Title GOV — California Gov. Code

The Legislature finds and declares that: (a) The lack of certainty in the approval of development projects can result in a waste of resources, escalate the cost of housing and other development to the consumer, and discourage investment in and commitment to comprehensive planning…

(a) Any city, county, or city and county, may enter into a development agreement with any person having a legal or equitable interest in real property for the development of the property as provided in this article. (b) Any city may enter into a development agreement with any per…

Procedures established pursuant to Section 65865 shall include provisions requiring periodic review at least every 12 months, at which time the applicant, or successor in interest thereto, shall be required to demonstrate good faith compliance with the terms of the agreement. If,…

A development agreement shall specify the duration of the agreement, the permitted uses of the property, the density or intensity of use, the maximum height and size of proposed buildings, and provisions for reservation or dedication of land for public purposes. The development a…

(a) Except as otherwise provided in subdivisions (b) and (c), Section 65868, or Section 65869.5, notwithstanding any other law, if a newly incorporated city or newly annexed area comprises territory that was formerly unincorporated, any development agreement entered into by the c…

Unless amended or canceled pursuant to Section 65868, or modified or suspended pursuant to Section 65869.5, and except as otherwise provided in subdivision (b) of Section 65865.3, a development agreement shall be enforceable by any party thereto notwithstanding any change in any …

(a) Notwithstanding any other law, after the amendments required by Sections 65302.9 and 65860.1 have become effective, the legislative body of a city or county within the Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley shall not enter into a development agreement for property that is located with…

(a) Unless otherwise provided by the development agreement, rules, regulations, and official policies governing permitted uses of the land, governing density, and governing design, improvement, and construction standards and specifications, applicable to development of the proper…

A public hearing on an application for a development agreement shall be held by the planning agency and by the legislative body. Notice of intention to consider adoption of a development agreement shall be given as provided in Sections 65090 and 65091 in addition to any other not…

(a) A development agreement is a legislative act that shall be approved by ordinance and is subject to referendum. (b) A development agreement shall not be approved unless the legislative body finds that the provisions of the agreement are consistent with the general plan and any…

A development agreement may be amended, or canceled in whole or in part, by mutual consent of the parties to the agreement or their successors in interest. Notice of intention to amend or cancel any portion of the agreement shall be given in the manner provided by Section 65867. …

No later than 10 days after a city, county, or city and county enters into a development agreement, the clerk of the legislative body shall record with the county recorder a copy of the agreement, which shall describe the land subject thereto. From and after the time of such reco…

A development agreement shall not be applicable to any development project located in an area for which a local coastal program is required to be prepared and certified pursuant to the requirements of Division 20 (commencing with Section 30000) of the Public Resources Code, unles…

(a) If state or federal laws or regulations, enacted after a development agreement has been entered into, prevent or preclude compliance with one or more provisions of the development agreement, those provisions of the agreement shall be modified or suspended as may be necessary …

Any city or county may adopt an ordinance for the imposition of covenants pursuant to this article.

(a) In addition to any other method for the creation of an easement, an easement may be created pursuant to an ordinance adopted implementing this article, by a recorded covenant of easement made by an owner of real property to the city or county. An easement created pursuant to …

The covenant of easement shall be recorded in the county where all or a portion of the restricted property is located and shall contain a legal description of the real property and be executed by the owner of the real property. From and after the time of its recordation, the cove…

(a) The ordinance adopted pursuant to Section 65870 shall provide a procedure for the release of the covenant. The procedure shall require a public hearing by the agency designated by the ordinance for that purpose. The hearing shall be held at the request of any person whether o…

Nothing in this article shall create in any person other than the city or county and the owner of the real property burdened or benefited by the covenant standing to enforce or to challenge the covenant or any amendment thereto or release therefrom.

The Legislature finds and declares that: (a) State land use patterns should be encouraged that balance the location of employment-generating uses with residential uses so that employment-related commuting is minimized. (b) Balance in employment and residential land use patterns r…

The Department of Housing and Community Development shall prepare a guidebook for use by cities, counties, councils of government, state agencies, and the private sector in the planning and development of a housing supply to meet the need created by employment growth. The guidebo…

(a) The guidebook shall include the following: (1) Methodologies for measuring the balance of jobs and housing. (2) Methodologies for analysis of the projected needed housing supply to serve projected employment growth. (3) Methodologies to encourage the balance of jobs and housi…

The legislative body of a city or county may, by ordinance, create and establish either a board of zoning adjustment, or the office of zoning administrator or both. It may also, by ordinance, create and establish a board of appeals. Members of a board of zoning adjustment and mem…

(a) The board of zoning adjustment or zoning administrator shall hear and decide applications for conditional uses or other permits when the zoning ordinance provides therefor and establishes criteria for determining those matters, and applications for variances from the terms of…

In the event that neither a board of zoning adjustment or the office of a zoning administrator has been created and established, the planning commission shall exercise all of the functions and duties of said board or said administrator. The legislative body of a county may provid…

A board of appeals, if one has been created and established by local ordinance, shall hear and determine appeals from the decisions of the board of zoning adjustment or the zoning administrator, as the case may be. Procedures for such appeals shall be as provided by local ordinan…

If a board of appeals has not been created and established the local legislative body shall exercise all of the functions and duties of the board of appeals in the same manner and to the same effect as provided in Section 65903.

