Will your project trigger planning review?

The seven questions

0Which city is the project in? — Select a city — San Francisco Oakland San Jose Berkeley Concord Walnut Creek Cupertino Fremont Hayward Houston, TX 1Does the project change the exterior of the building? — Select —Yes — facade, windows, doors, cladding, roof formNo — interior only 2Is it an addition? If so, how big? — Select —No additionSingle story, 500 sf or lessSingle story, over 500 sfTwo story (any size) 3Is it an ADU or JADU? — Select —YesNo 4Does it change the use or occupancy? (e.g., office to restaurant, adding a dwelling unit, retail to retail in some districts) — Select —YesNo 5Is the property historic, or in a historic district? — Select —Yes / not sureNo 6Is it near a creek, on a hillside, in a floodplain, or in a geologic hazard zone? — Select —Yes / not sureNo 7Will you need a variance, conditional use permit, or rezoning? — Select —Yes / probablyNo Get my answer →

Your planning answer

This quiz applies published city rules to your answers — it's a triage, not a zoning determination. Parcel-specific overlays can change the answer; confirm with the city's planning counter before finalizing plans.

Why this exists

The most expensive sentence in permitting is "nobody told me planning had to review this." In Concord, planning approval must clear before you can even submit a building permit. In Oakland, design review can add nine months. In Houston, there is no planning review at all — but deed restrictions can kill a project just as dead. This quiz tells you which world your project lives in, before you spend a dollar on drawings.