Pre-Submittal & Entitlement

Permit & Development
Consulting

Development consulting session reviewing architectural plans

Not every project starts with drawings ready to submit. Sometimes you need to know what's possible before you commit — what you can build, what it takes to get approved, and where the real risks are.

Ocean Permits & Development advises property owners, architects, contractors, and developers in Los Angeles on the permitting and entitlement side of a project — before and during construction. We research the regulatory environment, map the approval path, identify entitlement exposures, and review drawings for compliance issues before they reach a plan checker.

The goal is simple: fewer surprises, fewer corrections, and a clear path to approval before you spend money building the wrong thing.

What Consulting Includes

01
Feasibility Review
Before you commission drawings, we research what your property allows under current zoning, any applicable overlays (Coastal, Historic, Fire Hazard Severity Zone, Hillside), and what approvals your proposed project would trigger. You get a clear picture of what's possible — and what it costs in time and money to get there — before spending anything on design.
02
Permit Strategy & Sequencing
Complex projects require multiple permits from multiple agencies, and the order matters. We map every permit your project needs — building, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, grading, health, signage, coastal — and the sequence in which to pursue them. This prevents the common mistake of getting one approval that triggers a conflict with another review.
03
Entitlement Guidance
When your project requires discretionary approvals — variances, conditional use permits (CUPs), zone changes, or general plan amendments — we advise on the strategy, likelihood of success, community notification requirements, and hearing timelines. We help you decide whether to pursue entitlements or redesign to avoid them.
04
Zoning & Code Analysis
We research the specific zoning designation, applicable land-use regulations, development standards, and any specific or area plans affecting your property. For development projects, we calculate allowable floor area ratio (FAR), maximum height, required setbacks, and parking. Written zoning reports available on request.
05
Pre-Submittal Plan Review
Before your architect submits drawings to the city, we review them against jurisdiction-specific requirements, local plan-check checklists, and common corrections for your project type. We identify problems before they reach a plan checker — preventing the correction cycles that cost weeks and force redesigns.
06
Risk & Timeline Assessment
We give you realistic expectations on three things: how long the permit process will take, what the most likely corrections and delays are, and what it would cost to accelerate. No sugar-coating. If a project has a difficult entitlement path, you'll hear it from us before you've committed resources, not after.

Who Needs Consulting

Owners Evaluating a Purchase or Remodel

Before you buy a property or commit to a renovation budget, you need to know what the city will allow and how long it takes to get there. Our pre-purchase feasibility reviews answer those questions with real research — not assumptions.

Architects & Designers

An architect may be expert in design but less familiar with how a specific local jurisdiction interprets code, which overlays apply to a given parcel, or how a particular plan checker is reading a provision. We provide the jurisdiction-specific permit strategy that complements the design process.

General Contractors Bidding Full Scope

A GC who can offer permit management as part of their scope wins more work. We partner with contractors to provide the permit strategy, submittal management, and agency coordination that turns a construction bid into a turnkey delivery.

Developers Evaluating Sites

For development projects, the entitlement risk is often the difference between a viable project and a costly mistake. We research the regulatory environment before you invest in design, and help structure projects to minimize entitlement exposure.

When to Engage a Permit Consultant

The earlier you engage, the more value consulting delivers. The stages where it matters most:

Before signing a lease or purchase agreementIdentify CUP triggers, overlay requirements, or code constraints that affect project viability — before you're committed.

Before finalizing design scopeCatch the design decisions that will require variances or entitlements before your architect bills for revisions.

Before first permit submittalPre-submittal plan review to identify corrections before they reach a plan checker — preventing weeks-long delay cycles.

After receiving a rejection or correction noticeStrategic resubmittal planning that resolves the specific issues quickly rather than guessing at what the agency wants.

Common Questions

What is a pre-submittal feasibility review?

A pre-submittal feasibility review is an assessment of a property's regulatory environment before any drawings are prepared or submitted. We research the zoning designation, applicable overlays, development standards, required approvals, and likely permit timelines for your proposed project. The output is a clear picture of what's possible, what it requires, and what the realistic path to approval looks like — so you can make informed decisions before committing to design costs.

What is a conditional use permit (CUP) and do I need one?

A Conditional Use Permit (CUP) is a discretionary land-use approval required for certain uses that are allowed in a zone only under specific conditions — such as alcohol service, late-night hours, drive-throughs, or certain commercial uses in mixed-use zones. CUPs require a public hearing, community notification, and environmental review under CEQA. They add 4–12 months to a project's approval timeline. We identify CUP triggers before you commit to a space and advise on whether the project scope can be adjusted to avoid one.

What is a variance and when is it needed?

A variance is a discretionary approval that allows a property owner to deviate from standard zoning requirements — typically for setbacks, height, or lot coverage — due to a unique property characteristic that makes strict compliance an unusual hardship. Variances are not available simply because code makes a preferred design inconvenient. We assess whether a variance is genuinely viable for your situation, prepare the findings needed to support it, and manage the hearing process.

How does consulting differ from permit expediting?

Consulting is the upfront, strategic phase: we research what's allowed, map the approval path, review plans for compliance issues before submission, and advise on entitlement strategy. Permit expediting is the execution phase: we prepare and submit applications, track them through agency review, respond to corrections, and coordinate inspections. Many clients engage us for consulting during design and then transition directly to full permit expediting once drawings are complete.

Can you help with a project that's already been rejected?

Yes. If a permit application has been rejected or received significant corrections, we review the agency's comments, assess what's needed to address them, and develop a resubmittal strategy. In many cases, corrections reflect either a missing document or a code interpretation issue that can be resolved with the right response — not a fundamental redesign. We've salvaged projects that were stalled for months with a single targeted correction response.

Do you provide written reports?

Yes. For clients who need documentation of their zoning research, entitlement strategy, or pre-submittal review findings, we provide written reports suitable for sharing with lenders, investors, partners, or design teams. Report scope and format are agreed upon at engagement.