Civil Engineering in Dublin, CA
Dublin sits at the eastern edge of Alameda County, where sustained development pressure has made it one of the Tri-Valley’s most active permitting environments. New mixed-use neighborhoods, transit-oriented commercial buildings, parking structures, and school modernizations all move through the City of Dublin’s plan check process, and they carry stormwater, grading, utility, and fire flow requirements that have to be resolved before a building permit issues. Calichi Design Group handles that work: we prepare the civil and water engineering that Dublin projects need, from the first feasibility sketch through construction support.
Our practice started in Oakland in 2009, and we’ve been working in Alameda County ever since. We carry licensed PE and QSD/QSP credentials, and we’re organized to work on Dublin’s project types: residential developments, parking structures, commercial pad sites, charter schools, transit facilities, and everything in between. Our fixed-fee proposals give you cost certainty before any work starts.
What We Do in Dublin
Civil engineering in Dublin means working with the City’s plan check process, coordinating with Zone 7 Water Agency and the regional utilities that serve eastern Alameda County, and meeting the stormwater management requirements that apply under the Alameda County Clean Water Program’s Municipal Regional Permit. Here’s what that looks like in practice:
- Grading and drainage design: Cut and fill analysis, finished pad grading, storm drainage routing, inlet sizing, and outfall design sized to Dublin’s rainfall patterns and city standard drawings.
- SWPPP preparation: Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plans prepared by a licensed QSD for projects disturbing one or more acres, including the required Rain Event Action Plan and BMP documentation for Alameda County construction inspectors.
- C.3 stormwater controls: Low Impact Development design and sizing of bioretention cells, flow-through planters, and vegetated swales using the C.3 Technical Guidance Manual (currently Version 8.4, updated June 2026) and the Bay Area Hydrology Model.
- Fire flow studies: Water supply analysis and fire flow calculations that satisfy the fire authority having jurisdiction and support building permit applications for commercial, industrial, and multifamily projects.
- Dry utility design and coordination: Joint trench design and franchise utility coordination for PG&E, AT&T, Comcast, and other providers. See our full dry utility consulting scope.
- Encroachment permits and right-of-way improvements: Curb, gutter, sidewalk, driveway aprons, and street improvements that require coordination with Dublin’s permitting process and, where applicable, Caltrans.
- Water and sewer connection design: Service laterals, meter sizing, pressure analysis, and backflow prevention sizing coordinated with the local water purveyor serving the project site.
- Site civil entitlements: Feasibility studies, site plans, and preliminary civil packages that support planning department approval before construction documents begin.
For a full description of our site civil scope, visit our site civil engineering page.
Agencies We Coordinate With in Dublin
City of Dublin, Community Development Department
Development permits in Dublin run through the City’s Community Development Department. Plan check for grading, drainage, and site civil improvements goes to the Engineering Division, which reviews against Dublin’s standard plans and specifications, the City’s Grading Ordinance, and state building codes. For projects touching the public right of way, encroachment permits are processed separately. Dublin’s plan check is thorough, and submittals that skip required documentation get returned. We know what Dublin’s reviewers need to see, and we organize our plan sets to match the city’s format requirements from the first submittal.
Alameda County Clean Water Program and C.3 Compliance
Dublin is a member agency of the Alameda County Clean Water Program, which means the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board’s Municipal Regional Permit applies to development here. Projects creating or replacing 10,000 square feet or more of impervious surface need to implement Low Impact Development stormwater controls. The governing document is the C.3 Technical Guidance Manual, now at Version 8.4 (updated June 2026). We size and design bioretention cells, planters, and other self-retaining areas using the Bay Area Hydrology Model (BAHM2023), and we prepare the Stormwater Control Plan that goes into the permit set and follows the project through Dublin’s post-construction inspection and maintenance agreement program.
Zone 7 Water Agency
Zone 7 Water Agency is the Tri-Valley’s regional water wholesaler and manages flood protection for eastern Alameda County. Zone 7 is also a member of the Alameda County Clean Water Program and plays a role in regional watershed and groundwater management. Development projects that affect Zone 7 flood control facilities, channels, or easements need to coordinate directly with the agency. We identify those triggers early in site design and handle the coordination as part of the civil package so it doesn’t surface as a comment late in plan check.
