The Permit Process for New Homes (continued)

The Planning Department-

If you do not live within an HOA, the local Planning Department is usually your first step in the process and mostly concerns itself with Zoning Ordinances and related regulations. These cover things like Zoning, Setbacks, Height Limitations, Coverage, Floor to Area Ratios,  , and any of several other types of Overlay Zones which can affect the design or your project. Although there are many similarities between jurisdictions, each will also be different in many ways. In certain circumstances you may also be subject to review by the local Architectural Review Committee, Coastal Commission, the California Department of Fish & Game, the Army Corp of Engineers, the United States Fish & Wildlife Service, and possibly others. See the City & County links page for links to your particular jurisdiction.

The Building Department-

The Building Department concerns itself mostly with issues of life and safety within and immediately surrounding a building. These include compliance with Building Codes, which also includes structural stability, energy efficiency, lighting and ventilation requirements, plumbing, electrical, mechanical, material specifications, and other items relating to public safety. The Public Works Department mostly concerns itself with public areas such as sidewalks, driveways, streets & roads and infrastructure/utilities issues such as water, sewer, electrical, gas, etc.

Permit from Planning Dept.-

Often you must first obtain a Planning Permit before you can submit to the Building Department. There are some instances where you can submit directly to the Building Department but those are increasingly rare occasions, and will still be subject to a cursory review by the Planning Department to make sure they have no issues with your project.

So, we will just assume that first you will need that Planning Permit. This will generally consist of drawings showing a Site Plan, Floor Plans, Elevations, etc., that you may or may not have needed for the HOA and more often nowadays a Grading & Erosion Control Plan. You will need to show all of the various zoning information mentioned above, as well as square footage totals of the various different spaces (living space, garage, covered patios, uncovered decks, etc.)

The Planning Permit will generally take a bare minimum of 30 days (see the link to information on the Permit Streamlining Act ) and can often take several months, depending on the size, complexity and/or topography of the site your project is on, and also depending on which zone your project is in. The Planning Permit can often involve a Public Hearing  of some kind wherein all of your neighbors within a 300 foot (or other) radius will be notified of your plans and may attend the Public Hearing and comment on the plans. Sometimes these comments may result in either suggested or required changes to your design before your project can be approved.

Approval-

After this initial review,  you may be granted what is called Conditional Approval. Other times you will not be granted approval without significant revisions to the plans, or without additional information about the project that must be provided, that must then be re-submitted and reviewed again, and possibly another Public Hearing scheduled. The required additional information may include but is not necessarily limited to Archaeological Reports, Biological Studies, and Flood Hazard Studies.

Costs-

The cost for the Planning Permit is generally an up-front fixed cost that you must pay upon your initial submittal. Please check the City & County links page where some of these fees are published, or check with your local Planner.  With any extensive environmental review, additional fees may be required mid-way through the process.  Feeling overwhelmed yet? I offer a low cost introductory feasibility analysis for your proposed project if you are interested. If you’re still feeling confident, read on!

<Previous 1 2 3 Next>