The purposes of this chapter are to provide a clear and explicit process for the issuance and administration of building permits in the unincorporated portion of Santa Cruz County; to coordinate the application of development regulations imposed by County ordinances and by other public agencies; to implement the policies of the County's General Plan and Local Coastal Program Land Use Plan; to coordinate implementation of the County's Growth Management System; and to protect the public health, safety and welfare.
(Ord. 3320 § 1, 1982; Ord. 3424 § 1, 1983; Ord. 4221 § 1, 1992)
The regulations of this chapter define the process for the application, review, issuance, and inspection of building permits as required for construction projects governed by the building regulations of Chapter 12.10 SCCC.
(Ord. 3320 § 1, 1982; Ord. 3424 § 1, 1983; Ord. 4221 § 1, 1992; Ord. 5428 § 1, 2022)
Any revision to this chapter which applies to the Coastal Zone shall be reviewed by the Executive Director of the California Coastal Commission to determine whether it constitutes an amendment to the Local Coastal Program. When an ordinance revision constitutes an amendment to the Local Coastal Program such revision shall be processed pursuant to the hearing and notification provisions of Chapter 18.60 SCCC and shall be subject to approval by the California Coastal Commission.
(Ord. 3320 § 1, 1982; Ord. 3424 § 1, 1983; Ord. 4221 § 1, 1992; Ord. 5428 § 1, 2022)
All terms as used in this chapter shall be as defined in the County General Plan and Local Coastal Program Land Use Plan except as defined below:
"Building Official," "Chief Building Inspector," "Administrative Authority,"
and all other terms and designations indicating the person authorized and directed to carry out, enforce, and exercise government rights, privileges, and duties shall, unless expressly indicated otherwise, mean the Building Official and their duly authorized deputies, assistants, and inspectors.
"Building permit"
means a permit authorizing construction activities in conformance with the building, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and other model codes set forth in Chapter 12.10 SCCC.
"Coastal approval"
means a coastal development permit, coastal development permit exemption, or coastal development permit exclusion approval required pursuant to Chapter 13.20 SCCC for the use or development of land located within the Coastal Zone of the County.
"Critical fire hazard area"
means high wildfire hazard areas comprised of chaparral vegetative cover in all slope categories as designated on the County General Plan resource and constraint maps, County GIS, or as otherwise determined by field investigation.
"Discretionary permit"
means a use or site development permit authorizing development pursuant to Chapter 18.10 SCCC, Discretionary Permit Approval Procedures.
"Environmental health permits"
means permits issued by the Environmental Health Services Division of the County Health Services Agency, including those for individual and community sewage disposal systems, wells, and small water systems.
"Fire Chief"
means the Chief Officer of the fire department or fire protection district serving the jurisdiction for the location of a project, or a duly authorized agent.
"Flammable vegetation"
means vegetation which forms a means of rapidly transmitting fire from native plant growth to any building or structure.
"Planning Director"
means the Director of the Community Development and Infrastructure Department or their authorized designee charged with the administration of this chapter.
"Public works permits"
means permits issued by the County Public Works Department, including driveway, encroachment, and sewer connection permits.
"Residential permit allocation"
means an approval pursuant to Chapter 12.02 SCCC required prior to the issuance and exercise of a building permit to construct a new residential unit.
"Zoning clearance"
means a ministerial review as defined in Chapter 18.10 SCCC to certify that a proposed land development permit is in conformance with applicable zoning and development regulations.
(Ord. 3320 § 1, 1982; Ord. 3424 § 1, 1983; Ord. 4221 § 1, 1992; Ord. 5428 § 1, 2022)
Applications for building permits shall be made in accordance with the following regulations:
(A) 
Applications for building permits shall be submitted to the Planning Department on forms and in accordance with procedures established for that purpose. All applications which involve the creation of a new housing unit shall follow special procedures established to implement the County's residential permit allocation system established pursuant to Chapter 12.02 SCCC; these special procedures pertain to applications for new single-family dwellings, accessory dwelling units, multifamily dwelling units, residential condominiums, installation of manufactured housing, conversion of a nonresidential structure to a new dwelling unit, and commercial or other structures which include a new residential unit.
