Amended in Senate August 18, 2015

Amended in Senate July 16, 2015

Amended in Senate June 24, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1303

Introduced by Assembly Member Gray

February 27, 2015

An act to amend Section 65961 of, and to add Section 66452.25 to, the Government Code, relating to land use, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1303, as amended, Gray. Subdivision Map Act: map expiration dates.

(1) The Subdivision Map Act vests the authority to regulate and control the design and improvement of subdivisions in the legislative body of a local agency, and sets forth procedures governing the local agency’s processing, approval, conditional approval or disapproval, and filing of tentative, final, and parcel maps, and the modification thereof. The act generally requires a subdivider to file a tentative map or vesting tentative map with the local agency, as specified, and the local agency, in turn, to approve, conditionally approve, or disapprove the map within a specified time period. The act requires an approved tentative map or vesting tentative map to expire 24 months after its approval, or after an additional period of time prescribed by local ordinance, not to exceed 12 months. However, the act extends the expiration date of certain approved tentative maps and vesting tentative maps, as specified.

This bill would extend by 24 months the expiration date of any approved tentative map or vesting tentative map that was approved on or after January 1, 2002, and not later than July 11, 2013, within a county that meets begin delete specified criteria. end delete begin insert certain criteria, except as specified. end insert The bill would additionally require the extension of an approved or conditionally approved tentative map or vesting tentative map, or parcel map for which a tentative map or vesting tentative map was approved on or before December 31, 2001, upon application by the subdivider at least 90 days prior to the expiration of the map, as specified. By adding to the procedures that local agency officials must follow, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(2) The Permit Streamlining Act prohibits a local agency, after its approval of a tentative map for a subdivision of single- or multiple-family residential units, from requiring conformance with, or the performance of, any conditions that the local agency could have lawfully imposed as a condition to the previously approved tentative or parcel map, as a condition to the issuance of any building permit or equivalent permit upon approval of that subdivision, during a 5-year period following the recordation of the final map or parcel map for that subdivision. The act also prohibits a local agency from refusing to issue a building permit or equivalent permit for a subdivider’s failure to conform with or perform those conditions. However, the act also provides that this 5-year period is a 3-year period for a tentative map extended pursuant to a specified provision of law, and the local agency is not prohibited from levying a fee, or imposing a condition that requires the payment of a fee upon the issuance of a building permit, with respect to the underlying units.

This bill would provide that a tentative map extended pursuant to its provisions is also subject to the truncated 3-year period described above, and that the local agency is not prohibited from levying a fee, as specified, or imposing a condition that requires the payment of a fee upon the issuance of a building permit, with respect to the underlying units. By adding to the procedures that local agency officials must follow, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(3) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

(4) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Vote: ²⁄₃. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 65961 of the Government Code is
amended to read:

65961.  

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, except as
provided in subdivisions (e) and (f), upon approval or conditional
approval of a tentative map for a subdivision of single- or
multiple-family residential units, or upon recordation of a parcel
map for such a subdivision for which no tentative map was
required, during the five-year period following recordation of the
final map or parcel map for the subdivision, a city, county, or city
and county shall not require as a condition to the issuance of any
building permit or equivalent permit for such single- or
multiple-family residential units, conformance with or the
performance of any conditions that the city or county could have
lawfully imposed as a condition to the previously approved
tentative or parcel map. Nor shall a city, county, or city and county
withhold or refuse to issue a building permit or equivalent permit
for failure to conform with or perform any conditions that the city,
county, or city and county could have lawfully imposed as a
condition to the previously approved tentative or parcel map.
However, the provisions of this section shall not prohibit a city,
county, or city and county from doing any of the following:

(a) Imposing conditions or requirements upon the issuance of
a building permit or equivalent permit which could have been
lawfully imposed as a condition to the approval of a tentative or
parcel map if the local agency finds it necessary to impose the
condition or requirement for any of the following reasons:

(1) A failure to do so would place the residents of the
subdivision or of the immediate community, or both, in a condition
perilous to their health or safety, or both.

(2) The condition is required in order to comply with state or
federal law.

(b) Withholding or refusing to issue a building permit or
equivalent permit if the local agency finds it is required to do so
in order to comply with state or federal law.

(c) Assuring compliance with the applicable zoning ordinance.

(d) This section shall also apply to a city or city and county
which incorporates on or after January 1, 1985, and which includes
within its boundaries any areas included in the tentative or parcel
map described in this section.

When the incorporation includes areas included in the tentative
or parcel map described in this section, “a condition that the city
could have lawfully imposed as a condition to the previously
approved tentative or parcel map,” as used in this section, refers
to conditions the county could have imposed had there been no
incorporation.

