San Diego · Southern California
San Diego Design-Build & Remodeling Contractors
We're expanding our work into San Diego — we design, permit, and build with our own crews. Our anchor is Greater Los Angeles, and we're bringing the same owner-accountable, single-team model down to San Diego, working through the City's Development Services Department.
Bringing our design-build model to San Diego
We're a licensed California design-build general contractor — our own crews design, permit, and build each project from first drawing to final walkthrough, and the owner who answers your call is accountable for all of it. We've been building across Los Angeles and Southern California for 20 years, since 2006, and Greater Los Angeles remains our primary anchor.
We're honest about what that means in San Diego: we're expanding here, not claiming a decade of local jobs. What we bring is a single accountable team, a clean and complete permit submittal, and the discipline to confirm jurisdiction, overlays, and the right authority for your address before any work begins — with honest, line-item pricing.
How permitting works in San Diego
San Diego runs its own development-services process, and coastal, community-plan, and fire-zone overlays shape many projects. Here is the factual lay of the land.
- Permitting authority
- City of San Diego — Development Services Department (DSD), its own jurisdiction with its own plan review and inspections; unincorporated areas fall under San Diego County
- Common process notes
- Coastal Development Permits in the Coastal Zone, community-plan and overlay zones across the city, brush-management and very-high fire hazard zones in the canyons and back country, hillside and seismic conditions
- How we work it
- We confirm jurisdiction and overlays for your address, prepare a complete DSD submittal, and pull the permit under our CSLB license before any work begins
- Typical projects
- ADUs, additions, kitchen and bath remodels, and full renovations — designed, permitted, and built by our own crews
Who issues building permits in San Diego?
The City of San Diego issues building permits through its Development Services Department — while parcels in the surrounding unincorporated areas fall under San Diego County.
San Diego is its own permitting jurisdiction with its own plan review and inspections, and San Diego County permits the unincorporated areas around it. Properties in the Coastal Zone can also require a Coastal Development Permit, and some fall under the California Coastal Commission. That layering matters: filing with the wrong authority, or missing a coastal or overlay trigger, stalls a project before it starts. We confirm jurisdiction and overlays, then pull the permit under our CSLB license before any work begins, and carry the project through inspections to final sign-off.
What to expect on permit timing in San Diego
Timelines vary with the project and the Development Services review queue — and coastal or overlay review can add time.
Generally, interior-only remodels move faster than additions or ADUs that trigger coastal, community-plan, or fire-zone review. Rather than promise a day count we can't control, we give you an honest, project-specific schedule up front, prepare a complete and approvable submittal so plan review isn't bogged down in corrections, and tell you straight when a city or county queue — not the construction — is the gating factor.
San Diego questions, answered
- Who issues building permits in San Diego?
- The City of San Diego issues building permits through its Development Services Department (DSD). The City is its own permitting jurisdiction; parcels in the surrounding unincorporated areas fall under San Diego County. We confirm which authority applies to your address and carry your plans through the right plan-review and inspection process under our CSLB license.
- Does my San Diego project need a Coastal Development Permit?
- It can, if the property sits within San Diego’s Coastal Zone — which covers much of the area near the ocean. Coastal Development Permits add a review layer on top of standard building permits, and some areas fall under the California Coastal Commission rather than the City. We verify whether your address is in the Coastal Zone up front so the right permits are filed from the start.
- Can I build an ADU in San Diego?
- In most cases, yes. California state ADU law applies in San Diego, and the City has its own ADU program on top of it. Lot size, setbacks, coastal and overlay zones, and brush-management requirements in the canyons all shape what fits. We confirm feasibility with the City — or San Diego County, if the parcel is unincorporated — before committing to a design.
- How long does it take to get a permit in San Diego?
- It varies by project and by the Development Services Department’s review queue, and coastal or overlay review can add time. Straightforward interior remodels generally move faster than additions or ADUs that trigger coastal, community-plan, or fire-zone review. We give you an honest schedule up front and tell you straight when a city or county timeline is outside our control, rather than promising a day count we can’t guarantee.
What we build in San Diego
Planning a build in San Diego?
You work directly with the licensed contractor that designs, permits, and builds — one accountable team expanding into San Diego, working through City Development Services and San Diego County plan review. Tell us about your home and we'll give you an honest read on feasibility, cost, and timeline. Free consultation.