This chapter is enacted pursuant to Article 2.5 of Chapter 4 of Division 1 of Title 7 of the California Government Code, Section 65864 et seq. This chapter is adopted to supplement existing provisions of this code and may be cited as the development agreement ordinance of the county of Madera. (Ord. 556 § 1(part), 1994).

A. The purpose of this chapter is to strengthen the public planning process, encourage private participation in comprehensive planning, and reduce the economic costs of development by providing an option to both the county and developers to enter into development agreements. Such agreements may be used for projects such as large single or multi-phase developments, low income housing developments, and developments involving public services and facilities installations which may require several years to complete.
B. To accomplish this purpose, the procedures, requirements and other provisions of this chapter are determined to be necessary to promote orderly growth and development, the economic welfare, and to ensure provision for adequate circulation, utilities and services. (Ord. 556 § 1(part), 1994).

The procedures and requirements set forth in this chapter shall apply to all development agreements proposed by developers and entered into by the board of supervisors. (Ord. 556 § 1(part), 1994).

A. Forms. The planning director shall prescribe the form for each application, notice and document provided for or required under these regulations for the preparation and implementation of development agreements. Each application shall be accompanied by a current lot book report. For purposes of this chapter, “lot book report” means a report prepared by a title company stating the owner of the property and of all trust, security interests and other similar recorded interests affecting the property subject to the report. A current lot book report is one that was prepared not more than forty-five days prior to its receipt by the county. The lot book report shall include maps showing the location of the property and the layout of the parcels and a listing of the assessor’s parcel number(s) (APNs) assigned to the property.
B. Additional Information. The planning director may require an applicant to submit such information and supporting data as the planning director considers reasonably necessary to process the application and which is feasible to obtain, including but not limited to sufficient information to establish that the project is consisted with the Madera County general plan.
C. Proposed Form of Development Agreement. Each application shall be accompanied by the form of development agreement proposed by the applicant. The proposed 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 proposed development agreement may include conditions, terms, restrictions and requirements for subsequent discretionary actions, provided that such conditions, terms, restrictions and requirements for subsequent discretionary actions shall not prevent development of the land for the uses and to density or intensity of development set forth in the development agreement. The proposed agreement may also provide that construction shall be commenced within a specified time and that the project or any phase thereof be completed within a specified time.
The agreement may also include terms and conditions relating to applicant financing of necessary public facilities and subsequent reimbursement overtime. The applicant may satisfy the requirements of this subsection by designating the county’s standard form of development agreement (if any) and including specific proposals for change in or additions to the language of the standard form.
D. Fees. The board of supervisors shall by separate resolution fix the schedule of fees and charges imposed for the filing and processing of each application and document provided for or required under these regulations. (Ord. 556 § 1(part), 1994).

The planning director or his designee shall endorse on the application the date it is received. Within thirty days after receipt, the planning director shall review the application and may reject it if it is incomplete or inaccurate for processing. If he finds that the application is complete, he shall accept it for filing. The director shall also determine if any additional requirements are necessary to complete the development agreement. The planning director shall immediately notify the applicant in writing of the application’s rejection or acceptance and whether any additional information or requirements are necessary. After any required additional information is received, the planning director shall within thirty days prepare a report and recommendation which shall state whether or not the agreement, as proposed or in an amended form, would be consistent with the general plan and any applicable specific plan. The planning director shall then transmit the application and the planning director’s report and recommendations thereon to the planning commission. (Ord. 556 § 1(part), 1994).