(B) 
Applications for permits shall be made to the Planning Department and shall be accompanied by a fee as prescribed in the Unified Fee Schedule as adopted by the Board of Supervisors.
(C) 
Applications shall contain such information and reports as may be required by this section or by other applicable ordinances or by the Building Official, as detailed in written permit application submittal requirements or a list of required information ("LORI") maintained by the Building Official.
(D) 
The Building Official will determine the number of complete sets of plans and submittals that shall be submitted with each building permit application, showing all proposed work and details of compliance with local and State codes. One set of plans shall remain on file with the Planning Department following permit issuance and one set of plans shall be maintained at the job site at all times during which the work authorized thereby is in progress.
(E) 
Prior to submittal of an application for a building permit, all concurrent permits and approvals necessary for the project shall be obtained, including discretionary permits, land division, environmental health, environmental and resource protection, and public works permits. However, the Planning Director may authorize submittal and processing of applications for building permits in advance of approval and issuance of discretionary permits, with such authorization granted only upon written agreement by the applicant that fees paid for such building permit application and any other applicant-incurred costs are at the sole risk of the applicant and nonrefundable to the extent that county costs have been incurred.
(F) 
When there are practical difficulties involved in carrying out the provisions of this section, the Building Official may grant modifications which are consistent with the provisions of this section for individual cases. The details of any action granting modifications shall be recorded and entered in the files of the Planning Department.
(G) 
Requests for Reasonable Accommodation. It is the policy of the County of Santa Cruz, pursuant to the Federal Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988, to provide people with disabilities reasonable accommodation in rules, policies, practices, and procedures that may be necessary to ensure equal access to housing. Procedures for processing reasonable accommodation requests are found in SCCC § 18.20.010.
(Ord. 3320 § 1, 1982; Ord. 3424 § 1, 1983; Ord. 4008 § 1, 1989; Ord. 4221 § 1, 1992; Ord. 5428 § 1, 2022)
In addition to compliance with the construction codes adopted pursuant to Chapter 12.10 SCCC, all new development authorized by County building permits shall meet the following requirements:
(A) 
All environmental mitigation requirements as established by the Planning Director shall be incorporated into projects on sites located in geologic hazard areas, and on archeological, or paleontological sites.
(B) 
The agricultural resource protection requirements (pertaining to use conflict avoidance, hold harmless covenants and buffer setbacks) established pursuant to SCCC § 13.10.313(B) and § 16.50.095 shall be met.
(C) 
Building sites within the urban services line shall have a water supply for fire protection meeting the standards of SCCC § 17.02.070; outside the urban services line, the water supply shall provide a minimum of 200 gallons per minute for 20 minutes.
(D) 
All portions of the first floor exterior of new buildings shall be located within 150 feet of a road meeting the standards of SCCC § 16.20.180 or the access road shall be upgraded to such standards as a condition of permit approval. Exceptions to this requirement may be granted by the Fire Official pursuant to the adopted County Fire Code.
(E) 
Building sites shall be located outside of designated critical fire hazard areas wherever possible.
(F) 
House numbers a minimum of three and one-half inches in height and of a contrasting color to the surface on which they are mounted shall be posted at the building site and shall be visible from the street both during project construction and on a permanent basis.
(G) 
Chimneys shall be fitted with spark arresters where required by the Fire Official.
(H) 
Outside the urban services line, all flammable vegetation shall be cleared for a minimum distance of 30 feet around all residential structures, or for a greater distance as determined by the Fire Official.
(I) 
Development projects within an airport clear zone shall be subject to review and approval by the airport operator and shall convey an air navigation easement to the operating entity pursuant to Federal aviation regulations.
(J) 
All minor land division and subdivision tentative map conditions that apply to subsequent building permit issuance shall be met.
