Attorney General's Opinion 1978-79 #313A

VIRGINIA FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT. DISCLOSURE OF COUNTY BUILDING PERMIT RECORDS.

June 18, 1979

The Honorable John M. Lohr
Commonwealth's Attorney for Highland County

78-79 313A

You have asked whether the Virginia Freedom of Information Act requires the County Building and Zoning Department to allow inspection of county building permits by citizens other than the permit holder. You also ask whether permitting such inspection would violate the Privacy Protection Act.

Building permits issued by the county are clearly "official records" as defined by the Freedom of Information Act. See §2.1-341(b) of the Code of Virginia (1950), as amended. They are, therefore, subject to required disclosure upon proper request by any citizen of this State, unless exempt under §§2.1-342(b)(1) through 2.l-342(b)(6) or other provisions of law. None of the exceptions to required disclosure contained in §2.1-342(b)(1) through 2.1-342(b)(6) applies to such building permits and I know of no other provision of law providing for their confidentiality. Accordingly, I conclude that the Freedom of Information Act requires that such records be disclosed for inspection upon citizen request. See §2.1-342(a).

The information contained on building permits may, as you point out, contain "personal information" as defined by the Privacy Protection Act in §2.1-379(2). The Privacy Protection Act, however, does not itself prohibit the dissemination of records containing personal information where such records are subject to required disclosure under other provisions of law. See §2.1-380(1).

I am, therefore, of the opinion that disclosure of such building permit records does not violate the Privacy Protection Act and that permission of the permit holder would not be required prior to such disclosure.