As defined in the San Diego Municipal Code, Discretionary Permits and processes are required when developments may impact the surrounding area due to a proposed use, design feature or project location. Before applying for a Discretionary Permit or review, applicants can request a Preliminary Review.
Discretionary approvals require a decision-maker to exercise judgment and deliberation, such as granting a Conditional Use Permit to an airport or a Cannabis Outlet. In contrast, ministerial approvals determine that a request complies with a set of codified standards, such as approving a Building Permit for a house. Discretionary approvals are granted at the discretion of a City decision-maker and may require a public hearing.
The City assigns a Development Project Manager (DPM) to guide each discretionary project through the review and decision-making process. The DPM is a single point of contact that facilitates the processing of the project through the City's review process; however, the DPM is not an advocate for the project itself.
Discretionary permits may be required for the proposed use, location and/or project characteristics, and this webpage may not account for every possibility. Therefore, thoroughly research the discretionary permit types and requirements in consultation with staff and/or an industry professional to determine what permits may be required.
A project's zoning may also dictate if discretionary approval is required for a proposed use. Use tables for City-wide base zones are located in Chapter 13, Zones. Planned District zoning can be found in Chapter 15, Planned Districts.
Important: Once a discretionary approval is granted during a public hearing, a discretionary permit is issued and recorded, and the development project is considered "entitled." Then, the project can enter into the construction phase, which will require ministerially approved permits, including building permits, grading permits, right-of-way permits and final maps.
Discretionary permits may contain conditions that the applicant must fulfill before and during the construction completion and operation of the proposed use. These include the operating hours, the need to install/repair sidewalks and provide traffic signals.
A decision-maker may approve or deny a discretionary permit based on issues raised during review, the written record of project documents, and public testimony. Depending on the type of permit, the decision-maker may be City staff, the Hearing Officer, the Planning Commission or the City Council. If multiple discretionary permits are required for a project, they will be decided together by the highest-level decision-maker.
The San Diego Municipal Code contains written findings that must be made to justify the City's decision on a discretionary permit. Required findings vary by permit type and project circumstances. The most common findings are:
Regardless of the decision process, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires state and local agencies to identify the significant environmental impacts of discretionary actions and avoid or mitigate the impacts, if feasible. For information on the environmental review process in the City of San Diego, see Chapter 12, Article 8, Divisions 1-3 of the San Diego Municipal Code.
Please refer to the San Diego Municipal Code for specifics regarding the decision process, noticing requirements and other relevant information.
You will be required to select one of the following project types:
Depending upon the project scope, you will be asked to select from the following list of discretionary permit types followed by making a selection from a list of Permit Sub-Types. The permit type combined with the permit sub-type selected will generate the specific requirements for your project.
The Affordable, Infill Housing and Sustainable Buildings Expedite Program provides expedited discretionary and ministerial permit processing for eligible affordable, in-fill housing and sustainable development permits and building projects. Learn more