County offers path to compliance for non-permitted structures

With a goal of reducing the number of unpermitted structures in the region, Santa Cruz County planning officials have introduced the Legalization Assistance Permit Program, a program that allows property owners to work with the county to legalize unpermitted structures, remodels, and alterations without fear of fines or legal action.
In place since August of last year, the program is completely voluntary, and is designed primarily to ensure that the unpermitted construction meets safety and environmental standards.
According to Ken Hart, primary planner for Santa Cruz County Planning Department, how the program works is a property owner will approach the county for information and to arrange an inspection and the county will provide the owner with the criteria of the inspection.
Following the inspection, the planning department will either approve the construction in question to apply for a permit, or demonstrate to the owner what needs to be done in order to bring the structure to code.
If, at any point, the owner decides it is not worth the trouble, Hart said, he or she can withdraw without penalty or documentation.
“We look at (the construction in question) to see what issues, if any, and give them a path to get permitted,” Hart said. “(Owners) can walk away at any time and we don’t have any record — the planning department wouldn’t take any action unless there’s an immediate, life-threatening safety issue.”
Code Compliance Administrator Robin Bolster-Grant, who is the primary point of contact for property owners looking to participate in the program, said that establishing permits is key to establishing the legal value of a parcel of property.
“We’re actually getting a lot more interest than I anticipated,” she said. “These are folks that, in many cases, that know they have stuff that hasn’t been permitted … they really want to have the value of the improvements that they’ve made.”
Bolster-Grant admitted that many of those who’ve contacted her since the two-year program began have been initially hesitant to coming forward — wary of the county’s pledge to not penalize the unpermitted structures.
“A lot of folks that don’t want to share their information right off the bat,” she said. “It does require some trust and maybe a leap of faith from the community … the bottom line is we want to legalize unpermitted structures, and the only way that works is if there’s trust.”
“If people perceive this as some sort of sting operation, then we’d never get people to come in.”
According to 5^th District Supervisor Bruce McPherson, the program represents “a 180-degree turn as to how the county is addressing its planning issues” — away from trying to prevent unpermitted structures, to addressing the ones that already exist throughout the county.
“We want to get it right — mainly for safety reasons,” he said. “It’s a different, new, welcome approach.”
Bolster-Grant hosts drop-in hours at the Santa Cruz County Government Center in Santa Cruz on Tuesdays from 2 to 4 p.m. and on Fridays from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. to help interested property owners get started in the program, or for information.
While detailed information is available at the county planning department’s website — http://sccoplanning.com — she said the best way to get specifics is face-to-face.
“Because there are invariably other issues (than those listed online) it’s really much more efficient to come in and talk,” Bolster-Grant said.