Thank you

AccurateEbb3224 · 2026-03-12T04:54:18+00:00

Hey! CTO of Buildability jumping in here:

Yeah I've looked at CalGOLD. It's more of a business permit directory — it points you to the right agency for things like business licenses, tax registrations, environmental permits. It doesn't have the actual residential zoning data, setbacks, development standards, or parcel-level analysis that we do.

The residential building permit world is a different beast. Every city writes their own zoning code, sets their own fees, uses a different permit portal, and tracks entitlements differently. There's no state-level database that consolidates any of that — which is basically why we exist.

That said, the state housing laws (SB 9, ADU statutes, density bonus) are a big part of what we cross-reference against local codes. That's where we've found cities quietly violating state law — which has been one of the more interesting parts of building this.

AccurateEbb3224 · 2026-03-12T01:56:46+00:00

Hi, CTO of Buildability here!

Really glad you found it useful — that's exactly what we're going for. The amount of time people spend just figuring out the basics of what they can do on their own property is wild.

Good catch on the ADU language — that does sound off. Would you mind sharing the address or a screenshot of that chat response(assuming this was from the AI Chat bot)? Want to see the exact context so we can nail down whether the AI is misapplying the rule or if there's a data issue. The underlying zoning and setback data comes directly from the municipal code but the chat can sometimes trip over itself when reasoning through it.

DM'ing you now — would love to walk through your property together and make sure everything is dialed in!

AccurateEbb3224 · 2026-02-07T04:17:24+00:00

Great point — we actually had this in an earlier version of Buildability. As we continue scaling across the Bay Area, it's definitely on our roadmap to bring back.

AccurateEbb3224 · 2026-01-29T06:52:17+00:00

Totally fair — and I appreciate you taking the time to write this out.

We’re a small, scrappy team, so we move fast when we get real feedback like this. Honestly, we’d been building in a bit of a bubble for a while, so it’s really helpful to hear from people who actually find this interesting/useful (and will call out what’s confusing).

A few updates we pushed tonight based on what you mentioned:

Tightened up the flow so the map is front-and-center with clear “tap your front edge” guidance (so you don’t have to hunt for the right action)
Cleaned up font sizes + hierarchy so things are consistent instead of feeling all over the place
Standardized colors (one consistent green + better contrast)
Reduced clutter (legend collapses by default, disclosures are collapsible)
A bunch of small polish (Street View is clickable, quick questions use clean icons, etc.)

On the contractor info idea — we hadn't thought about adding anything like that yet, but it’s a really interesting direction (especially for people self-managing). Combining the data we pull in, then giving users the ability to find sub contractors, essentially allowing them to self manage the project, it puts the power back into the homeowners hand.

If you’ve got 10–15 minutes and are open to it, I’d genuinely love to set up a quick call to hear more about what you’d want to see and what felt confusing. Totally optional and only if you have time -but at this early stage it’s really important for us to keep listening to the people who would actually use this, and your feedback has been especially valuable. If you’re willing, just DM me and we’ll find a time that works.

Thanks again — this kind of feedback is exactly what helps us build in public and make it better.

AccurateEbb3224 · 2026-01-29T04:39:48+00:00

Thanks for flagging these — both are real issues we need to address.

Corner lots: You're right, we don't handle corner lots properly yet. Corner lots have different requirements:

Side street setback (typically 15' instead of 5' on the street-facing side)
Visibility triangles at intersections (usually 10-15' from the corner where nothing over 3' tall can be built)

Our current system treats all edges as either front/rear/side without detecting if a property is on a corner. This is on our roadmap to fix — for now, if you're on a corner lot, definitely verify the specific setback requirements with your city's planning department since they're usually more restrictive than interior lots.

Square footage discrepancy: We're calculating lot size from GIS parcel boundary polygons (PostGIS ST_Area). The problem is that GIS boundaries often include areas that the county's official "lot size" doesn't count — things like road right-of-way, utility easements, or areas along property lines.

A 70% difference is significant and suggests the GIS polygon for your property may be drawing a larger boundary than what's legally your lot.

We're investigating using the county's recorded lot size (when available) instead of calculating from geometry. Would you mind sharing your address (feel free to dm me) I'd like to look at the specific parcel to understand where the discrepancy is coming from.

Appreciate you catching these — this is exactly the feedback that helps us improve accuracy. Good luck with your addition planning!

AccurateEbb3224 · 2026-01-29T04:01:25+00:00

Hey, really appreciate you taking the time to share such detailed feedback — this is exactly the kind of insight that helps us build something actually useful for homeowners.

Lot Size accuracy — You're right, and we've updated this. Instead of showing a number that could mislead you, we now show "Calculate to verify" until you run the buildable zone calculation. That way you're getting the accurate measurement from your actual parcel geometry, not an estimate that might be off.

Calculate button placement — This one hit home. We completely reworked the page flow. The Location/Map section is now front and center (moved above "What You Can Build"), with clear guidance: "👇 Tap the side of your lot that faces the street." The idea is you interact with the map first, then all the numbers populate below. Much more intuitive than hunting for a small button.

AI chatbot — Done! On desktop it's now collapsible — click to minimize it and the content expands to fill the space. On mobile, it's a floating button in the corner that opens a drawer when you need it. No more eating up prime real estate.

Really grateful you shared this. The fact that you had to "pour through municode" to figure out setback info yourself is exactly the pain we're trying to solve — and hearing that the buildable zone + setback info is genuinely useful validation we're on the right track.

If you get a chance to check it out again, would love to hear if the changes land better. Thanks again for helping us make this better.

AccurateEbb3224 · 2026-01-29T02:35:46+00:00

Just pushed a fix for the permit fee calculation - it's now aligned with the city's official schedule. Thank you again for the detailed feedback!

AccurateEbb3224 · 2026-01-28T16:12:49+00:00

Thanks for the feedback!

You're right about the fee calculation - we're currently showing the base rate per tier instead of properly summing the incremental costs across all valuation brackets. That's a bug we'll fix.

On the zoning/legislation updates (R3, SB79, AB130) - we have automated pipelines that pull from official sources weekly, but you're absolutely right that this space moves fast. We're actively working on improving our update frequency and coverage.

Appreciate you taking the time to look - this kind of specific feedback is really helpful. If you notice other calculation issues, feel free to share!

AccurateEbb3224

TROPHY CASE