Discretionary Application Review Status

Discretionary Application- Discretionary is a term used to describe applications that the County has the authority to approve, approve with conditions, or deny.  The decision maker is specified by the County Code.  The lowest level of decision is an administrative decision made by the Planning Director.  At the next highest level, public notice of the project submittal is given both before and after the administrative decision is made.  At the next levels, a public hearing is held by the Zoning Administrator, or the Planning Commission, or both the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors.  Return to top of page.

Application Number- This number identifies the set of reviews that constitute a project.  It is assigned once the application fees are paid.  The first two numbers indicate the last two digits of the year of the application; the numbers that follow distinguish this application from the others made during the year of application.  Return to top of page.

Assessor's Parcel Number- This number identifies the property where the development is proposed to be located.  Return to top of page.

Application Date- This is the date the application fees were paid.  It is the base date for various events under the Permit Streamlining Act.  Return to top of page.

Project Status- Until the decision on a project has been made, the project status shows the particular point in the process, such as "incomplete" or "hearing process."  Once the decision has been made (in the case of development permits and environmental permits), the project status is changed to "Approved" or "Denied."  In the case of technical reviews (for example, a biotic pre-site) or report reviews (for example, a soils report review), once the review has been completed, the project status is changed to "Closed."  On occasion, the decision is appealed to a higher authority; the project status then is shown as "Appealed."  Other project statuses are "Abandoned," used when the project applicant fails to submit required materials within a specified period of time, and "Revoked," used in the rare instances of revocation of a permit for cause.  Return to top of page.

Project Planner- This is the planner assigned to oversee processing of the project through to decision and/or completion.  The project planner may not be responsible for each one of the reviews, but does complete at least one.  The project planner should be contacted first for specific questions about the project.  Return to top of page.

Category - There are four categories of planning applications:  Discretionary (DISC), Historic Resources Commission or Agricultural Policy Advisory Commission review (HRC/APAC), Preapplication reviews (PREAPP) or Report or Technical reviews (REVIEW).  Any given proposal may include one or more of these categories.  Return to top of page.

Type- There are various types of permit applications and reviews based on the ultimate decision maker or the reviewer.  Some of these are tracked separately because of a different decision maker or reviewer; in that case, there is a separate entry for each, such as for a coastal permit and a geologic report review.  Some applications include a number of different permits, but those are all listed under one application number.  So, for example, a project may include a land division, coastal permit, and residential development permit.  Those are not listed separately because they must all be considered together by the decision maker.  You will find only one status for a Discretionary (DISC) application.  Return to top of page.

Status- For Development and Environmental Permits, the possible statuses for Completeness include:  "Route and Review," "Completeness Determination," "Incomplete App Process," or "Completeness Ltr."  PLEASE NOTE THAT IN THIS CONTEXT, "Completeness Ltr" INDICATES THAT THE APPLICATION IS READY FOR FURTHER PROCESSING, NOT THAT IT IS APPROVED.  Return to top of page.

For (Decision) Status, the possible statuses are "ZA, PC or BOS Hearing", "Admin Decision," "Approved," "Denied," or "Denied without Prejudice."  Final status can also include "Withdrawn," "Surrendered," "Abandoned," or "Revoked."  If you are unclear of the status of your application, please contact your project planner.  Return to top of page.

For Technical Reviews, the possible statuses are "Route and Review," "Resubmit," "Complete," and "Withdrawn."  For Report Reviews, the possible statuses are "Route and Review," "Accepted" or "Not Accepted."   In some cases, the applicant chooses to withdraw an application; in those cases, a status of "Withdrawn" will be displayed.  If you are unsure of the status of your Technical Review or Report Review, please contact the staff member assigned to your review.  Return to top of page.

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