Planning Department Overview | ||||||||||||
The Planning Department, through its offices in Santa Cruz, Aptos and Felton, is responsible for providing comprehensive planning and permit processing services for the unincorporated County area. The Department is in charge of developing, implementing and enforcing County land use ordinances and policies; administering environmental protection programs; processing and issuing building, zoning and other development permits; carrying out long-range housing and community development programs; overseeing a variety of affordable housing assistance efforts; and operating neglected property and hazardous site/building programs. The Planning Department also provides staff support to the following Commissions: Planning Commission, Historic Resources Commission, Agricultural Policy Advisory Commission and the Housing Advisory Commission.
Over-the -counter forms, check on application status and direct access to other forms.
 Development ReviewThe Development Review Section is managed by a Principal Planner and consists of three different functions: Pre-Application Consultation, Discretionary Application Processing, and post approval follow-up and monitoring. Pre-Application Consultation includes a variety of services to help applicants and property owners refine their proposed projects before they are actually submitted for processing. These services include the Development Review Group, Rural Density Matrix, Pre-Development Site Review (PDSR) and Project Consultation. Information about these services can be obtained from the Zoning Counters at any of our permit centers, during their regularly scheduled hours. The Discretionary Application function is responsible for the review and processing of all discretionary
permit applications. Unlike a building permit, which is reviewed for conformance with measurable code
requirements, a discretionary permit requires the exercise of professional judgment on the part of both Project
Review staff planners and decision makers. Most discretionary permits require consideration at a public hearing
before the Zoning Administrator, Planning Commission or Board of Supervisors. Projects requiring a discretionary
permit range from a coastal permit for an addition to a single- family dwelling to a major subdivision or commercial
development. The Development Review planners review applications for conformance with County General Plan policies,
code requirements and design guidelines. Their work includes office review of plans, field reviews at proposed
development sites and presentations at public hearings. Typical issues involved with the Project Review function
include compatibility with other land uses in the neighborhood, physical design and environmental protection. The Design Review process is often triggered by projects being reviewed by the Development Review section.
Post approval follow-up and monitoring includes reviewing building permit applications for conformance with conditions of approval, reviewing improvement plans, monitoring environmental mitigation measures, and other reviews required following approval of a Discretionary Application. 
Design Review is considered to be an integral part of the Planning process in Santa Cruz County. Some projects are
reviewed in terms of site planning, architectural design and landscape design. Many projects submitted to the County
of Santa Cruz are not required to be reviewed for design (for example; building permits with no discretionary review).
The primary projects which must be reviewed are: all commercial, all industrial, all institutional and all county projects. Residential development project are reviewed if: a) they involve three units or more, b) they occur in a minor land division within the Urban or Rural Services Lines, c) they occur in a minor land division which affects sensitive sites, or d) they are part of a land division of 5 lots or more. Single family residences will be reviewed for design if: a) they are over 7,000 sq. ft., b) they are within coastal
special communities, or c) within sensitive sites (adjacent to a scenic road, within the viewshed of a scenic road,
on a coastal bluff, or on a ridgeline).
Additions of 500 sq. ft. or more are reviewed if they occur within sensitive sites (adjacent to a scenic road, within the viewshed of a scenic road, on a coastal bluff, or on a ridgeline) or within coastal special communities (these are defined in the County Code and General Plan) The criteria for evaluating projects for design review is contained within the County of Santa Cruz Code in Chapter 13.11. There are also sections of the Coastal Zone Regulations (Chapter 13.20) which pertain to the review of the
design of projects. Some communities in the county, such as Ben Lomand, Boulder Creek, Felton, Soquel and Aptos
have their own Town Plan which includes design elements.
