As of November 2026. Rules, forms and fees change. Confirm the current requirements with BCDC and your city before you rely on anything here.
A house at the edge of San Francisco Bay answers to one more authority than a house up the hill. In addition to the city, a state agency has a say over the first strip of land along the water. Many owners first hear of it when their city’s application form asks about it.
Who BCDC is
The San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission is a state agency with land use planning and regulatory authority over San Francisco Bay. Its jurisdiction comes from a state law, the McAteer-Petris Act. BCDC says that most projects and activities in the Bay and along its shoreline require a permit from it.
The 100-foot shoreline band
For a homeowner, the part that matters is what BCDC calls the shoreline band: the first 100 feet inland from the shoreline around the Bay and its tidally influenced tributaries. The Bay itself, including its open waters, marshes and mudflats, is also in BCDC’s jurisdiction, so anything built over the water is too.
Within that jurisdiction, BCDC lists what needs a permit. The list begins with the one that concerns us: to construct, remodel or repair a structure. Grading land is on it as well.
When a house may not need a BCDC permit
BCDC publishes a list of activities at existing single-family homes and duplexes that do not require its permit, provided three conditions are all met. The work must be:
- located entirely in the shoreline band, or partly in the band and partly outside BCDC’s jurisdiction (in other words, not in the Bay itself);
- without adverse impact on existing public access; and
- not blocking views of the Bay from the nearest public road or other publicly accessible place.
If those hold, BCDC says the following do not need its permit:
- Routine repairs and maintenance.
- Renovation, remodeling or alteration of an existing structure that does not increase the building footprint.
- Accessory structures such as garages, carports and sheds.
- Construction of an accessory dwelling unit.
- Stairs, decks, patios, driveways, and retaining walls less than five feet high that do not serve a flood protection function or need drilled piers or pile driving.
- Landscaping, and fences or gates less than five feet high.
Read that list for what is missing. An addition that enlarges the footprint of the house is not on it. Neither is anything that extends over the water.
If you do need one
BCDC issues several types of permit. A project that counts as a minor repair or improvement qualifies for an administrative permit, which is reviewed by staff. BCDC gives the construction of one- and two-family residences as a common example of what generally qualifies. Larger projects, and those that could significantly affect the Bay and its shoreline, need a major permit, which the Commission votes on.
BCDC describes its process in five steps: check whether you need a permit; coordinate early with its staff; get local discretionary permits and other necessary approvals; submit the application; get a decision. Note the third step. Many projects need their local approvals first, so the city’s design review and BCDC’s permit come one after the other, not side by side.
How it meets the city’s process
Cities on the Bay expect you to know about BCDC. Sausalito’s planning application, for example, asks for a letter identifying the agencies with regulatory authority over the property, and names BCDC first.
This belongs in pre-design, with the site analysis and feasibility study: finding out, before anything is drawn, where the shoreline band falls on the lot and which parts of the project sit inside it. A footprint that stays where it is and a footprint that grows toward the water are two different projects on paper.
Questions and answers
How close to the Bay does BCDC’s jurisdiction reach?
On land, the first 100 feet inland from the shoreline of the Bay and its tidally influenced tributaries. BCDC calls this the shoreline band.
Does remodeling a waterfront house need a BCDC permit?
Not always. BCDC says that remodeling an existing single-family home in the shoreline band does not need its permit if the building footprint does not increase, public access is not harmed and views of the Bay from the nearest public road are not blocked.
Does a deck or an ADU need a BCDC permit?
BCDC lists decks, patios and accessory dwelling units among the activities that do not need a permit at an existing home, under the same three conditions and with limits on retaining walls and piers. Anything in or over the Bay is different.
Which comes first, the city or BCDC?
BCDC’s own steps put local discretionary permits before the BCDC application, with early contact with BCDC staff recommended for larger projects.
Sources
All read on November 14, 2026.
- BCDC, Permits
- BCDC, Check if you need a BCDC permit
- BCDC, When you may not need a BCDC permit
- BCDC, BCDC permit types
- BCDC, BCDC’s jurisdiction
- City of Sausalito, Planning Permit Application Submittal Requirements
To talk about a house near the water, contact us.
