San Luis Obispo County, CA Building Safety: Building Permits (2026)

020 amends Chapter 1, Division II of the California Building Code and Residential Code as adopted for unincorporated San Luis Obispo County. Subsection (a) creates the Building Division of the Department of Planning and Building and puts the Chief Building Official in charge of enforcement. 1: any owner or agent who intends to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish, or change the occupancy of a building, or to install, alter, remove, convert, or replace an electrical, gas, mechanical, or plumbing system, must first file an application and obtain a permit.

A limited list of minor work, such as small detached sheds, low fences, and small retaining walls, is exempt under subsection (f), but exempt work still cannot violate any other code or ordinance. Applications must include a legal description, a vicinity map, construction documents, and a stated valuation of the work (subsection (j)); where a discretionary Title 22 or 23 land use permit is required, no construction permit application may be submitted until that land use permit is approved. An application is void if not issued as a permit within 360 days of filing, though the building official may grant up to seven 180-day extensions for justified cause (subsection (m)).

Once issued, a permit for a building of 1,000 square feet or more stays valid for three years; permits for smaller buildings or other work are valid for one year, and permits for as-built work are valid only 90 days (subsection (p)). The building official may suspend or revoke any permit issued in error or based on incomplete or inaccurate information (subsection (u)).