Permit Search

What's happening
at your address?

Search 64,000+ permits filed in Petaluma since 2001 — roofing, solar, new construction, ADUs, and more.

Right Now

What's happening right now

Permits currently issued, in review, or awaiting fees — active work on Petaluma streets today.

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Climate & Energy

Petaluma's green transition

Solar installations, EV chargers, and accessory dwelling units have surged since 2020. The permit record is the clearest measure of this shift.

Solar Permits
722
peak in 2023 — 3× the 2015 rate
ADU Permits
116
in 2025 — up from 4 in 2015
EV Chargers
61
peak in 2023 — nearly zero in 2015
Bureaucracy in action

How long does it actually take?

Average calendar days from application to issuance, for permit types with at least 50 completed permits.

Elapsed time reflects total calendar days from application to issuance, including periods when the application was with the applicant for corrections or resubmission. It does not measure city processing time alone.

Workload

Permit volume by month

Permits filed per month by application date — a factual workload measure, independent of processing time.

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Open Queue

Permits in queue

Permits filed but not yet issued, grouped by type. Reflects where applications are currently accumulating — no fault implied to either the city or the applicant.

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The Unfinished Work

11,373 permits expired

11,373

Permits that lapsed before completion

Nearly 1 in 6 permits filed in Petaluma expired without ever being finalized. Plans were drawn, fees were paid, and work that — for whatever reason — never crossed the finish line. Expired permits can be renewed, but many sit indefinitely.

47,540
Completed
11,373
Expired
1,965
Currently issued
539
In review now
Property Data

Petaluma housing snapshot

14,299 single-family parcels from Sonoma County assessor records. Sale prices reflect the most recent recorded transaction per parcel.

14,299
Single-family homes
$540k
Median assessed value
$880k
Median recent sale (2020+)
1840
Oldest home on record
Long-held homes carry a fraction of the property tax burden of recent buyers.

California's Prop 13 caps annual assessment increases at 2% per year. A Petaluma home last sold in the 1990s is assessed at an average of $417k today — while a home sold in the 2020s starts at $950k.

Avg assessed value today Avg sale price at purchase
Petaluma's housing stock skews old

The majority of homes were built before 1990. New construction since 2010 represents less than 2% of supply.

6,573 properties in Petaluma have no recorded sale on file — properties that may have been in the same family for decades, transferred via inheritance, or whose records predate digital tracking. Under Prop 13, these can carry some of the lowest tax assessments in the city.

Recent Sales

Single-family homes recorded in , $200k–$5M, sorted newest first.

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Building Activity

Petaluma by the numbers

Total permits filed each year, 2015–2025. The post-pandemic surge of 2021–2022 stands out clearly.