This book distills the Author's research and experience working as a land use consultant and development manager in jurisdictions from Petaluma to San Diego. It is the guide he wished he'd had when struggling to understand and apply the constantly evolving laws that apply to housing development permits.
The book thoroughly covers the state laws that prescribe how jurisdictions are required to process housing development permit applications in California; and is a reference guide for practitioners - for the people on both sides of the planning counter whose job it is to get projects approved.
This book covers the entirety of the Housing Accountability Act plus provisions of the Permit Streamlining Act, California Environmental Quality Act, and various other state laws that pertain to the processing of housing development permits. It is current with information from 2025 legislation including AB 130, SB 131, SB 158, and AB 712.
It focuses on discretionary permits but generally applies to development permits processed ministerially. However, it does not cover the various special laws that provide for streamlined ministerial processing. It touches on the State Density Bonus Law but does not cover that law in any detail.
This book is available as a print-on-demand paperback and as a downloadable PDF. The paperback is great for perusing the information at your leisure, and as a handy desk reference.
In the PDF version, single-underline text is a hyperlink to a source on the web. Links connect to helpful resources, to footnote references, or to the current version of a cited law. The main table of contents and each of the chapter tables of contents are also hyperlinked. Jump from the table of contents to any heading in the book; then use the internal links with dashed-underline text to cross-reference sections with more detail and context.
For less than the cost of 1 hour of attorney time you can own both the paperback and the PDF. If you purchased a physical copy of this book, before purchasing a PDF, your discounted PDF is waiting for you at: marginaldevelopment.com.
About the Author :
Clay E. Toombs is an expert in the strategic application of California's complex and constantly changing land use and development regulations. He has been entitling projects throughout California for over 18 years, including over 10 years in private practice. A fierce advocate for housing, he is tenacious in using state laws to reduce risk, time, and cost, because only projects that pencil produce housing. Clay holds a Master of Real Estate Development, a Master of Business Administration, and a B.S. in Aeronautical Management Technology, all from Arizona State University.Before his career in real estate development, he was a professional pilot and has over 10,000 hours of flight time.
