Minor Permits

Your project may require a minor permit if it is a single-family home or other project that does not require a major permit.

How to Apply

1. Contact the CAMA local permit officer for the community where your project is located. Local permit officers (LPOs) are local government employees – often building inspectors, zoning administrators or planners – who have been trained by the Division of Coastal Management to administer minor permits for their localities.

If your local government does not have a CAMA local permit officer, contact your DCM district office.

2. The local permit officer or DCM field representative will discuss the proposed project and give you an application. The LPO can help you fill out the application and suggest ways to better meet the CRC's guidelines. It's also a good idea to ask how the land use plan and local development regulations might affect your project.

3. You must pay a $100 application fee to cover the costs of processing the application. This should be paid with a check made out to the local government and must be paid when you submit your application to the local permit officer.

4. The minor development permit application asks for basic information about the project and the property involved. This information includes:

• the names, addresses and telephone numbers of the landowners and authorized agents;

• the location, scale and nature of the project;

• a statement of property ownership, found on the deed to the property;

• a list of adjacent riparian property owners and their addresses, available from the local tax office;

• a signed statement allowing the local permit officer to enter the property.

5. You must notify all adjacent riparian property owners of your project either in person or by mail, or as required by your local government.

6. If your project is located in an ocean hazard Area of Environmental Concern, you must fill out and sign an AEC Hazard Notice, which states that you recognize the natural hazards of building on the site, that the CRC does not guarantee the safety of your project and that the CRC assumes no liability for future damage to the project.

The notice also states that no hardened structures may be used to protect your building or other project, and that you will relocate or dismantle your structure if it becomes threatened by erosion and the shoreline does not recover within two years, either naturally or through nourishment.

7. Your permit application must be accompanied by a site drawing that shows the dimensions and characteristics of the property, plus the location and nature of the project. The permit application form lists specific information that must appear on the site drawing. The local permit officer can make suggestions on how to prepare the drawing and where to obtain the necessary information.

To make the application easy to understand and review, the site drawing should be clear and simple (see Figure 5.2). It should be done on white paper in black ink or dark pencil. The drawing does not need to be to scale, but significant dimensions must be indicated. It does not have to be prepared by an engineer or architect, but it must provide clear and complete information. Drawings also should comply with local requirements.

Figure 5.2

8. After receiving all of your application materials:

• The local permit officer will visit the project site to make sure that the site drawing is accurate. He or she will look for conditions such as a marsh or an eroding shoreline – that could affect the construction or placement of your project. The permit officer may post a notice that an application has been filed for a minor development permit, or mail the notice to you for posting.

• The LPO will check to make sure your proposed project complies with the CRC's standards for development. The LPO can explain the standards and how they affect a particular project.

• The LPO will check to make sure that your project complies with the local land use plan before a CAMA permit can be issued. The local permit officer also will check to make sure your project complies with the local zoning ordinance. If it does not, the LPO will have to deny the permit.

9. Most minor permits can be reviewed in 25 days, the time allowed under the Coastal Area Management Act. If the local permit officer needs more information to review the application, you will be notified by certified or registered mail.

If the review will take longer than 25 days, the LPO will send you a notice extending the review time for an additional 25 days. The 25-day period, which begins when the LPO deems the application complete, can be extended only once.

10. After receiving your completed application, the LPO will publish a legal notice in the local newspaper. This notice lets other people in the community know that the project is being considered for a minor development permit. Anyone may examine the application file to see if the project complies with the CRC's development standards, the local land use plan and local development ordinances.

11. Based on the review of the application, the LPO will either issue or deny the permit.

Minor Permit Issuance

A minor permit will be issued if the project complies with the CRC's development standards, the local land use plan and local development regulations. Your permit may include specific conditions to ensure that you comply with the CRC's regulations and protect resources. You are responsible for meeting all requirements or conditions of the permit.

Minor Permit Denial

The permit will be denied if the proposed project violates the CRC's standards for development in areas of environmental concern, the local land use plan or a local development regulation.

After the LPO makes a decision, you will be sent an official CAMA permit decision.

If your permit application is denied, you have the right to appeal or to request a variance from the Coastal Resources Commission (see Section 8).