What is Building Site Approval?
Any property within the unincorporated jurisdiction of Santa Clara County must be deemed as 'buildable' in order for a new home or addition of 500 square feet to be built.
Sometimes Building Site Approval is included when the property is created, such as during subdivision of a larger plot of land.
But, more often, property with or without a house on it has not been given approval for building by the County and must go through a specific application process proving that the property can be developed to required County Standards, such as:
- septic plan
- driveway design
- grading and drainage plan
- house design
Plans are developed which are submitted to Planning, with payment of an initial fee. These plans are reviewed by the various departments - Land Development Engineering, Planning, Fire Marshall, Environmental Health, Roads and Airports and Geology. Each department reviews the plans for conformance to their particular regulations and provides a list of deficiencies.
These departments may require that additional reports be provided such as:
- Arborist (number, species and health)
- Cultural Resources (archaeology)
- Environmental Impact (flora and fauna)
- Well (proper construction)
- Water (potability)
- Well Pump (water supply)
- Geology
- Soils
The type of Planning review and the associated fees (which can add up to tens of thousands of dollars) are determined by the location of the property, the house design and how much dirt is being moved by the project. For instance, if a property is visible from the valley floor, then certain Viewshed rules must be considered and a Public Hearing required. It is not uncommon for the BSA process to take more than 2 years from start to finish.
BEFORE YOU BUY - contact County Planning to determine whether the property you are interested in has Building Site Approval. Their phone number is 408.299.5770 and their address is 7th Floor, 70 West Hedding, San Jose, CA The cross street is N. 1st Street.