Grading Plan Requirements: LADBS vs. San Diego County

Why these two jurisdictions are worth comparing

LADBS (the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety) and the County of San Diego Building & Code Enforcement are two of the highest-volume building jurisdictions in Southern California. They process thousands of grading permits annually, and if you're doing civil engineering work across Southern California, you'll eventually deal with both.

They have different submittal formats, different plan check cultures, different fee structures, and different typical timelines. What flies in San Diego may not fly in LA, and vice versa. Here's what we've learned from working in both.

LADBS — What you're working with

Submittal format: LADBS uses a digital submittal system (ePlanLA) for most projects. Plans are uploaded as PDFs, reviewed digitally, and corrections are issued electronically. This is fully online now — paper submittals are no longer standard for most project types.

What LADBS requires on grading plans: Existing and proposed contours (typically at 1- or 2-foot intervals), drainage design, building pad elevations, retaining wall locations and heights, earthwork quantities (cut/fill in cubic yards), erosion control notes, and soils report reference. The plan set must reference a geotechnical report by title, date, and engineer of record.

Grading permit thresholds: In the City of LA, a grading permit is required when you're moving more than 100 cubic yards of soil, or when grading affects slopes, drainage, or public right-of-way. Many ADUs and additions trigger this.

Inspector type: LADBS grading inspectors are City employees. They inspect grading operations, verify compaction reports, and sign off on rough grading before the building inspector takes over for structural work.

Plan check timeline: LADBS residential grading currently runs 8–14 weeks for standard first-round review. Express plan check is available for an additional fee — this can reduce wait time to 2–4 weeks for qualifying projects. Commercial projects and complex residential can take longer regardless.

San Diego County — What you're working with

Submittal format: San Diego County uses ProjectDox for digital plan submittal. Like LADBS, plans are uploaded, reviewed, and corrected digitally. The County has moved aggressively toward electronic review over the past several years.

What SD County requires on grading plans: Similar content to LADBS — contours, drainage, pad elevations, retaining walls, earthwork quantities — but with some specific County requirements: Flood Hazard Zone notation if applicable, discretionary permit conditions (if the project went through the Planning Commission), and specific County grading ordinance references on the title sheet.

Grading permit thresholds: San Diego County requires a grading permit for projects moving 50+ cubic yards, or any grading within a drainage course, or grading that affects slopes. The threshold is lower than City of LA, so more projects trigger it.

Inspector type: County grading inspectors are County employees, similar structure to LADBS. The County also requires a licensed geotechnical engineer to provide periodic observation during grading — this is documented in field observation reports submitted to the County.

Plan check timeline: SD County residential grading currently runs 4–8 weeks for first-round review. The County has generally faster turnaround than LADBS for similar project types, though this varies by project complexity and current workload.

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Key differences that matter in practice

Earthwork quantity threshold: SD County triggers at 50 CY, LADBS at 100 CY. This means some smaller residential projects need grading permits in San Diego County that would fly under the radar in LA.

Geotechnical observation: San Diego County explicitly requires geotechnical engineer observation during grading, with field reports submitted to the County. LADBS relies more on the compaction testing firm to provide observation reports, with the geotechnical engineer signing the final compaction report. In practice, both require geotechnical oversight — the documentation format differs.

Plan format standards: LADBS has specific requirements for title block format, sheet sizes, and plan numbering that differ from County of San Diego standards. A plan set prepared for one jurisdiction usually needs reformatting for the other. This isn't huge work, but it's something to account for in your schedule.

Correction culture: LADBS plan checkers tend to issue more numerous but more specific corrections — you know exactly what to fix. San Diego County corrections can sometimes be broader and require interpretation. Both are manageable; just different working styles.

Fees: LADBS grading permit fees are calculated based on earthwork quantity and project valuation. For a typical residential project moving 500–1,000 CY, expect $3,000–$8,000 in LADBS permit fees. San Diego County fees for similar scope typically run $1,500–$4,000.

Common pitfalls in each jurisdiction

• LADBS pitfalls:
• Submitting without a complete soils report reference — LADBS will kick the submittal back if the geotech report isn't finalized and properly cited.
• Underestimating the timeline — 10+ weeks for plan check is normal. Projects that need to be construction-ready in 3 months can't wait to start the permit process.
• Ignoring hillside grading ordinance triggers — many LA hillside areas have additional requirements (Hillside Ordinance, Baseline Hillside Ordinance) that add requirements beyond standard grading.

• San Diego County pitfalls:
• Missing the 50 CY threshold — contractors sometimes start grading without realizing the County requires a permit at this relatively low quantity.
• Not coordinating geotechnical observation — the County will not sign off on rough grading without field observation reports from the geotechnical engineer. If you don't have a geotech scheduled for observation, the project stalls.
• Discretionary condition compliance — if your project went through the Planning Commission (common for hillside lots, coastal areas, or sensitive habitats), grading plan approval requires demonstrating compliance with all conditions of approval. Missing one condition means rejection.

If you're working across both jurisdictions

Plenty of clients have projects in both LA and San Diego counties. The civil engineering fundamentals are identical — good drainage design, accurate contours, proper earthwork specs. The administrative process is different.

The most efficient approach: have your civil engineer prepare a base plan set that meets the more demanding requirements of the two jurisdictions, then adapt for each. Don't try to use the same title block and submittal package for both — the reformatting effort is minor compared to the risk of a rejection for administrative non-compliance.

And start both permit processes early. Between LADBS's longer timeline and San Diego County's lower earthwork threshold, projects that assume a 4-week permit process frequently end up delayed. If you're managing a project timeline, assume 8–12 weeks for LADBS grading and 6–8 weeks for San Diego County, and plan your construction schedule backward from there.

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