A. Duty to Give Notice. The planning director shall give notice of intention to consider adoption of the development agreement and of any public hearings required by law or these regulations.
B. The notice of intention to consider adoption of the development agreement shall contain:
1. The date, time and place of any public hearings;
2. A general explanation of the matter to be considered, including a general description of the area to be affected; and
3. Other information required by law or which the planning director considers necessary or desirable.
C. Time and Manner of Notice.
1. Publication or Posting. The notice shall be published at least once in a newspaper of general circulation, published and circulated in the county of Madera at least ten days prior to the hearing or if there is no such newspaper of general circulation, the notice shall be posted at least ten days prior to the hearing in at least three public places within the county of Madera.
2. Mailing or Delivery.
a. The notice shall be mailed or delivered at least ten days prior to the hearing to the owner of the subject real property or the owner’s duly authorized agent, and to the project applicant.
b. The notice shall be mailed or delivered at least ten days prior to the hearing to each local agency expected to provide water, sewage, streets, roads, schools, or other essential facilities or services to the project, whose ability to provide those facilities and services may be significantly affected.
c. The notice shall be mailed or delivered at least ten days prior to the hearing to all owners of real property as shown on the latest equalized assessment roll within three hundred feet of the real property that is the subject of the proposed development agreement. In lieu of utilizing the assessment roll, the planning director may utilize records of the county assessor or tax collector which contain more recent information than the assessment roll. If the number of owners to whom notice would be mailed or delivered is greater than one thousand, the planning director, in lieu of mailed or delivered notice, may provide notice by placing a display advertisement of at least one-eighth page in at least one newspaper of general circulation within the county of Madera at least ten days prior to the hearing.
d. The notice shall be mailed or delivered at least ten days prior to the hearing to any person who has filed a written request for notice with either the clerk of the board of supervisors or with the planning director. The board of supervisors may charge a fee which is reasonably related to the costs of providing this service and the board of supervisors may require each request to be annually renewed.
D. Additional Notice. The planning director, planning commission or board of supervisors, as the case may be, may direct that notice of public hearing to be held before it shall be given in a manner that exceeds the notice requirements prescribed in this section.
E. Declaration of Existing Law. The notice requirements referred to in subsections (B) and (C) of this section are declaratory of existing law (Government Code Section 65867 and 65090--65095 as incorporated by reference). If state law prescribes a different notice requirement, notice shall be given in that manner.
F. Failure to Receive Notice. The failure of any person entitled to notice to receive such notice does not affect the authority of the planning commission to make a recommendation on or of the board of supervisors to enter into a development agreement. (Ord. 556 § 1(part), 1994).

A. Rules Governing Conduct of Hearing. Public hearings shall be conducted as nearly as may be in accordance with the procedural standards prescribed under Government Code Section 65804 for the conduct of zoning hearings. Each person interested in the matter shall be given an opportunity to be heard. The public hearings may be held concurrently with the public hearings for consideration of any other applications.
B. Irregularity in Proceedings. No action, inaction or recommendation regarding a proposed development agreement shall be held void or invalid or be set aside by a court by reason of any error, irregularity, informality, neglect or omission (“error”) as to any matter pertaining to petition, application, notice, finding, record, hearing, report, recommendation, or any matters or procedure whatever unless after an examination of the entire case, including the evidence, the court is of the opinion that the error complained of was prejudicial and that by reason of the error the complaining party sustained and suffered substantial injury, and that a different result would have been probable if the error had not occurred or existed. There is no presumption that error is prejudicial or that injury was done if error is shown. (Ord. 556 § 1(part), 1994).

A. Purpose and Use. The planning commission may approve use of a development agreement as a method of implementing any discretionary approval of the planning commission, including, but not limited to:
1. Rezoning;
2. Issuance of a conditional use permit;
3. Conditions imposed upon approval of a permit after discretionary review;
4. Conditions imposed in connection with the adoption of any specific plan;
5. Conditions imposed in any planned unit development district;
6. Site-specific conditions imposed in any other district;
7. Mitigation measures imposed upon a project after approval of an environmental impact report, or a mitigated negative declaration, in which such mitigation measures have been proposed as a mechanism for eliminating or reducing environmental impacts; and
8. Approval of a subdivision map or parcel map.
B. Public Hearing and Recommendations by the Planning Commission. After receipt of an application and the planning director’s report and recommendations, the planning commission shall schedule a public hearing to consider the application. The public hearing shall be preceded by public notice pursuant to Section 15.01.060. Following the public hearing, the planning commission shall submit its written recommendations (and reasons therefore) regarding the application to the board of supervisors. The planning commission may recommend approval, disapproval or modification of the proposed development agreement. The planning commission’s recommendations shall include the planning commission’s determination whether or not the development agreement proposed:
1. Is consistent with the objectives, policies, general land uses and programs specified in the general plan and any applicable specific plan;
2. Is compatible with the uses authorized in, and the regulations prescribed for, the land use district in which the real property is located;
3. Is in conformity with public convenience, general welfare and good land use practice;
4. Will be detrimental to the health, safety and general welfare;
5. Will adversely affect the orderly development of property or the preservation of property values. (Ord. 556 § 1(part), 1994).

