In Santa Cruz County, many kinds of construction projects and land uses require discretionary permits in addition to building permits. Conditional Permit projects are those that are required to be considered at a public hearing before the Zoning Administrator. Note: these permits were formerly referred to as Level 5 permits
The Board of Supervisors, through adoption of County Code Section 18.10.410, has established the Office of Zoning Administrator (ZA) and has designated the Department Director as the ZA. The Department Director may appoint one or more Deputy Zoning Administrators to carry out the functions of the Office of Zoning Administration. You can read about the role of the Zoning Administrator here.
As a part of reviewing the project, the assigned Project Planner will visit the site and review the plans to see if the project meets all Zoning and General Plan requirements and will not damage the environment.
Common Conditional Permit projects include, but are not limited to:
- Coastal Development Permits
- Single family dwellings exceeding 5,000 feet
- Variances for setbacks, height, lot coverage and floor area ratio
- Some wireless communications facilities
- Some home occupations
Filing an Application
Please review the information on the Discretionary Permits webpage.
The Permit Process
The planner assigned to your project will visit the site, review your plans, receive comments from other reviewing agencies, and write a staff report. This report will contain a description of the project, its location, and a recommendation either for approval (usually with certain conditions), or for denial if the affirmative findings cannot be made.
Findings
Required findings for development permits appear in Section 18.10.230(a) of the Santa Cruz County Code. Briefly, these require that the project:
- Will not be detrimental to the health, safety, or welfare of people living or working in the neighborhood or the general public, will not result in wasteful use of energy, and will not be injurious to properties or improvements in the area
- Will be consistent with all County ordinances and with the allowed uses in the zone district
- Will be consistent with the County General Plan and with any Specific Plan that has been adopted for the area
- Will be consistent with the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and any significant impacts on the enviroment will be mitigated pursuant to CEQA.
- Will not overload utilities, and will not generate more than an acceptable level of traffic on the streets in the area
- Will complement and harmonize with existing and proposed land uses in the area and will be similar to the design, land use intensities, and dwelling unit densities of the neighborhood.
For Coastal Development Permit findings, see the Coastal Permits webpage and Section 13.20.110 of the County Code.
Environmental Review
Some discretionary permit applications are subject to environmental review per the California Environmental Quality Act. The Project Planner will can provide additional information regarding this process.
Public Notices
You must place a project description sign or signs on the project site before your application will be deemed complete for processing. Your project planner will contact you with details (see the Guidelines For Neighborhood Notification of Proposed Development brochure for additional information).
Notices in the form of a postcard or letter shall be mailed not less than 10 calendar days prior to the public hearing to the owners of the subject property, to the owner’s duly authorized agent, and to the project applicant. Notice shall also be mailed at least 10 calendar days prior to the public hearing to all owners of real all property within 500 feet and to all occupants of properties within 100 feet of the subject property, including the occupants of the subject property.
The County will send notices at least 10 days before the public hearing to the Coastal Commission, local agencies responsible for essential services like water, sewage, streets, roads, and schools, as well as individuals on the mailing list for the specific development project or coastal development permit decisions. Requests for notifications can be made for all public hearings or those related to a specific application, with an accompanying fee.
The Hearing
The Zoning Administrator will conduct a public hearing. A decision will be made based on the Project Planner's findings and statements made by the applicant and the public. The permit, will be subject to conditions of approval, and will become effective ten business days after the Zoning Administrator's decision, if not appealed.
Appeals
All actions of the Zoning Administrator are appealable to the Planning Commission as described in Chapter 18.10 of the County Code (see also the Discretionary Permit Appeals webpage.)
For More Information
This brochure describes the general information for obtaining Conditional Discretionary permits. For complete regulations, see the Santa Cruz County Code, Chapter 18.10.
If you have questions about discretionary permits, contact us by email at Planning.ZoningInfo@santacruzcountyca.gov or by self-scheduling an appointment with Zoning staff.