Santa Cruz County Grand Jury
• 2025-2026
Navigating the Building Permit Process Again “Site Plans, Septics, and Plan Checks, oh my!”
⚠️ Translation Notice: This content has been automatically translated. The original English text is the official version. Translation may contain errors.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings and Recommendations 10 findings
F1
Excessive delays in the building permit process increase costs to applicants in cash, time, and frustration.
Related Recommendations (2)
R1
The BoS should have staff review best practices from other jurisdictions and then select strategies that will reduce costs and delays in our county’s Permitting Services by January 1, 2026. (F1, F2, F7, F8)
R8
Santa Cruz County BoS should direct the Building Department and any other relevant departments to review the State code parameters that allow county adjustments for building permit fees and find the least-cost, least-delay alternative. Anything that can be free should be free. This recommendation should be accomplished by Jan 1, 2026. (F1, F2, F3)
F2
The permitting process has become so detailed and intricate that it often requires applicant homeowners to hire professionals to make submissions, thus increasing cost and time.
Related Recommendations (4)
R1
The BoS should have staff review best practices from other jurisdictions and then select strategies that will reduce costs and delays in our county’s Permitting Services by January 1, 2026. (F1, F2, F7, F8)
R2
The BoS should direct staff to adopt software that removes barriers to applicants and is comprehensive to all departments. The software should flag any permits that have been unaddressed for longer than two weeks to avoid application delays. This recommendation should be accomplished by January 1, 2026. (F7,
R5
Santa Cruz County should develop a plan to educate the population about different permit types to reduce illegal builds through staff participation in community events, newspaper articles and/or other Unified Permit Center media involvements by Jan 1, 2026. (F2, F3, F4, F5, F6, F10)
R8
Santa Cruz County BoS should direct the Building Department and any other relevant departments to review the State code parameters that allow county adjustments for building permit fees and find the least-cost, least-delay alternative. Anything that can be free should be free. This recommendation should be accomplished by Jan 1, 2026. (F1, F2, F3)
F3
Homeowners are often unaware that ordinary household maintenance requires a permit, leading them to unknowingly have the work performed illegally.
Related Recommendations (3)
R5
Santa Cruz County should develop a plan to educate the population about different permit types to reduce illegal builds through staff participation in community events, newspaper articles and/or other Unified Permit Center media involvements by Jan 1, 2026. (F2, F3, F4, F5, F6, F10)
R6
Santa Cruz County should establish a walk-up front desk service four hours per workday to assist home-owners, non-building professionals and small contractors navigate the permit process. This service should be posted on the website, implemented by Jan 1, 2026. (F3, F4, F5, F10)
R8
Santa Cruz County BoS should direct the Building Department and any other relevant departments to review the State code parameters that allow county adjustments for building permit fees and find the least-cost, least-delay alternative. Anything that can be free should be free. This recommendation should be accomplished by Jan 1, 2026. (F1, F2, F3)
F4
Some people willfully ignore obtaining a building permit because they think it's too costly, it takes too long, or they think they can’t get the improvement they want by obeying the law.
Related Recommendations (2)
R5
Santa Cruz County should develop a plan to educate the population about different permit types to reduce illegal builds through staff participation in community events, newspaper articles and/or other Unified Permit Center media involvements by Jan 1, 2026. (F2, F3, F4, F5, F6, F10)
R6
Santa Cruz County should establish a walk-up front desk service four hours per workday to assist home-owners, non-building professionals and small contractors navigate the permit process. This service should be posted on the website, implemented by Jan 1, 2026. (F3, F4, F5, F10)
F5
Ignoring obtaining building permits causes a loss of revenue for the County, both in one-time fees from permits and, more importantly, in ongoing tax revenue from improved property.
Related Recommendations (2)
R5
Santa Cruz County should develop a plan to educate the population about different permit types to reduce illegal builds through staff participation in community events, newspaper articles and/or other Unified Permit Center media involvements by Jan 1, 2026. (F2, F3, F4, F5, F6, F10)
R6
Santa Cruz County should establish a walk-up front desk service four hours per workday to assist home-owners, non-building professionals and small contractors navigate the permit process. This service should be posted on the website, implemented by Jan 1, 2026. (F3, F4, F5, F10)
F6
Professionals in the county can be difficult to find for a project because the permitting process is so difficult.
Related Recommendations (1)
R5
Santa Cruz County should develop a plan to educate the population about different permit types to reduce illegal builds through staff participation in community events, newspaper articles and/or other Unified Permit Center media involvements by Jan 1, 2026. (F2, F3, F4, F5, F6, F10)
F7
Applicants have a hard time tracking their project’s progress because applications are not tracked end-to-end by permitting software.
Related Recommendations (3)
R1
The BoS should have staff review best practices from other jurisdictions and then select strategies that will reduce costs and delays in our county’s Permitting Services by January 1, 2026. (F1, F2, F7, F8)
R3
The County of Santa Cruz should separate the Ombudsman duties from Manager of Unified Permit Center resulting in two separate positions: a full-time, dedicated Ombudsman and a full-time Manager. The resulting new staff position should be filled by June 1, 2026. (F7, F8)
R4
The Ombudsman function should be clearly identified and publicized to make the public aware of the additional customer services that position provides. This recommendation should be accomplished by June 1, 2026. (F7, F8)
F8
The services of an Ombudsman could be utilized by tradespeople and homeowners to make the permitting process smoother and less costly.
Related Recommendations (3)
R1
The BoS should have staff review best practices from other jurisdictions and then select strategies that will reduce costs and delays in our county’s Permitting Services by January 1, 2026. (F1, F2, F7, F8)
R3
The County of Santa Cruz should separate the Ombudsman duties from Manager of Unified Permit Center resulting in two separate positions: a full-time, dedicated Ombudsman and a full-time Manager. The resulting new staff position should be filled by June 1, 2026. (F7, F8)
R4
The Ombudsman function should be clearly identified and publicized to make the public aware of the additional customer services that position provides. This recommendation should be accomplished by June 1, 2026. (F7, F8)
F9
The BFCA Board was disbanded, and the Appeals process, as currently constructed, is little known, not staffed by trade professionals, and therefore an ineffective means for resolving disputed decisions.
Related Recommendations (1)
R7
Santa Cruz County BoS should reconvene the Building and Fire Code Appeals Board, populated by seasoned building professionals, to adjudicate permit disputes quickly, publicly, and professionally, and with less cost. This recommendation should be accomplished by Jan 1, 2026. (F9)
F10
The DIYer and the small contractors need the support and/or instant answers they get from a knowledgeable staff person at the counter. However that service no longer exists.
Related Recommendations (2)
R5
Santa Cruz County should develop a plan to educate the population about different permit types to reduce illegal builds through staff participation in community events, newspaper articles and/or other Unified Permit Center media involvements by Jan 1, 2026. (F2, F3, F4, F5, F6, F10)
R6
Santa Cruz County should establish a walk-up front desk service four hours per workday to assist home-owners, non-building professionals and small contractors navigate the permit process. This service should be posted on the website, implemented by Jan 1, 2026. (F3, F4, F5, F10)
Conclusions 1
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CL1 Page 17The Santa Cruz County Grand Jury believes that the public and the professionals, both private and on staff, will benefit from a more customer-focused and efficient process for obtaining building permits. With that objective in mind, the 2024-2025 Santa Cruz County Grand Jury respectfully submits the following findings and recommendations.
No Responses Found 2
Government entities assigned to respond to this report. No response documents have been linked in our database.
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