How are development proposals, permits and applications approved?
All projects reviewed by the Planning Department are discretionary and therefore are approved through a standardized review process. When a land development application is formally submitted to the County, it is assigned to a planner. The planner manages the project’s journey through the public review process. The process for review depends on the type of project. To see flowcharts that outline the various types of development review go to the Development Review Flowcharts section of this website. Depending on the case type, it may go to a public hearing before the Planning Director’s Hearing (DH) or the Planning Commission (PC). Most projects go before the Board of Supervisors (BOS) for final action after they go before the DH or the PC. For some cases, a pre-application review (PAR) can be prepared. During the PAR, the project exhibit is distributed to various County departments for review. Each department outlines issues with the project that the applicant should address prior to su
