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The Development Services Department issues building permits. A building permit is required to construct any new structure, and a single-family home uses the Combination Building permit type, with a geotechnical report submitted when required. The City reviews the plans for compliance with the regulations that apply.

If the site has a structure 45 years old or more, a historic review can apply. Ask the City about this before you plan a rebuild.

Within the Coastal Zone of the City of San Diego, no building or addition may exceed thirty feet in height. The limit is the City's codification of Proposition D, effective December 7, 1972, and the base of measurement for height follows the Uniform Building Code of 1970. The zone runs from the northern city limits to the Mexican border and inland to Interstate 5 as it was on January 1, 1971, with a few listed areas exempt. Check the current code for your lot.

The City issues a Coastal Development Permit for coastal development in the Coastal Overlay Zone, unless the development is exempt. A site entirely inside the Coastal Commission's permit jurisdiction or the Deferred Certification Area gets its permit or exemption from the Commission instead, and a site partly inside needs a permit from each agency for its part. The City's process is written to be consistent with the Local Coastal Program and the California Coastal Act, and its decision can be appealed to the Planning Commission.

In the La Jolla Shores Planned District, a Planned District Permit is needed before work on any new building. A Hearing Officer decides it under Process Three, after the La Jolla Shores Advisory Board gives written recommendations or comments. The City Manager can treat some projects as minor and decide them under Process One without that step. The district exists to protect the area's ocean-oriented setting, architectural character and natural terrain, and it sets its own height and floor-area rules, so read the current code. Within the Coastal Zone, a lot with slopes of 25 percent or greater needs extra environmental information.

If any part of a lot falls inside the City's Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, the state's wildland-urban interface building standards apply to new buildings and additions. Brush management applies to the vegetation around a structure, and for new development it is addressed in a site-specific plan. San Diego Fire-Rescue also says its Zone 0 requirement applies to new structures built in Very High Fire Severity Zones after February 28, 2026.

In unincorporated areas, the Building Services Division of Planning and Development Services issues building permits for residential and commercial structures. Plans are reviewed against California building standards, county amendments, the Grading Ordinance, the Zoning Ordinance, the Consolidated Fire Code and the Consolidated Wildland-Urban Interface Code.

Each permit record gets Conditions of Approval. The county lists Fire District Approval, Flood Control, Septic Review and Driveway Review as examples of conditions that may take longer.

The county says it requires special features for projects in high-risk areas. It publishes its own Wildland-Urban Interface Code, which includes county amendments to the 2025 California code, so check the county's current version for your lot.

A lot that is not served by a sewer system uses an onsite wastewater (septic) system. The Department of Environmental Health and Quality reviews the design of new systems and inspects the installation. On a steep site, the septic layout comes with a slope stability report or statement from a licensed civil engineer or geologist.

Del Mar, Solana Beach, Encinitas, Carlsbad and Coronado are cities of their own, and La Jolla and Point Loma are communities of the City of San Diego. A lot there answers to that city. Rancho Santa Fe is an unincorporated community, so a lot there answers to the County. Check with the city or county where your lot sits.

A building permit application filed on or after January 1, 2026 follows the 2025 Energy Code. For single-family homes it encourages heat pumps for heating, cooling and water heating, and it does not mandate a fuel type.

The 2025 California Green Building Standards Code, Part 11 of Title 24, took effect January 1, 2026.

The state's wildland-urban interface building standards apply to new buildings in State Responsibility Areas and on land that a city or other local agency designates a High or Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone. They are written to resist flames and burning embers. The required vegetation management must be in place before final approval of the building permit, and local jurisdictions can amend the code, so ask your building official.