Body of News Release
UPDATE 12/9: The Board received the presentation and plan.
Marin County, CA – In the past five years, the County of Marin has streamlined services for people applying for permits for construction on their properties in the unincorporated areas of Marin. One of the main goals is to increase compliance with local laws and reduce unpermitted work.
On December 9, County staff plans to provide an update on the multiyear Permit Improvement Program (PIP), which was launched in 2020 in partnership with the Marin Builders Association and the now-defunct Marin Economic Forum. The update is being presented during the regular Marin County Board of Supervisors meeting, but the Board is not being asked to approve anything, only to receive the presentation and provide feedback.
The Community Development Agency (CDA), whose Building and Safety Division oversees permitting, has used feedback from electronic surveys, focus groups, one-on-one interviews, and internal staff workshops to continually shape and improve reforms. Through its first three phases, the PIP has helped make the building permit process more efficient, transparent, and customer friendly.
The PIP Phase III report noted a significant improvement in customer satisfaction, showing that the steps CDA is taking are having an impact.
The Building and Safety Division issues approximately 4,000 permits per year for projects in unincorporated parts of Marin and performs approximately 10,000 inspections. However, unpermitted construction has been estimated to represent almost half of all work countywide, resulting in safety concerns and future cost burdens for property owners and tenants, and lost revenue of more than $3 million annually.
“Building or remodeling is a huge step for property owners and getting the permit for it is an important touch point for people with the County,” said CDA Director Sarah Jones. “We want it to be a positive and productive experience for applicants, so that their dreams can become real that much faster. Having an efficient permit process lowers the costs for applicants and encourages more compliance, which really means more safety for everyone.”
The COVID-19 pandemic threw a wrench into a formal review of CDA’s customer service practices, but the benefit was a harder push toward digitizing. In 2023, the County expanded online permitting resources to reduce in-person trips to the Civic Center. That same year, CDA created a new position of ombudsperson to act as a liaison between the public and the CDA staff. Cristy Stanley, a longtime supervisor in CDA’s Code Compliance Division, was appointed to the position. In addition, the department created a centralized voicemail system to reduce turn-around time for questions and recently streamlined the process to obtain building permits for property owners with septic systems.
Looking ahead, the recommended changes to further streamline permitting are a fully staffed Building and Safety Division, the elimination of redundant permitting software programs, and online flow charts and other information tools for different permit types for applicants to better understand timelines and processes.
The County plans to phase out paper plan submittals by January 1, 2026, except as needed for qualifying disabilities. That change will allow building permit technicians, building plans examiners, and other CDA personnel to focus on permit review and processing. In addition, more assistance for those applying for septic permits is on the way, and quarterly breakfasts are planned so developers and design professionals can offer more constructive feedback for the County.
The Board of Supervisors meeting starts at 9 AM in the Civic Center’s Board chamber (Suite 330, 3501 Civic Center Drive, San Rafael) and this agenda item is scheduled for the early afternoon following a closed session. Meetings are livestreamed on the County website and aired on Comcast Channel 27 for subscribers of Comcast and AT&T U-verse. Learn more about meeting participation on the County website.
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