In San Diego, a permeable resin-bound surface can serve as the wearing course of a permeable pavement BMP, which the City's Stormwater Standards Manual recognizes both as a site design measure and as a structural infiltration BMP. Whether it earns credit on your project depends on the base beneath it, your soils and what the Development Services Department accepts.

Many San Diego sites sit on clay-rich soils, canyon edges or coastal fill, so true infiltration is often limited. That does not rule out a permeable section, but it usually means partial retention with an underdrain, sized and documented by the project engineer rather than assumed from the surface material.

Priority Development Projects and the City's Stormwater Standards Manual

The San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board's Regional MS4 Permit, Order No. R9-2013-0001 as amended by Orders R9-2015-0001 and R9-2015-0100, covers 39 copermittees across San Diego County, south Orange County and southwestern Riverside County. It expired on June 27, 2018 and remains in effect under an administrative extension until reissued. The City applies it through its Stormwater Standards Manual, the local BMP Design Manual, most recently updated by the Stormwater Department effective August 15, 2024.

A project becomes a Priority Development Project (PDP) if it creates 10,000 square feet or more of impervious surface, or if it is redevelopment that creates or replaces 5,000 square feet or more on a site that already has 10,000 square feet or more. A 5,000 square foot trigger also applies to restaurants, hillside development on slopes of 25 percent or more, parking lots, and streets, roads and driveways. Discharge to an environmentally sensitive area can trigger PDP status at 2,500 square feet.

Permeable pavement appears twice in the manual: as Site Design BMP SD-D, which reduces the volume a project must manage, and as structural BMP INF-3 for pollutant control. Sidewalks and bike lanes may qualify for a PDP exemption if they use permeable surfaces listed in the manual's appendix, so confirm with DSD whether a resin-bound surface is accepted before relying on that route.

Clay soils, canyons and coastal fill: what the engineer has to resolve

The manual lets designers use mapped hydrologic soil groups for feasibility screening, and many San Diego sites map to slower-draining C and D soils. In practice that pushes many sites toward partial retention: an open-graded stone reservoir under the permeable surface, a raised underdrain, and a sizing worksheet that credits only the infiltration the soil can reliably provide.

Geotechnical and groundwater hazards also matter here. Canyon rims, expansive clays, landslide-prone slopes and shallow groundwater near Mission Bay and San Diego Bay can each make infiltration inadvisable, and the manual expects those hazards to be screened before an infiltration BMP is chosen. Where infiltration is off the table, a lined section with an underdrain can still provide storage and filtration, but it should not be presented as infiltration. Hydromodification control may also apply to PDPs, which can affect how the reservoir is sized and how the outlet is controlled.

Good fits across San Diego's neighborhoods and campuses

Courtyards and walkways in North Park, Hillcrest and Mission Valley infill, where redevelopment creates or replaces 5,000 square feet or more on a site that already has 10,000 square feet or more of impervious surface, and space for biofiltration is scarce.
Outdoor plazas at research and office campuses around Sorrento Valley and University City.
Restaurant patios, a use the manual singles out at 5,000 square feet, and brewery terraces where the project meets a PDP threshold.
Patios and garden paths at Point Loma and La Jolla homes, where owners want to cut runoff toward canyon slopes and the ocean.

Keep permanent private BMPs off City property and the public right-of-way unless DSD approves a written maintenance agreement; the 2024 manual update made that requirement explicit under Information Bulletin 576. In practice, that keeps resin-bound sections on private land.

Specifying permeable resin-bound for DSD review

Start with the City's Stormwater Requirements Applicability Checklist, which is submitted with the permit application and tells you whether the project is a Standard Project or a PDP. For a PDP, the Stormwater Quality Management Plan should show the permeable area as SD-D or INF-3, with the soil group or infiltration test data, reservoir depth, underdrain and maintenance responsibilities spelled out. The 2024 update notes that submittals built on other jurisdictions' PDP templates will not be accepted.

Resin Rock is a manufacturer-supplier, not an installer. We supply UV-stable binder, natural stone aggregate blends, trims and the Rock Crete permeable sub-base, publish technical data sheets for your engineer, and match owners with an approved installer, usually within 24 hours. Installers in the region can also train with us.

Before you specify permeable resin-bound in San Diego

Complete the City's Stormwater Requirements Applicability Checklist to confirm Standard Project or PDP status.
Check the mapped soil group and plan for infiltration testing if you want more than the default partial-retention credit.
Screen canyon edges, slopes and shallow groundwater for hazards that rule out infiltration.
Decide early whether the section is SD-D site design or an INF-3 structural BMP.
Keep private BMPs out of the right-of-way unless a written maintenance agreement is in place.
Use the City's own PDP SWQMP template, not another jurisdiction's.

Common questions about permeable resin-bound in San Diego

Is permeable pavement an approved BMP in the City of San Diego?

Yes. The Stormwater Standards Manual includes permeable pavement as Site Design BMP SD-D and as structural BMP INF-3 for pollutant control. That does not mean any surface qualifies automatically. DSD reviews the full section, including the base, soils and maintenance plan, and resin-bound as a specific wearing course should be confirmed with the reviewer early.

My lot is on clay. Can a permeable resin-bound section still help?

Usually, but expect partial retention rather than full infiltration. The manual allows designers to use mapped soil groups, and C and D soils drain slowly, so the section typically needs a stone reservoir with a raised underdrain. The engineer sizes it to credit only the infiltration the soil can reliably deliver, with the rest leaving through the underdrain.

Can resin-bound be laid over my existing driveway to meet stormwater rules?

Not if the driveway is solid concrete or asphalt. Water would pass through the resin layer and then run off the slab, so it cannot be counted as SD-D or INF-3. To count, the old paving comes out and the surface goes onto a permeable base such as Rock Crete over an engineered stone reservoir that the City reviews.

Official sources for San Diego

Local rules change. We last checked these sources in October 2026. Confirm current requirements with the reviewing agency before you design, and treat this page as a starting point, not engineering or permitting advice.

Permeable Resin-Bound Surfacing in San Diego, CA