Entitlements, Permits & Legal
We navigate California's rapidly evolving land-use laws, municipal ordinances, and zoning, so your approvals move faster and your investment returns more.
- 1Concept
- 2Design
- 3Development Application
- 4Entitlement
- 5Grading Permit
- 6Building Permit
Clients come to us because we know what works and what doesn't.
But obtaining your entitlements comes down to one thing: execution.
BBRE is a development partner you can trust to handle every obstacle and issue that your project encounters.
From concept to approved permits.
Entitlement Strategy & Processing
Mapping the approvals path, managing rezoning, use permits, variances, and discretionary approvals through to a vote.
CEQA & Environmental Review
Coordinating environmental review, studies, and mitigation so the project clears state requirements.
Permitting
Managing the building permit process and agency sign-offs, keeping the project moving through plan check and corrections.
Municipal & Agency Relations
Engaging planning departments, city staff, hearing bodies, and stakeholders; representing the project in public meetings.
Legal Coordination
Working alongside land-use counsel and our legal team on title, easements, CC&Rs, development agreements, and compliance.
Community & Stakeholder Engagement
Building the support a project needs to clear public hearings.
We know where projects fail, and we clear the path before they do.
Approvals don't happen by accident. We map the fastest path to a permit before the first application is filed: the right approval pathway, the right CEQA strategy, and a design that meets the city's objective standards the first time.
Then we work the process: city staff, hearing bodies, and the community, resolving issues before they ever reach a hearing. Your approvals come faster, and your project keeps moving.
A note on outcomes: most entitlement approvals are subject to public agencies and are not guaranteed. Our job is to maximize the probability and the value of approval, and to give you an expert read at every step.
Common questions
How long does the entitlement process take in Orange County?
It depends on the review authority. In our experience, staff or Zoning Administrator approvals typically run two to four months from a complete application, Planning Commission items like conditional use permits run four to nine months, and general plan amendments or rezones should be budgeted at a year or more. CEQA review adds its own statutory clock on top.
Do I need an entitlement consultant, a land-use attorney, or both?
They do different jobs. A land-use attorney advises on legal strategy and litigation risk; an entitlement consultant manages the approval itself — the application, studies, staff relationships, hearings, and schedule. Most projects need the consultant throughout and counsel at specific decision points. We coordinate with your attorney (or bring in land-use counsel we work with) as part of the engagement.
What does it cost to entitle a project in Southern California?
City application fees range from a few thousand dollars for minor permits to $10,000+ deposits for major entitlements, but consultant-side costs — planning, civil, environmental, design — typically exceed city fees on any project of real scale. The biggest cost variable is time: every extra hearing cycle carries both fees and carrying costs. We scope fees against your specific city's schedule before you commit.
Can a city just deny my project?
Not arbitrarily. California law constrains denial: the Permit Streamlining Act puts deadlines on decisions, the Housing Accountability Act requires written, evidence-backed findings to deny compliant housing projects, and laws like SB 9 and the new CEQA infill exemptions narrow local discretion further. Knowing which protections attach to your project is often the difference between approval and drift.
My project is already stuck in planning — can you take it over mid-process?
Yes, and it's one of the most common ways owners come to us. We start with a diagnostic: confirming completeness status, identifying which statutory clock applies, and finding where the application actually sits. Most stalled projects aren't facing opposition — they're facing administrative drift that a deadline-literate letter and a corrected resubmittal can unstick.