Community Development

During the Shelter-in-Place order related to COVID-19, City Hall is closed to the public; however permitting and inspections will continue remotely and by appointment only. 

Detailed information on what services are available is posted below.

Community Development Department (CDD) Services

Planning, Building, Code Enforcement and Housing Services staff are available for telephone and email inquiries - contact information for each division is listed on this page.

Online Permit Center NEW

  • City of San Mateo’s Community Development Department proudly announces a new self-service online permit center! We now accept, review, receive payments, and issue planning entitlements and building permits securely online.
COVID-19 Safety Protocols During Shelter-in-Place Order

Building Permits - Available Online

  • All construction activities are permitted.
  • Online building permit applications and building permit submittals and inquiries are available on our Citizen Self-Service (CSS) Portal. ­

Virtual and In-Person Inspections

Virtual Code Consultations - By Appointment Only

  • Coordinated building permit code consultations for building, fire and zoning code will be scheduled remotely by appointment only Monday-Friday, 9:00am-12:00pm. Appointments will be made on a first come first serve basis in 20-minute increments.
  • Request a code consultation appointment by emailing building.info@cityofsanmateo.org.

Planning Division

  • We are accepting new planning applications online at our Citizen Self-Service (CSS) Portal. Staff will continue processing pending planning and building permit applications.
  • Zoning code consultations will be scheduled remotely by appointment only Monday - Friday, 9:00am-12:00pm. All appointments will be made on a first come first serve basis in 20-minute increments.
  • Due to social distancing guidelines, no in-person activities or workshops are scheduled.

Code Enforcement
Code Enforcement staff will only be handling critical life/safety situations. Contact Code Enforcement at (650) 522-7150 or codeenforcement@cityofsanmateo.org.

Housing and Neighborhood Services
Contact Housing and Neighborhood Services staff at (650) 522-7220 or housing@cityofsanmateo.org

Citizen Self-Service CSS Image Link
Visit the Online Permit Center
CDD - What's Happening in Development
CDD - Affordable Housing
CDD - Code Enforcement
Zoning Code
  1. Citizen Self-Service (CSS)
  2. General Plan Update
  3. Planning eNewsletter

Introducing Our New Self-Service Online Permit Center

Person filling out an application on their computerOur Online Permit Center let’s you submit building permit and planning applications securely online through our Citizen Self-Service Portal (CSS).

We now accept, review, receive payments, and issue planning entitlements and building permits through our online permit center.

The Citizen Self-Service (CSS) Portal let’s you search records by address, date range, permit number, or parcel number – you can also use the interactive map search feature.