Santa Cruz County Grand Jury
• 2013-2014
Navigating the Residential Building Permit Process Service, Time, and Money
⚠️ Aviso de traducción: Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings and Recommendations 7 findings
F1
Based on our investigation and the comments made at the public forums, it appears that the permit process requires excessive staff time and creates unnecessary foot traffic to the Department counters.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
The Planning Department should continue to streamline the county building code amendments, with a target completion date of June, 2014.
F2
Some Santa Cruz County building code amendments are difficult for both staff and clients to navigate, which leaves the code open to interpretation by individual staff members.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
The Department should allow routine OTC permits to be applied for, paid for, and printed out in the applicant’s home or office.
F3
The new cost recovery fee called Construction Unpermitted-Recovery Enforcement Costs (CUREC) will potentially bring more people to the Planning Department for permits.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
The Planning Department should adopt a set policy for Zoning and Building Code interpretations.
F4
Inconsistency of provided information, most often concerning Zoning and Building code interpretation, exists between members of Planning staff and results in frustration between staff and the public.
Related Recommendations (1)
R4
The Planning Department should adopt the Minor Exceptions Provisions into the code.
F5
The Planning Department was not able to provide us with clear documentation that supported that it was meeting its mandate to be revenue-neutral.
Related Recommendations (1)
R5
The Planning Department should adopt a system to analyze data and track performance.
F6
The online fee estimator is not the same as the official fee calculator used by Building and Safety staff. The two forms use different terminology.
Related Recommendations (1)
R6
The Planning Department should have the web fee estimator match the one used at the Building Counter.
F7
The information provided in the Zoning Prescreen is not binding; it fails to warn the applicant that interpretation could change later.
Related Recommendations (1)
R7
The Planning Department should include a disclaimer on the Zoning Prescreen indicating the nonbinding nature of the document.
Commendations 1
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CM1 Page 8We commend the staff of the Planning Department for recognizing the need for more interaction with building professionals and homeowners in order to create a permit process streamlined to save time and money. We would like to see the public forums continued.
Agency Responses 1
Government agencies' official responses to this report's findings and recommendations. Click on a response to see the structured breakdown.
No Responses Found 2
Government entities assigned to respond to this report. No response documents have been linked in our database.
Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors
Elected County Office