Santa Cruz County, CA Environmental Rules: Erosion Control (2026)
Key Facts
- Plan required before
- Building, development, or land-division permit
- Design storm standard
- 10-year storm runoff control
- Winter protection window
- October 15 to April 15 annually
- Major-project clearing trigger
- 1/4 acre in sensitive coastal watershed
- Slope limit for extra clearing
- 30% slope maximum
- Administering official
- Planning Director
Summary
Coastal-zone development in unincorporated Santa Cruz County needs an approved erosion control plan under SCCC Chapter 16.22 before any grading, land clearing, building or development permit is issued. The plan must control runoff for a 10-year storm, and erosion controls must stay in place every winter from October 15 to April 15.
Prior to issuance of a building permit, development permit or land division, an erosion control plan indicating proposed methods for the control of runoff, erosion, and sediment movement shall be submitted and approved. ... No grading or clearing may take place on the site prior to approval of an erosion control plan for that activity. Final certification of project completion may be delayed pending proper installation of measures identified in the approved erosion control plan.
Full Breakdown
100. No grading or clearing may begin before the plan is approved, and final project sign-off can be withheld until the approved measures are actually installed. 060(D). 070 must handle a 10-year storm: on highly permeable soils, all post-development runoff above pre-development levels must be retained on site through infiltration basins or percolation pits unless the Planning Director waives it for slope-stability reasons. 080: any clearing in a sensitive habitat, a quarter acre or more in the Coastal Zone within a sensitive watershed, or one acre or more elsewhere requires a separate erosion-control approval, and clearing over a quarter acre outside a permitted project is barred on slopes over 30 percent.
050(G) requires erosion control measures to stay in place and maintained through that same window every year. 140, and the permittee must give 24 hours' notice before starting authorized work.
Violations & Fines
SCCC § 16.22.160 makes it unlawful to fail to correct a condition causing accelerated erosion after a notice of violation, to clear land without a development permit or applicable exemption under § 16.22.080(A), to exercise a land-clearing permit without following its conditions, or to work in defiance of a posted stop-work notice. Because §§ 16.22.161 through 16.22.180 covering right of entry, stop notices, and penalties were repealed by Ord. 4392A, enforcement and fines run through the County's general code provisions, including the default misdemeanor penalty of up to $1,000 and six months in jail under SCCC § 1.12.030 for violations with no penalty specified elsewhere. Fees for checking, inspection, violations, and variance requests are set by Board of Supervisors resolution under § 16.22.130. Appeals of any action under the chapter go through the Chapter 18.10 discretionary permit procedures per § 16.22.190.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need an erosion control plan for a small home addition in unincorporated Santa Cruz County?
Can I clear brush on my Santa Cruz County property in December?
Who enforces erosion control violations?
Does the Coastal Commission review Santa Cruz County's erosion control rules?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Santa Cruz County
California rules heatmap·Compare Santa Cruz County to another location·View the California environmental rules overview
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