The city of San Diego is making it easier than ever to build more housing and lower construction costs. For the past three years, our team has been laser-focused on decreasing permit times and streamlining development regulations.
And we’re seeing the results. Just last week, Mayor Todd Gloria announced that 2023 was a banner year for housing in San Diego. The city issued permits for 9,691 new homes — a roughly 82% increase over the prior year and the highest total since at least 2005.
Gone are the days of waiting months for permit review and approval. The Development Services Department — which regulates building construction safety and enforcement — has undergone a major transformation to move into the 21st century.
Two years ago, permit times were slower than ever amid the paper-to-digital transition. Now, hundreds of systemic changes have been instituted to help the city get permits reviewed quickly. Virtual Rapid Review permit times are in line with our previous in-person “over-the-counter” permit times. We have eliminated the permitting backlog, provided more timeframe certainty and increased efficiency with a digital process.
In an op-ed published last week in Times of San Diego, Mark Powell cited Phoenix as an example San Diego should follow. We’re proud to say that we have long been in conversations with Phoenix building officials — and San Diego is ahead of the game.
In fact, our Permit Now program is faster than the self-certification permit program touted by Phoenix.
Permit Now projects have zoning, engineering and building reviewed in less than 30 days, averaging just nine days for a review cycle. This has helped the city permit 2,356 affordable homes in the year since the program launched.
And it doesn’t stop there. We’ve also expanded the Rapid Review program, formerly known as Over-the-Counter review, to provide an accelerated review turnaround time for permits for accessory structures like carports and retaining walls, right-of-way permits, sign permits, single-story home additions and remodels, and tenant improvements for businesses, storage facilities and factories.
Last year, we made it easier for San Diegans to permit kitchen and bath remodels by eliminating the need for full building construction plans. We launched an instant solar permitting process for residential homes. The solar self-certification process allows residents to bypass city review of their installation plans by certifying a project’s compliance with building codes, standards and ordinances.
For businesses, qualified office tenant improvements can skip the plan review process. This professional certification is available for projects up to 20,000 square feet that are designed by a licensed California architect or engineer.
Our customers no longer need to trek to the permitting office downtown for assistance. More than 50% of permits are issued on the same day, and virtual appointments are available so DSD staff can walk you through the process.
This streamlining has freed up plan review staff for more complex reviews, which ultimately means housing projects can get to the construction phase faster.
All exciting news might come as a surprise to people who don’t interact with our permitting office on a regular basis, but the development and construction community is certainly noticing how our efforts have made their projects go faster — which in the end also means saving on costs. I recently attended a Building Industry Association event and heard from one developer who said they haven’t seen it this good in 30 years of building.
San Diego is implementing creative and innovative solutions to address our region’s housing shortage — and we’re not done yet.
Elyse W. Lowe is development services director for the city of San Diego.