Land Use Frequently Asked Questions

A. A permit is required for all development; this includes construction, alteration, addition or repair to a structure (including walls/fences, homes, accessory structures and replacement of a mobile home), construction of roads or driveways, any grading of your property, division of land, or use of land or buildings for commercial purposes.  If you are not sure whether you need a permit, please call the Land Use Department before you begin construction.

A. The Land Use Department has produced submittal checklists for building permits, mobile home permits and home occupations among others.  You can download these from this web page, or call the Land Use Department at 986-6225 to have one mailed to you, or they are available at the front desk in the Land Use Department.  Please note that required submittals for all development permit applications will include the property documents which is the deed or real estate contract representing legal or equitable title ownership for the property, and the plat of survey representing the boundaries of the property.

A. Check that you have the required submittals as listed on the building permit checklist, bring your complete submittals into the Land Use Department front desk on the second floor, 102 Grant Avenue.  Our staff will check your application and issue you a permit file number before you leave.  Our staff will then review your permit for compliance with the Code and a site inspection will be conducted. 

Most permits are processed in less than 15 working days.  If your property is within a Wildland Urban Interface area or there are terrain management issues on your property additional time will be required for the Fire Department and Technical Review Section to review your application.  You will be called when your permit is ready, you will be asked to pay the fee and then will be given your County permit.  If your project requires State approval, you will be given a sealed envelope, containing your plans with the County approval signatures, which is to be taken to the State Construction Industries for their review.  Please post the County permit board and the state permit prominently on your property while construction is taking place.  A set of the County approved plans must also be available at the site during construction.

A. The cost of a development permit is based on the type of development you are proposing.  In addition to permit fee's, in some cases there is also a fire impact fee.  The exact cost of fees is determined during the review of a specific application.  However, you can review the fee schedules or contact the Land Use Department with your development type and an approximate amount can be calculated for you.

A. Yes, accessory structures are a permitted use on residential property; submittal requirements are on the development permit checklist.  An accessory structure is a structure that is incidental to the principal dwelling on the property and is not to be used as a dwelling.  However, any accessory structure of 2000 square feet or larger must be reviewed for approval through a public hearing.  Please contact a Development Review Specialist to discuss this process at 986-6225.

A. The County does not differentiate between a house and a guesthouse; they are both considered to be dwelling units and must meet lot size requirements.  To have two dwelling units, your property must be twice the minimum lot size.  The minimum lot size is based on hydrologic zones and range in size from 0.75 acres in traditional communities to 160/40 acres in the homestead zone.  Land Use staff will be able to tell you which zone your property is in by looking at your survey plat.

A. The regulations are provided in the Land Development Code, the Extraterritorial Zoning Ordinance and the Extraterritorial Subdivision Regulations which are available on the County web-site, or can be purchased at the County Land Use Department.

A. A retention pond is required to capture storm water from the hard surfaces (buildings and driveways) on your property and to keep this water on your property during the peak of a storm in order that drainage flowing off your property after development does not exceed the amount of drainage flowing off the property before development, and to prevent erosion and property downstream from being flooded.  A Terrain Management Handbook is available on our website or at the Land Use Department to help you.

A. First, you should see a black and white County Development Permit posted on the property; this will state the type of construction approved and the address.  If you cannot see a poster board you can call the Permits & Inspections Division at 986-6226 or 986-6228 and we can check for you.  We will need to have a physical address of the property or the property owners name to search our records.