CALA has worked with a large number of school districts and community colleges around Northern California over the years. School projects are a little different in that they fall under the purview of the Division of the State Architect (DSA). That means plans and specifications require DSA’s review and approval, not the local agency where the school or community college is located.
DSA’s mission is as follows, “The Division of the State Architect (DSA) provides design and construction oversight for K-12 schools, community colleges and various other state-owned and state-leased facilities to ensure that they comply with all structural, accessibility and fire and life safety codes.” As noted above, DSA review typically involves a greater focus on accessibility, structural and fire & life safety than one might see for non-school projects. As a result, CALA has developed a catalog of detailed drawings and plan notes that are specific to DSA projects, which meet the rigor of their review.
CALA recently obtained DSA approval for the Canyon Middle School Recreational Fields project in the Castro Valley Unified School District. The $15 million project includes conversion of the school’s existing fields to synthetic turf, sports field lighting, goal netting, scoreboards, two baseball diamonds and more than 1,000 linear feet of retaining walls, ramps and stairs. CALA has worked tirelessly, in conjunction with the architects, structural and geotechnical engineers to document the various retaining wall conditions around the field. The project is anticipated to break ground later this year. CALA’s extensive experience preparing plans and specifications that get approved by DSA provides our clients with peace of mind that their projects will get delivered as envisioned and stay on schedule.
