You need to find out who your local AHJ (Authority Having Jurisdiction) is. It could be the county building department, or your city building department if you are in a town. They are the ONLY ones who can tell you for sure what the permit and inspection requirements are. If you go through a local builder, they should already know what is required.

It takes forever and costs a fortune. That is a truism no matter where you are and what you consider a fortune.

This is not with city and with county thanks for your comments wanted to learn experience from who have done this earlier in Santa Clara county on hillside property

I assume this Santa Clara county is in the US? What state?

The time to figure this was before the lot was purchased. How could you know what it was worth if it isn't buildable?

A local guy thought he got a great deal with some local gulf-front lots he paid a million dollars each for. He's suing now because he can't build on them.

This is in state of California .. before purchase I did talk to planner in Santa Clara county and he told me challenges but told me ways to build it .. but wanted to understand experience and timeline from others .. definitely I will build it

It doesn't always take forever or cost a fortune. . .

My structural, plumbing, electrical, HVAC, and septic permits took 10 minutes at the county building with no wait line and just over $400. If that's forever and a fortune, you probably shouldn't build a house . . .

Go down to your city or county planning and development building and inquire as to what you need in order to file for your permits.

I am talking to some architects and some are busy cannot take project but telling there opinion that it will take minimum 1 yr and goes up to 2 yr for just getting building site approval .. is that your understanding too ?

Godswood, Santa Clara County, $30-40k for permits, about 6 months for approval. The cost will increase if you need to close roads for utilities. The permit for my Air Conditioning was almost $500.

Wow- that's nuts. Ours (SC) was about the same as Godswood. They don't even require drawings here- just as-builts after the fact. No detailed drawings- just the basic area so they know how much to tax you.

Find a good local architect that has experience in such matters.

LA area and permit for a guest house 5 years ago was around $10K. We paid an architect around $20K for building plans and to put them through zoning, plan check and variance approvals. Pick someone who has worked in your area for a long time and is well liked by those doing the approvals.

Hillside development will have its own set of restrictive rules and regulations.

Also be prepared for neighbors to get the town and/or lawyers involved if your project is really big and looming over your hillside neighbors.

Someone told me today there are professionals out there who work closely with county and specialize in building site approvals .. did anyone has experience in this or comments on this?

They’re called Architects and General Contractors.

This ain’t the land of a DIY chicken coop costing less than 100K. You better be prepared to for a multi million dollar expenditure.

Sophie .. I am not planning DIY and bye this recommendation came from Architect only .. bye from start you are saying it will cost fortune and now you are saying multi million dollar can you share break up why you think it will cost 2 million plus .. please speak with facts

What are your expectations first of all? Because, you have a hillside lot. In CA. A slope is difficult engineering enough to begin with. CA average cost of new very builder grade house on a flat lot approaches $300 a square. A hillside is easily twice as expensive for basic finishes. Triple if you want something not carpet and linoleum. 2000 sf x $600-$900= 1.2-1.8 as ballpark beginning. More space above that will have lower per square foot costs, as the most expensive part is the first 2000 sf. That 2000sf contains the kitchens and baths and engineering and permitting.

The San Francisco Bay Area is a very expensive area in which to build. It is one of the ultimate examples of the laws of supply and demand. Supply is very limited and the demand has always been high. Result: high costs for everything. There are expensive jurisdictional review and approval procedures. Construction costs are very high, particularly in hillside areas, since many of the areas contain expansive soils. And then there's the earthquakes...the building codes are very strict as to what is required in design and construction for seismic events.

As has been said many times, the very best approach in such challenging situations is to find a creative and experienced architect who knows what's required and how to deal with it.

The Silicon Valley Chapter of The American Institute of Architects, in San Jose, has many such architects. Contact them. You'll thank me later.

Congratulations on purchasing your lot. I don't want to sound negative or insensitive but you actually bought the lot without verifying if it's zoning/planning approved? Wow, that is some risk you took there. Good luck and hope you can figure things out. Whatever you budget for this home, be prepared to keep an extra 25% on top of that ready in cash.

I am familiar with Santa Clara County, where is your property?

I knew a guy who specialized in rural Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties, he passed away, I will look for his card, maybe his associates are still in business.

My budgeting would be $300-500 sq ft, plus foundation. Plus utilities, permits, plus property. A one off tract house vs custom home designed for the property.

Someone told me today there are professionals out there who work closely with county and specialize in building site approvals .. did anyone has experience in this or comments on this?

I live in Portland, and our permitting process is also pretty involved (some might say onerous - we currently have a builder, an architect, a structural engineer, a civil engineer, a geotech engineer, a landscape designer, and we may need an arborist, all required by our permitting office for one reason or another). I'm imagining it's similar to Santa Clara. Our architect and builder told us that there are permit facilitators you can hire to help speed the permitting process. From what they said, if you can find a good one it can help a lot. That said, they didn't know of any who actually succeed in making the process easier, and they said it generally works better for them to manage the process themselves, much as they would prefer to have someone else tasked with it.