no additional expedited review charge for qualified participants.

Who Can Apply?

The SRP is for restaurants and food/beverage businesses making tenant improvements in an existing building. A food/beverage business includes restaurants, bars, cafes, coffee shops, boba tea shops, ice cream shops, grocery store delicatessens, banquet halls, caterer kitchens, cafeterias, and commissary/ghost kitchens, etc.

 To qualify, your project should meet these criteria:  

• Total tenant space: generally 3,000 sq. ft. or less;
• Kitchen area: generally 1,000 sq. ft. or less;
• No more than four new kitchen hoods (Type I/Type II);
• No new construction (interior wall changes are OK);
• No two-story spaces or mezzanines;
• No full façade rebuilds (typically associated with franchise rebranding. Minor exterior changes OK);
• Planning permits (like Conditional Use, Special Use or Site Development, if required);
• Ideally, any required Minor/Major Planning Permit Adjustments are already approved (for exterior modifications, if any); and 
• Ideally, required County Department of Environmental Health (DEH) plans and City Fire Department Hazmat permits already approved. 

Process Overview

STEP 1: Check eligibility. Confirm your project meets the SRP criteria above.

STEP 2: Apply. Email the Small Business Allies with required building and trade plans for pre-qualification (details below).

If pre-qualified, the Allies will reach out to you to schedule a virtual Expedited Kick-off Review Meeting. 

STEP 3: 1.5-hour virtual Expedited Kick-Off Review meeting. Meet with the City’s Plan Review team to review all aspects of your proposed project in preparation for expedited plan review.

The more complete your plans are and the more prepared you are for this meeting, the faster you will get your permit. 

Note: Your project’s licensed architect/engineer(s) must attend this meeting to describe project/data and details, the scope of work, any proposed special features, circumstances, hardships, etc. and answer any technical or clarifying questions that City plan review staff might have about the project.

STEP 4:  Expedited Plan Review. Following the Kick-Off Review Meeting, City staff will: 

1. Approve plans and issue permits
   OR
2. Work with your team on additional required revisions and rounds of review.

How to Get Started

Follow the checklist below and email the Small Business Allies with your plans:

• Anh Nguyen — Anh1.Nguyen@sanjoseca.gov
• Juan Borrelli — Juan.Borrelli@sanjoseca.gov

Include:

• Complete building and system (structural, plumbing, mechanical, etc.) plans according to the Electronic Plan Review bulletin.
  • A complete list can be found in the Tenant Improvement Submittals list.
• Approved County Health (DEH) plans (if available; otherwise submit later)
• Separate PDF files for each related trade
• Indicate document names and number of files

You may submit:

• By email (if < 20 MB)
• Via Google Drive link (with sharing enabled)
• Or via the City’s Portal: Upload Project Files

After you upload, email the Small Business Allies with the file names and total count.

To Do Checklist

Before emailing your plans to the Allies, make sure your design team includes or is ready to provide: 

• Current licensed architect/engineer stamps & signatures on plans
• Accessibility Compliance Form completed and signed on the plan set cover sheet. 
• Review the Suspended or Mounted Equipment handout and provide details and structural calculations, as required. 
• Provide the manufacturer’s cut sheets/specs for ALL new equipment (if not already on the plan set pages): 
  • Our plan review staff need to know how heavy, how tall, and how much power (electricity or gas) each piece of new equipment requires. 
  • Also, clearly differentiate on the plans new versus existing equipment. 
• Provide details for walk-in refrigerators/freezers (if applicable.) 
• Complete and sign Form 308: Building Occupancy Classification Inventory: 
  • Projects proposing individual carbon dioxide (CO2) tanks over 100 pounds and/or cooking oil stored in individual vessels of 60 gallons or more will trigger a separate Fire Department Hazmat Permit which is a separate permit process. 
• If exterior changes are planned: Secure a Planning Permit Adjustment
  • If needed, visit the planning applications page to make an appointment.
• For new or replaced rooftop equipment, refer to the line-of-site diagram illustration and include a similar section in your building plans.
• Review sign permit info (if you are proposing new signage).

Reminder, your architect/engineer must attend the virtual Expedited Kick-Off Review Meeting to answer technical questions.