The process of design review begins during the first thirty (30) days after submittal of a project to the County. The Urban Designer reviews the project in respect to the applicable ordinances and will write a memo to the Project Planner. As with all those involved in commenting on the project, there may be comments made in regard to the completeness of the submittal. It is the responsibility of the Project Planner to incorporate all comments (including Design Review) into their completeness review and eventually into the staff report for the public hearing. Environmental PlanningThe Environmental Planning Section is managed by a Principal Planner and is responsible for technical reviews of proposed projects. The section administers and enforces various environmental protection ordinances including Geologic Hazards , Grading and Erosion Control , Mining, Sensitive Habitats , Archaeologic, Significant Trees and Riparian Corridors . Staff in this section are responsible for field identification of geologic hazards and adverse geotechnical conditions in response to building, development and grading permit applications. Staff visit most sites and may require an applicant to engage the services of a geologist or geotechnical engineer in order to evaluate site conditions and to propose mitigations to reduce any associated risks. Section staff in turn review these technical reports for adequacy and require the consultant's recommendations to be incorporated into the building, development and grading plans. During the construction phase of the project, staff then inspect the work to ensure that County requirements are being met. At the developer's request, staff will also provide pre-development site reviews of vacant land and projects in the conceptual stage for single family dwellings in the urban and rural areas of the County. The evaluation will provide the developer with information regarding environmental planning and zoning requirements for development of the property. The Environmental Planning Section also administers federal flood plain insurance regulations, provides field assistance for identifying unsafe geologic conditions and hazardous situations in the field, and has responsibility for other forms of emergency responses during storms and disasters. In this capacity, staff can post structures and sites "unsafe" and may initiate corrective action. For proposed development projects, Environmental Planning staff are also responsible for the field identification of protected plants, animals, and habitats; reviewing biotic and archaeologic reports; reviewing and mitigating development impacts on riparian corridors; and approving restoration, revegetation, and erosion control plans. The section also performs technical review of new and ongoing mining and quarry operations, issues grading permits, and takes technical projects through Environmental Review and to public hearings. Compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) is an important aspect of the project review process - CEQA requires that projects be reviewed to determine whether any significant environmental impacts could result. If significant impacts are anticipated, mitigation measures are developed which will reduce or avoid those impacts. In some instances, CEQA requires that an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) be prepared to analyze impacts and identify mitigations. EIRs are generally large documents with a lengthy preparation and public review time. The County Environmental Coordinator oversees the CEQA functions. Over the past 15 years, County and RDA-sponsored housing efforts have provided assistance to over 1,000 affordable housing units, involving both new construction and renovation projects. Current housing activities include working on mobile home park projects, partnering with non-profit affordable housing developers to build new affordable units or to rehabilitate existing housing, and supporting a variety of efforts to create new affordable housing opportunities in the community. Eligibility for affordable housing programs is based on Annual Median Income (see Income Table). Housing staff also provides support to the Housing Advisory Commission. The site includes other links to key local Housing Reports & Studies, and General Housing Needs, which provides links to resources for housing activities for farm workers, seniors, disabled, youth and other special populations as well as links to federal, state and other local programs. The Records Room, a support function of the Planning Department, began maintaining Planning and Building
records in 1956 for projects in the unincorporated areas of Santa Cruz County. Public Records such as issued
building permits, recently finaled permits, active code violation files and recent discretionary files may be
found in the Records Room. Many of these records may be viewed and/or photocopied upon request. In addition
services such as Duplication, Building Permit History Searches, and Record Retrieval On & Off Site are also offered.
The Permit Centers Section is the Planning Department's main point of contact for members of the public seeking general land use, planning, building, and permit information, and for those seeking permits from the County. There are three Permit Centers within the County to serve the public. These include the Department's main
office in Santa Cruz on the 4th floor of the County administration building at 701 Ocean Street, the Aptos
Permit Center at 8045 Soquel Drive, and the Felton Permit Center at 6060 Graham Hill Road. Please note the hours of operation for these locations.
Members of the public wishing to gather general land use, planning, building, and permit information can visit the centers during open hours or use the Department's information phone lines. The public is reminded to have basic property information such as addresses and parcel numbers ready when requesting information. Members of the public seeking specific permits from the Planning Department should contact the Permit Centers staff for information on the permit process and for detailed pre-application information. The Building Section is managed by the Chief Building Official and includes three major units - Building Counter;
Building Plan Check; and Inspections.
The Building Counter is responsible for the administration of the building permit process - including screening building plans at intake to be sure they are reviewable by all appropriate agencies; routing plans to review agencies and tracking/monitoring the review process; preparing two final sets of plans; calculating fees; issuing permits; and communicating with applicants. The Building Plan Check function of the Department is responsible for reviewing each set of building plans for compliance with the building, plumbing, mechanical, electrical, energy and accessibility codes. The Building Inspections unit is responsible for inspecting all permitted work to ensure it conforms to the approved plans, or to the appropriate codes and land ordinances when there are no plans. A Principal Planner directs the Policy Section. The Section is responsible for the maintenance and update of the County General Plan and Local Coastal Program Land Use Plan (LCP), the preparation of all ordinances and policies
to implement it (including the Housing Element of the General Plan/LCP), and providing policy direction and
interpretation to Planning staff. This Section also prepares Town/Village/Specific Plans for various communities,
implements the Historic Resource Preservation Ordinance, and provides staff support to the Historic
Resources Commission.
This Section participates in development of population and employment forecasting by the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments provides basic Census information, works with the California Coastal Commission to implement the California Coastal Act, and works with neighborhood groups to address community issues. This Section supports the Planning Director in the review of Administrative Appeals and all Notice of Violation Protest
requests and includes the duties of the Deputy Zoning Administrator, who acts on Level V permit applications.
The Code Compliance Section is managed by a Principal Planner and is responsible for the investigation
and enforcement of complaints of zoning and building violations. In addition, this Section offers staff and
administrative support for Neglected Property, Hazardous Building/Site Abatement Programs and the
Environmental Cleanup Revolving Fund.
These programs generally operate in responses to citizen complaints of alleged code violations or from referrals from other public agencies. These complaints are investigated and, if appropriate, warning and/or violation notices are issued. These actions may be followed by additional legal sanctions, such as recordation, fines, or civil penalties. The overall objective of the code enforcement process is to motivate the property owner to discontinue the illegal use or activity and/or to obtain the required permits. ACTIVITY ANNOUNCEMENT |
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