(K) 
Development activities affecting historic structures, objects, properties, sites and districts as designated pursuant to Chapter 16.42 SCCC shall be in conformance with the provisions of plan approvals and/or recommendations by the Historic Resources Commission as required by SCCC § 16.42.040.
(Ord. 3320 § 1, 1982; Ord. 3424 § 1, 1983; Ord. 3590 § 1, 1984; Ord. 3630 § 1, 1985; Ord. 3926 § 1, 1988; Ord. 4221 § 1, 1992)
(A) 
Prior to issuance of a building permit, the following actions shall be completed:
(1) 
A street address shall be established for the project site pursuant to Chapter 12.16 SCCC.
(2) 
A statement of acknowledgement of adjacent agricultural use shall be recorded by the owner for any parcel adjacent to Type 1, 2, or 3 agricultural land pursuant to Chapter 16.50 SCCC.
(3) 
All applicable fees shall be paid including those for building and zoning and energy plan-checks, building permit, environmental health and public works permits, park dedication, roadside improvement, transportation improvement zones, and drainage fees.
(4) 
Proof of payment of applicable school impact fees shall be submitted.
(5) 
Proof of payment of fire district fees where required.
(6) 
One set of plans 11 inches by 14 inches in size shall be provided to the Planning Department for use by the County Assessor.
(B) 
No building permit shall be issued for a project which is not consistent with the adopted County General Plan and Local Coastal Program Land Use Plan, or which is not in compliance with all applicable County Codes.
(C) 
No building permit shall be issued for a project on a property which contains a code violation until such violation is corrected, or unless the building permit is for a project which includes correction of such violation. The Planning Director may waive this requirement if this waiver will:
(1) 
Serve to correct an existing violation; or
(2) 
Address an imminent health and/or safety violation; or
(3) 
Facilitate an accessibility improvement to a structure or site; or
(4) 
Facilitate a community enhancement project, such as utility undergrounding or a redevelopment or public works project; or
(5) 
Allow an improvement on a property located in the rural area where the existing code violation is minor.
(D) 
No building permit shall be issued for a new residential unit unless a valid residential permit allocation has been obtained pursuant to Chapter 12.02 SCCC.
(Ord. 3320 § 1, 1982; Ord. 3424 § 1, 1983; Ord. 4221 § 1, 1992; Ord. 4496-C § 1, 1998; Ord. 4719 § 1, 2003)
(A) 
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to do, cause, permit, aid, abet, or maintain any construction work at a job site without an approved building permit on the job site and available at the request of the Building Official.
(B) 
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to do, cause, permit, aid, abet, or maintain any construction work at a job site without an approved job copy on the job site of the building plans together with a copy of any development permit for the project.
(Ord. 3320 § 1, 1982; Ord. 3424 § 1, 1983; Ord. 3451-A § 1, 1983; Ord. 4221 § 1, 1992)
No new building shall be occupied and no permanent electrical service connection, natural gas service connection, or liquified petroleum gas (LPG) connection to a new structure shall be provided until the building plans are completed as approved; all applicable conditions of development permits, including zoning and Coastal Zone approvals, Planning Director's conditions, and erosion control plans are completed; all applicable zoning, Planning, environmental health, public works and Fire Official requirements are met; and the final building inspection on the building permit is approved, and all departmental holds are released. The Building Official may authorize such connection prior to this time when unreasonable hardship to the permit holder may result from lack of utilities, with the approval of the other agencies involved.
(Ord. 3320 § 1, 1982; Ord. 3424 § 1, 1983; Ord. 4221 § 1, 1992)
All appeals of actions taken pursuant to the provisions of this chapter shall be made in conformance with the procedures set forth in Chapter 18.10 SCCC; provided, however, that code enforcement actions and decisions are not subject to administrative appeal except for appeals of revocation of permits pursuant to SCCC § 18.10.136(C).
(Ord. 3320 § 1, 1982; Ord. 3424 § 1, 1983; Ord. 4221 § 1, 1992; Ord. 4389 § 1, 1995; Ord. 4389A § 1, 1996)