(e) For purposes only of a tentative subdivision map or parcel
map that is extended pursuant to Section 66452.22, 66452.23,
66452.24, or 66452.25, the five-year period described in this
section shall be three years.

(f) For purposes only of a tentative subdivision map or parcel
map that is extended pursuant to Section 66452.22, 66452.23,
66452.24, or 66452.25, this section does not prohibit a city, county,
or city and county from levying a fee or imposing a condition that
requires the payment of a fee in the amount in effect upon the
issuance of a building permit, including an adopted fee that is not
included within an applicable zoning ordinance, upon the issuance
of a building permit, including, but not limited to, a fee defined in
Section 66000.

SEC. 2.  

Section 66452.25 is added to the Government Code,
to read:

66452.25.  

(a) If the map was approved within a county
described in subdivision (c), the expiration date of a tentative map,
vesting tentative map, or parcel map for which a tentative map or
vesting tentative map, as the case may be, that was approved on
or after January 1, 2002, and not later than July 11, 2013, and that
has not expired on or before the effective date of the act that added
this section, shall be extended by 24 months.

(b) If the map was approved or conditionally approved within
a county described in subdivision (c), upon application of the
subdivider filed at least 90 days prior to the expiration of the
approved or conditionally approved tentative map or vesting
tentative map, or parcel map for which the tentative map or vesting
tentative map, as the case may be, that was approved on or before
December 31, 2001, the time at which the map expires shall be
extended by the legislative body or by an advisory agency
authorized to approve or conditionally approve tentative maps, for
a period of 24 months upon a determination that the map is
consistent with the applicable zoning and general plan requirements
in effect when the application is filed. If the map is determined
not to be consistent with applicable zoning and general plan
requirements in effect when the application is filed, the legislative
body or advisory agency may deny or conditionally approve an
extension for a period of 24 months. Prior to the expiration of an
approved or conditionally approved tentative map, upon an
application by the subdivider to extend that map, the map shall
automatically be extended for 60 days or until the application for
the extension is approved, conditionally approved, or denied,
whichever occurs last. If the advisory agency denies a subdivider’s
application for an extension, the subdivider may appeal to the
legislative body within 15 days after the advisory agency has
denied the extension.

(c) This section shall apply within a county when the following
conditions within the county are met:

(1) The annual mean household income within the county is
less than 80 percent of the statewide annual mean income, as
determined by the most recent annual report of the federal
American Community Survey 5-year Estimates, based upon the
American Community Survey Design and Methodology publication
(Version 2.0, January 2014) published by the United States Census
Bureau.

(2) The annual nonseasonal unemployment rate is at least begin delete 3 end delete begin insert 2.75 end insert
percent higher than the statewide annual nonseasonal
unemployment rate, as defined by the report on Labor Market
Review published by the Employment Development Department
in January of the year in which the community revitalization plan
is prepared.

(3) The population for whom poverty status is determined is at
least 4 percent higher than the statewide median poverty rate, as
determined by the most recent annual report of the American
Community Survey 5-year Estimates, based upon the American
Community Survey Design and Methodology publication (Version
2.0, January 2014).

(d) The extension provided by subdivisions (a) and (b) shall be
in addition to any extension of the expiration date provided for in
Section 66452.6, 66452.11, 66452.13, 66452.21, 66452.22,
66452.23, 66452.24, or 66463.5.

(e) Any legislative, administrative, or other approval by any
state agency that pertains to a development project included in a
map that is extended pursuant to subdivisions (a) and (b) shall be
extended by 24 months if this approval has not expired on or before
the effective date of the act that added this section. This extension
shall be in addition to any extension provided for in Sections
66452.13, 66452.21, 66452.22, 66452.23, and 66452.24.

(f) The provisions of Section 65961 relating to conditions that
may be imposed upon or after a building permit for a subdivision
of single- or multiple-family residential units or a parcel map for
a subdivision for which no tentative map was required, are
modified as set forth in subdivisions (e) and (f) of Section 65961
for tentative maps extended pursuant to this section.

SEC. 3.  

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
a local agency or school district has the authority to levy service
charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or
level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section
17556 of the Government Code.

SEC. 4.  

This act is an urgency statute necessary for the
immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within
the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into
immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:

In order to permit cities, counties, and cities and counties to
preserve development applications that are set to expire and that
cannot be processed presently due to prevailing adverse economic
conditions in the construction industry, it is necessary that this act
take effect immediately.