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The Permit Process
for Residential Remodels and Additions (Page 2)-
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.
One thing common to
additions, is that the existing house might have parts of it that
are closer to the property lines than what is currently allowed.
This would make your house "non-conforming" and often trigger a Use
Permit of some kind, more on that below. Also, any addition
will have to conform to current standards as far as setbacks,
regardless if existing portions of the house are closer to the
property lines than the required setback distance.
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.)
Often, if you check in with your particular jurisdiction ahead of
time, they can provide you with a checklist of the specific items
that they require. You will usually not need to consult a structural
engineer at this time, that will normally come later, after you have
been approved by the Planning Department.
Time Lines-
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!
Environmental Review-
A significant part of what the Planning Department is responsible
for is the initial
environmental review of your project.
The main source of requirements and guidelines for environmental
review is the California Environmental Quality Act
(CEQA). This is where some of the longest delays may occur in the
processing of your permit. This is a whole world unto itself which I
cover in a
separate
article.
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