Thread: New to all these CA rules... And building

Hi. I am a native Texan now living in San Diego and I love it here except for the MANY rules regarding everything. From what times you can walk your dog on the beach to which day you can park on a particular street, etc. Lots and lots of rules around here. And the process of building a simple shed in the backyard, I am learning about a whole new world of rules, building codes and regulations and ordinances and ....

I am hoping someone can help me or point me in the right direction. I am renting a house and the shed in the back yard literally fell apart. The door fell off. It was an old metal one and it was sitting on dirt with rats living underneath it (Ca just banned rat poison so I started to lose that battle). So I decided to pour concrete and make a really nice shed like one you find on Houzz. I hired licensed contractors to build the frame and spent a lot of money on them and all of the materials. It is 117 square feet and it is in the corner set off the property line 1'. Now I am being told that it should be 3' off the property line since it has a foundation. The building codes for San Diego are mind boggling and it seems like everyone has a different answer. Can anyone help me? I am in the middle of this project and I don't know if I should tear it all down and start new or continue. A guy who hates me called the city to complain about the noise but also tried to get me in trouble and they came out and said I was fine, but a neighbor who used to work for the city insists that it is not. So.... I am now in limbo with crap all over the backyard hoping it doesn't rain.

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I really boils down to what the guy from the City says, and what he approves - not the neighbors.

Originally Posted by Valorie Kappmeyer

hoping it doesn't rain.

I've heard, "It never rains in California".

Originally Posted by Valorie Kappmeyer

...... building a simple shed in the backyard, I am learning about a whole new world of rules, building codes and regulations and ordinances and ....

......It is 117 square feet and it is in the corner set off the property line 1'. Now I am being told that it should be 3' off the property line since it has a foundation. ....guy who hates me called the city to complain ..... they came out and said I was fine, but a neighbor who used to work for the city insists that it is not.........

Building a shed and dealing with the restrictions is universal. Some places worse than others. In Maryland they vary from county to county, some worse than others.

Like Jack said it is the City Code Inspector that is the determining factor and not your neighbor. Get the City to give you in writing that all is OK. End of story for your neighbor. He will have to find something else to pester you with.

If 3ft set back is required, not to much of a problem. Pour 2 ft slab extension. Cut off shed tie down bolts. Pull or slide shed forward onto slab extension. Cut off 2 ft of slab by lot line and remove only if required. Drill and bolt shed down to slab. Ta-Ta your done.

Contractor should have known, if not at least questions, set back requirements. Would think that the county/city should have had a PDF or something that speciffied shed installation requirements that would be accessible to you. But that's water under bridge.

Welcome Valorie,

Call or try here Municipal Code | Office of the City Clerk

Originally Posted by Jack Feldmann

I really boils down to what the guy from the City says, and what he approves - not the neighbors.

Well, the guy was a woman from code enforcement and she said she had come by the house earlier and it was quiet, but didn't really look at the shed. I told her the dimensions and where I put it over the phone. She told me it was ok. So, I don't know what I should do. The guy who complained about the noise was just trying to get me in trouble and I think she figured that out. Legally, I can do construction work from 7 am- 7 pm every day. And if I have to tear it down and rebuild it, that will be twice as much noise...

Anyway, I also read something somewhere that I could possibly put fire resistant stuff on the exterior and leave it where it is. The setback rules are due to fire concerns.

Originally Posted by Billy Stephens

Welcome Valorie,

Call or try here Municipal Code | Office of the City Clerk

Yeah, I think I am just going to go down there on Monday in person. I have read and re-read the codes until my eyes cross. I am not going to continue building until I get something in writing.

Now, I don't know if I should tell them I already started building or not. I don't want to lie, in fact I won't lie, but it have been told not to give them a lot of information.

- - - Updated - - -

Originally Posted by Rick Cantrell

I've heard, "It never rains in California".

Not it often, but it does rain here. It's more like a drizzle...

Originally Posted by Valorie Kappmeyer

Well, the guy was a woman from code enforcement and she said she had come by the house earlier and it was quiet, but didn't really look at the shed. I told her the dimensions and where I put it over the phone. She told me it was ok. So, I don't know what I should do. The guy who complained about the noise was just trying to get me in trouble and I think she figured that out. Legally, I can do construction work from 7 am- 7 pm every day. And if I have to tear it down and rebuild it, that will be twice as much noise...

Anyway, I also read something somewhere that I could possibly put fire resistant stuff on the exterior and leave it where it is. The setback rules are due to fire concerns.

Sounds like a plan.

*I doubt the " Woman" was from Construction Code Enforcement ( abet they will have some on Staff) but was from Environmental Code Enforcement. Noise, Trash, Overgrown lots, Rats, Sign Ordinances and such.

If you have a Plat of the property, Take that with you. Good luck and have fun...

The problem is that a building permit is required for a shed or appurtenant structure if the ROOF area is greater than 120 sq.ft. Being that the footprint of the structure is 117 sq.ft., the roof design may exceed the allowable dimension. Also, installing a slab indicates the structure is fixed, rather than something which can be moved in its entirety and relocated, which just sends a red flag as to the structure's purpose.

The 3ft set back can be easily overcome, if need be, with a variance and approval from the Permit office but you would need to show good cause. For something as small as indicated, I don't see a real need to pour a slab in any event. Just level out the ground, put down some weed barrier and install 2" concrete pavers as a base in a suitably sized frame. Keep the roof dimensions under 120 sq.ft., under 6' in height and 3' away from the property line - no permit required. Simple. No need to worry to much about high winds, for anchoring and torrential downpours, they ain't happening.

If the person you hired is a genuine licensed contractor he should be well versed in the very uncomplectated rules concerning a backyard shed structure. He should have given you appropriate advice before starting the project.