About

I’m Ivan Lara, Founder of SoCalProjectPermits (SCPP). I was born in Michoacán, Mexico and raised in San Pedro, California. As a first-generation Latino, I bring my roots with me into every project: the discipline, perseverance, and execution.

Sports taught me leadership and grit early on. I was Varsity Captain for San Pedro Senior High school's soccer team. In 2009, I walked onto the UCSB Men’s Club Soccer team. We became Aztec Champions in 2011 at San Diego State University. In 2015, I took summer courses at UCLA that added to my skillset. In 2016, I was part of the GIS research project team whose project placed 1st and can be found at UCSB Geography Department's website under student projects, Legacy. I graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a degree in Geography in June 2016. I then completed a Project Management Certificate Program through Cornell University in August 2020.

Professionally, I started by processing solar permits in 2014 across Southern California. By 2018, I was managing a high volume of tenant improvements and new construction projects. Gaining experience with affordable housing, mixed-use developments, sound stages / film studios, hillside construction, retail spaces, office spaces, industrial warehouses, multifamily housing, and self-storage facilities. 

That journey—from digging trenches to coordinating with developers, architects, engineers, and city officials—led me to launch SoCal Project Permits. Today, I combine my blue-collar foundation with white-collar project leadership to give clients what they need most: clarity, transparency, and guidance in a process that can feel overwhelming.