Business IT services in San Juan Capistrano.

San Juan Capistrano grew up around a mission founded in 1776, and some of its shops, restaurants, and offices operate in buildings that are far older than any network cable. That changes the order of operations. In a newer business park the first step is choosing equipment. Here, the first step is finding out what the building allows. These five questions, asked in order, keep a project out of trouble.

1. Is the building a designated landmark?

The city keeps an Inventory of Historic and Cultural Landmarks, and its historic preservation page is direct about the consequence: altering, adding onto, relocating, or demolishing a landmark requires a permit through the Site Plan Review process. The Los Rios Historic District, near the train depot, has 31 buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1983, including three surviving adobes.

Ask the landlord about the building’s status, then ask the city’s Planning Division whether the planned work needs review. Do this before buying anything that mounts to an exterior wall.

2. How will the network reach each room without new holes?

Thick adobe and masonry block Wi-Fi far more than modern drywall. The approach that works with the building instead of against it:

• Several small access points, not one large router. Each is cabled back to the network and covers one or two rooms.
• Existing pathways first. Old conduit, attic and crawl spaces, and openings left by earlier phone or alarm wiring can often carry new cable.
• Surface-mounted cable channel where nothing else works, painted to match and fixed in a reversible way.
• Wireless links between separate structures. A small point-to-point radio pair can connect a detached building or courtyard without trenching.

The guide to Wi-Fi that keeps dropping explains the underlying causes in plain terms.

3. What happens when the power or internet goes out?

San Diego Gas & Electric supplies electricity here, part of the southern Orange County area that SDG&E describes as its territory. During high fire risk weather SDG&E may declare a Public Safety Power Shutoff, with notices beginning about 48 hours ahead. The city has also divided itself into ten evacuation zones that are notified through AlertOC, the county alert system. Worth doing:

• Find the business’s zone and sign up for AlertOC.
• Put the modem, router, and register on a battery backup.
• Keep a second internet connection on a different technology, such as a cellular line, for card payments.
• Make sure files and email live in the cloud, so work can continue from home.

For wired internet, availability differs from one address to the next. The FCC National Broadband Map shows which providers report service at a location and at what speeds. Check it before signing a lease, not after.

4. Is the business covered by a data security rule?

The city counts roughly 2,000 businesses, various auto dealerships among them. Federal regulation treats a dealership that leases vehicles for longer than 90 days as a financial institution for that part of its business, which places it under the FTC Safeguards Rule. The Safeguards Rule guide walks through what the rule asks for.

Restaurants and shops that take cards have the payment card industry’s rules to meet, and medical and dental offices have HIPAA, the federal health privacy law. The industries pages sort these out by business type.

5. Is the city paperwork done?

San Juan Capistrano’s municipal code says no one may conduct a business in the city “without first obtaining a City Business License.” Details are on the city’s business license page.

Where Coastal Growth Co. fits

Coastal Growth Co. is based in Laguna Hills, north of San Juan Capistrano on Interstate 5. A site walk comes first for any network or camera project in an older building, because the floor plan and wall construction decide the design. That work is described on the networks, security, and cameras page, and the contact page is the place to start a conversation.