Congratulations!

You have completed your discretionary review process and now you can inaugurate your project. Whether you are opening a new business, constructing a new home, or inaugurating a different type of project, please read and understand your conditions of approval and mitigation measures in order to avoid any violations and remain in compliance with County regulations.

Conditions of approval are adopted at the time the project is reviewed and approved by the decision-making body. These conditions may include operational requirements, or requirements for landscaping, parking, or road improvements that must be completed before the project may be issued a building permit or given its final inspection. Operational conditions continue to apply to the use as long as it exists, unless written specifically to expire. For example, a condition that limits the business hours of a use would be considered an operational condition.

Some projects are approved with a Mitigation Monitoring Reporting Program (MMRP) in order to meet CEQA environmental requirements. The MMRP incorporates mitigation measures specific to the project that are monitored at specified time intervals by County staff or consultants.

All discretionary permits issued by the County of Ventura are subject to condition compliance review no less than every three years, unless the terms of the permit require more frequent site inspections or a complaint is submitted. Thus, standard policy is to conduct a comprehensive condition compliance review of existing permits on a rotating basis, as staff time allows.

Depending on the conditions of approval, condition compliance review may involve staff from multiple County departments. Costs for condition compliance review are billed directly to the permittee and/or the property owner.

Please note that any deviation from permit requirements as listed in the conditions of approval and/or mitigation monitoring and reporting program without an approved permit adjustment or modification is a violation of the approved permit. Examples of permit violations include, but are not limited to:

• deviations from the approved site plan such as changing the location of permitted activities and structures, not constructing trash enclosures (if required), and reconfiguring the dimensions of access roads, altering setbacks, etc.;
• activity outside the designated permit boundary;
• adding non-permitted storage containers, canopies, and signs to the project site;
• modifications to the landscaping and parking approved with the original permit; and
• change of use without the required permits on the project site.

HELPFUL TIP: If you receive a Planning Notice of Violation (NOV) informing you of a permit violation on your project site, it is important to immediately abate and/or make appropriate arrangements with the designated Condition Compliance Officer to address the issues listed in the NOV. From the date of the NOV, the permittee and/or property owner has 90 days to address violation(s) before Civil Administrative Penalties are imposed. The penalty amount can range up to $1,000 per violation per day. Once penalties have been imposed, they are recorded as a lien on the property until all violations are abated and penalty costs have been paid. To avoid all costs to correct permit violation(s), it is important to understand and comply with permit requirements early in the development process and throughout the life of the permit.

To learn more about the County’s Condition Compliance Program, click here.

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  Phase 8