Dublin SWPPP Requirements
Any construction project in Dublin that disturbs one or more acres of soil is subject to the Construction General Permit (CGP) administered by the State Water Resources Control Board. That requires a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan prepared and certified by a Qualified SWPPP Developer (QSD). Reco Prianto, PE, holds an active QSD/QSP credential, so we prepare SWPPPs in-house. The SWPPP documents the erosion controls, sediment controls, non-stormwater management controls, and the Rain Event Action Plan that must be implemented during active grading. We coordinate the SWPPP with the grading permit submittal so Dublin’s reviewers have the complete picture from the first submission. For large or phased projects, we also provide inspection support and SWPPP amendments when site conditions change during construction.
Fire Flow Studies in Dublin
A fire flow study analyzes whether the existing water distribution system can deliver the flow rates and residual pressures required for fire suppression on your specific site. Commercial buildings, multifamily residential projects, schools, and industrial uses each carry different fire flow demands under the California Fire Code, and the fire authority having jurisdiction reviews that analysis as part of the building permit process. We prepare fire flow analyses that document the available supply at the project’s point of service, calculate the demand, compare the two, and identify infrastructure upgrade options or on-site storage alternatives when the main cannot meet demand. Dublin projects that include a required fire sprinkler system need a fire flow study in the permit package. We’ve prepared fire flow analyses for parking structures, school campuses, and commercial pad developments across the Bay Area.
A Calichi Project in Dublin
The Dublin Transit Center is one of our Dublin projects. That engagement delivered a new five-story, 507-space parking structure, requiring full site civil engineering: grading, drainage, utility design, and coordination with the City of Dublin and the adjacent transit infrastructure. Parking structures in transit corridors come with tight site constraints and utility conflicts that have to be resolved before the structural slab goes in. We handled the civil package from design through permit issuance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Calichi work on Dublin residential and mixed-use projects?
Yes. We’ve worked on residential developments, multifamily projects, and mixed-use sites across the Bay Area. Dublin’s planned development areas carry a range of parcel sizes and infrastructure requirements. If your project needs grading, drainage, SWPPP, or dry utility design, we can scope it. Our fixed-fee proposals mean you know the cost before any work starts.
What triggers C.3 stormwater requirements in Dublin?
Dublin follows the Alameda County Clean Water Program’s implementation of the Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board’s Municipal Regional Permit. C.3 stormwater controls are required when a project creates or replaces 10,000 square feet or more of impervious surface. Smaller projects may still need Site Design measures and Source Controls depending on the project type. The C.3 Technical Guidance Manual, Version 8.4, is the current governing document for sizing and design, and the Bay Area Hydrology Model (BAHM2023) is the required calculation tool for larger projects.
What’s included in a Dublin SWPPP?
A Construction SWPPP under the State Construction General Permit includes a project description, a map of drainage features and BMP locations, erosion and sediment control specifications, a Rain Event Action Plan, inspection and monitoring procedures, and a post-construction element that ties back to the C.3 Stormwater Control Plan. It’s prepared by a QSD and must be on site during all construction activities. We prepare the SWPPP as part of the grading permit package so it’s ready when the contractor mobilizes.
How long does a fire flow study take for a Dublin project?
A typical fire flow study takes one to three weeks from Notice to Proceed, depending on whether a field hydrant flow test is needed or current test data is available from the water purveyor. We coordinate timing with your permit schedule so the analysis doesn’t sit on the critical path. If the study reveals a supply shortfall, we document the options, including on-site storage and system upgrade alternatives, so you can make a decision before the fire authority review.
Ready to start a project in Dublin? Contact Calichi Design Group for a fixed-fee proposal. We’ll review your site, identify the permit pathway, and tell you exactly what civil engineering the project requires before you commit to a scope.
We also serve neighboring Bay Area cities. See our work in Oakland, CA for examples of how we handle complex urban sites across Alameda County.