Coast and earthquake parcel map check

The coastal zone is not the same width all along the state. It can be thin in a built-up city. It can reach toward a ridge or as much as five miles inland near some parks and habitat. Use the state map and parcel number. A street address or ocean view does not settle it.

Work in the zone usually needs a coastal permit unless a true exception applies. The Coastal Act uses a broad meaning of development. It can include building, tearing down, grading, and taking out major plants. A new land or water use, lot-line work, or a change to coastal access can also count.

A city or county with a certified Local Coastal Program handles most coastal permits in its area. The Coastal Commission still handles or shares some places. It can also hear some appeals. In other areas, the Commission is the permit office from the start.

A building permit is not a coastal permit. Before design starts, ask the planning office who has coastal power over the lot. Ask if the work is exempt and if the choice can be appealed. Also ask if an old coastal permit already limits new work.

An Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Fault Zone follows active surface-fault traces. It addresses ground rupture at the surface, not all shaking. A Seismic Hazard Zone covers areas where loose wet soil may liquefy or where a slope may fail during an earthquake.

A parcel can be in one, both, or neither. Neither map says when an earthquake will happen or that every point in the zone will fail. Tsunami, ordinary shaking, fire, and building weakness are separate questions.

Before it permits most covered buildings for people in an Alquist-Priolo zone, the local office needs a fault study. The study must show that the building will not sit across an active fault. In a Seismic Hazard Zone, a site study checks for loose wet soil or a slope that may fail. It also gives ways to cut the risk.

State law has some exceptions. One covers certain wood-frame, single-family homes of no more than two stories. It does not apply when the home is part of a project with four or more units. A city or county can be stricter. Other grading or building rules may still call for a study.

In May 2026, CGS stopped making separate PDF sheets for its official maps. It now calls EQ Zapp the sole official source for current zones. EQ Zapp may say an area has not been checked. Its parcel layer can also lag the county record.

The early map released on May 21, 2026 has a 90-day review that ends August 19, 2026. Those draft lines are not yet the legal zone. Use them as an early alert. Then use EQ Zapp and the local office to learn which line is now in force.

A seller usually must tell the buyer when a home is in an official state fault or seismic hazard zone. The form names the map condition. It does not inspect the base of the home, price a study, or say if a new room will be approved.

For example, a parcel can sit inside the coastal zone and an official liquefaction zone. A room addition may need city building review, a coastal permit, and a geotechnical report. The coastal map does not answer soil risk, and the earthquake map does not answer coastal access or habitat rules.

When a line runs near the lot, save the parcel number and map result. Then ask the local office for its formal answer. Read old hazard forms, soil and fault reports, lot files, coastal permits, building permits, and rules from past approvals.

A licensed geologist or engineer can study the site when needed. The state map is a first check and a source for rules. It is not a survey, title report, design, insurance quote, or forecast of damage at one home.