County moves ahead on permitting overhaul; special effort to speed CZU wildfire rebuilds

County staff and consultants presented the Streamline Santa Cruz work program and a CZU rebuild update at the Jan. 27 Board of Supervisors meeting. The work program (12 projects) targets clearer intake, standardized plan‑check comments, expanded counter appointments, a short‑term technology strategy and a new pre‑permit screening meeting tied to the Camino online guide.

CDI staff reported that the Camino pre‑screening guide and pilot pre‑permit screening service are reducing rejections and clarifying routing needs before formal submittal. The department said standardization of plan‑check comments and routing thresholds has helped reduce review cycles; preliminary metrics show improvements in the average time to first comments and customer satisfaction surveys (average rating ~4.8/5 for in‑person counter appointments).

On CZU wildfire rebuilds, staff said of 805 impacted parcels about 171 replacement dwellings are complete and 104 rebuilds are underway. They identified 51 parcels still in "conditionally not cleared" (CNC) status, many constrained by state‑level environmental health and geologic requirements. Staff described targeted outreach (mailers, calls and dedicated appointments) for CNC property owners and proposed two near‑term code clarifications (definition alignment of "in‑kind" and "bedroom") via an annual code cleanup; larger code revisions would require a multiyear comprehensive code update.

Supervisor requests included more transparent parcel‑level metrics, GIS maps of poor‑condition roads and performance measures for CZU rebuild progress. The board accepted the Streamline report and asked staff to return in April with an update. Public commenters from design and community groups urged careful stakeholder outreach for proposed code changes and stressed the importance of accessible counter services for older residents and small contractors.