(a) Except as otherwise provided by this article, a public hearing shall be held on an application for a variance from the requirements of a zoning ordinance, an application for a conditional use permit or equivalent development permit, a proposed revocation or modification of a …

(a) Notwithstanding any other law, if a proposed housing development project complies with the applicable, objective general plan and zoning standards in effect at the time an application is deemed complete, after the application is deemed complete, a city, county, or city and co…

Variances from the terms of the zoning ordinances shall be granted only when, because of special circumstances applicable to the property, including size, shape, topography, location or surroundings, the strict application of the zoning ordinance deprives such property of privile…

Notwithstanding Section 65906, a variance may be granted from the parking requirements of a zoning ordinance in order that some or all of the required parking spaces be located offsite, including locations in other local jurisdictions, or that in-lieu fees or facilities be provid…

(a) For the purpose of this section, the following definitions apply: (1) “Inclusionary housing in-lieu fees” means fees imposed as an alternative means of compliance with an inclusionary housing requirement. (2) “Local agency” means a county, city, whether general law or charter…

If an outdoor expansion of a business to mitigate COVID-19 pandemic restrictions on indoor dining interferes with, reduces, eliminates, or impacts required parking for existing uses, a local jurisdiction that has not adopted an ordinance that provides relief from parking restrict…

(a) Any agency which institutes a judicial action or proceeding to enforce zoning regulations may file a notice of the pendency of the action or proceeding in the county recorder’s office of the county where the property affected by the action or proceeding is situated. The notic…

No local governmental body, or any agency thereof, may condition the issuance of any building or use permit or zone variance on any or all of the following: (a) The dedication of land for any purpose not reasonably related to the use of the property for which the variance, buildi…

The legislative body of any county or city, including a charter city, may establish reasonable fees for the processing of use permits, zone variances, or zone changes pursuant to the procedures required or authorized by this chapter or local ordinance, but the fees shall not exce…

Every city and county by December 31, 1973, shall prepare and adopt an open-space zoning ordinance consistent with the local open-space plan adopted pursuant to Article 10.5 (commencing with Section 65560) of Chapter 3 of this title.

Variances from the terms of an open-space zoning ordinance shall be granted only when, because of special circumstances applicable to the property, including size, shape, topography, location or surroundings, the strict application of the zoning ordinance deprives such property o…

The Legislature hereby finds and declares that this article is not intended, and shall not be construed, as authorizing the city or the county to exercise its power to adopt, amend or repeal an open-space zoning ordinance in a manner which will take or damage private property for…

A local agency shall disapprove a map for failure to meet or perform any of the requirements or conditions imposed by this division or local ordinance enacted pursuant thereto; provided that a final map shall be disapproved only for failure to meet or perform requirements or cond…

(a) The design of a subdivision for which a tentative map is required pursuant to Section 66426 shall provide, to the extent feasible, for future passive or natural heating or cooling opportunities in the subdivision. (b) (1) Examples of passive or natural heating opportunities i…

The legislative body of a city or county may, by ordinance, require the design of a subdivision for which a tentative map or parcel map is required pursuant to Section 66426 to provide for appropriate cable television systems and for communication systems, including, but not limi…

No local agency shall approve a tentative map, or a parcel map for which a tentative map was not required, unless the legislative body finds that the proposed subdivision, together with the provisions for its design and improvement, is consistent with the general plan required by…

Whenever a city or county imposes as a condition to its approval of a tentative map or a parcel map a requirement that necessitates replacing, undergrounding, or permanently or temporarily relocating existing facilities of a telephone corporation or cable television system, the d…

(a) For the purposes of this section, the following definitions apply: (1) “Subdivision” means a proposed residential development of more than 500 dwelling units, except that for a public water system that has fewer than 5,000 service connections, “subdivision” means any proposed…

A legislative body of a city or county shall deny approval of a tentative map, or a parcel map for which a tentative map was not required, if it makes any of the following findings: (a) That the proposed map is not consistent with applicable general and specific plans as specifie…

Notwithstanding subdivision (e) of Section 66474, a local government may approve a tentative map, or a parcel map for which a tentative map was not required, if an environmental impact report was prepared with respect to the project and a finding was made pursuant to paragraph (3…

(a) Before approving a tentative map, or a parcel map for which a tentative map was not required, for an area located in a state responsibility area or a very high fire hazard severity zone, as both are defined in Section 51177, a legislative body of a county shall, except as pro…

A legislative body shall not deny approval of a final or parcel map if it has previously approved a tentative map for the proposed subdivision and if it finds that the final or parcel map is in substantial compliance with the previously approved tentative map.

If the legislative body or advisory agency determines that engineering or land surveying conditions are to be imposed on a tentative map or a parcel map for which a tentative map was not required, those conditions shall be reviewed by the city engineer, city surveyor, county engi…