Permitting & Agency Liaison
The slowest part of a Central Coast project is almost never the construction. It's the permit — and the agency relationships a project lives or dies by. We handle permit strategy and submittal in-house because the design decisions and the agency decisions are the same conversation.
Every architectural board on the Central Coast has a personality. Montecito Board of Architectural Review rewards restraint and punishes ambition; the City of Santa Barbara's ABR cares about massing first and materials second; the County is a procedural institution that responds to clarity and complete paperwork. We've submitted enough to know the difference, and we build the design posture around it.
A Permitting engagement includes pre-application agency contact, submittal package preparation, hearing representation, condition-of-approval tracking, and through-construction agency liaison. We speak the language; we know the staff; we don't guess.
For clients pursuing Historic Structures Report eligibility or Mills Act tax-incentive status, we coordinate with preservation architects to prepare the submittal. For coastal-commission-adjacent work, we coordinate with land-use counsel. For Living Building or LEED paths, we coordinate with certification consultants. We are the project's single agency-facing voice.
The scope, in writing.
- 01Pre-application research and strategy memo
- 02Submittal package preparation
- 03Hearing attendance and representation
- 04Condition-of-approval management
- 05Through-construction agency liaison and inspection coordination
- 06Coastal Commission coordination where jurisdiction applies
- 07MBAR, ABR, and HLC preparation and board presentation
3 ways to start.
Part of a full-service project
Permitting and agency liaison are folded into the overall Full-Service engagement.
Standalone — strategy only
For clients who have an architect or drafter but no agency-experienced quarterback. Hourly engagement, typically 40 – 120 hours depending on jurisdiction.
Pre-purchase feasibility
Before a client closes on a property, we run a permit-strategy review that answers 'can we build what we want here' before contingencies waive.
Hourly studio rate; most standalone engagements run between $18k and $60k depending on agency count and hearing complexity. Pre-purchase feasibility is a fixed-fee ten-day turnaround.
Begin an inquiry — we reply in five business days.
Every inquiry lands with a principal. We read it personally. If what you need isn't us, we will tell you — and we may know the right party.