A. Decision by Board of Supervisors. Upon receipt of the application and planning commission recommendation, the board of supervisors shall schedule a public hearing on the application. The hearing shall be preceded by public notice pursuant to Section 15.01.060. Following the hearing, the board of supervisors may accept, modify or disapprove the application. The board of supervisors may, but need not, refer matters not previously considered by the planning commission during its hearing back to the planning commission for report and recommendation. The planning commission may, but need not, hold a public hearing on matters referred back to it by the board of supervisors.
B. Findings and Determinations. The board of supervisors may not approve a proposed development agreement unless it finds and determines that the provisions of the proposed development agreement:
1. Are consistent with the objectives, policies, general land uses and programs specified in the general plan and any applicable specific plan;
2. Are compatible with the uses authorized in, and regulations prescribed for, the land use district in which the real property is located;
3. Are in conformity with public convenience, general welfare and good land use practice;
4. Will not be detrimental to the health, safety and general welfare; and
5. Will not adversely affect the orderly development of property or the preservation of property values. (Ord. 556 § 1(part), 1994).

If the board of supervisors approves the development agreement, it shall do so by the adoption of an ordinance. The development agreement takes effect upon the effective date of the ordinance and the board of supervisors shall then execute the agreement on behalf of the county. (Ord. 556 § 1(part), 1994).

A. Initiation of Amendment or Cancellation. Any party to a development agreement may propose an amendment to or cancellation in whole or in part of the development agreement.
B. Procedure.
1. The procedure for proposing and adopting an amendment to or cancellation in whole or in part of a development agreement is the same as the procedure for entering into the development agreement in the first instance.
2. However, if the board of supervisors initiates the proposed amendment to or cancellation in whole or in part of the development agreement, it shall first give notice to the property owner and project applicant of its intention to initiate proceedings at least thirty days in advance of the giving of notice of intention to consider the amendment or cancellation required by Section 15.01.060.
3. Written amendments to correct clerical errors, and amendments which are minor as determined by the planning director or which clarify provisions of the development agreement, conform to the provisions of an approved development agreement and do not substantially enlarge the rights or obligations of either party thereto, may be approved by the planning director in which case no prior notice or hearing of such amendment shall be required. Any amendment to an approved development agreement which does not meet the criteria set forth in the previous sentence shall comply with the provisions of Government Code Section 65868. (Ord. 556 § 1(part), 1994).

A. Recordation of the Development Agreement. Within ten days after the board of supervisors enters into the development agreement, the clerk of the board of supervisors shall have the development agreement recorded with the county recorder.
B. Recordation of Amendment or Cancellation. If the parties to a development agreement or their successors in interest amend or cancel the development agreement as provided in Government Code Section 65868, or if the board of supervisors terminates or modifies the development agreement as provided in Government Code Section 65865.1 for failure of the applicant to comply in good faith with the terms or conditions of the development agreement, the clerk of the board of supervisors shall have notice of such action recorded with the county recorder. (Ord. 556 § 1(part), 1994).

A. Time for and Initiation of Review. The board of supervisors shall review the compliance by the property owner and project applicant under the development agreement every twelve months from the date the agreement is entered into. The time for review may be modified either by agreement between the parties to the development agreement or upon recommendation of the planning director, and by an affirmative vote of a majority of the planning commission.
B. Delegation to Planning Director. The periodic review shall be conducted by the planning director.
C. Notice of Periodic Review. The planning director or his designee shall begin the review proceeding by giving written notice to the property owner and project applicant that the county intends to undertake a periodic review of the development agreement. The planning director shall give the notice at least twenty days in advance of the time at which the matter will be considered by the planning director. Within said twenty-day period, the property owner and project applicant shall submit a written report to the planning director identifying the good faith efforts taken by the property owner and project applicant to comply with the terms and conditions of the development agreement.
D. Hearing. If the planning director finds substantial evidence that the property owner and project applicant under the development agreement has not complied in good faith with the terms and conditions of the development agreement, the planning director shall request that the board of supervisors conduct a public hearing at which the property owner and project applicant must demonstrate good faith compliance with the terms of the development agreement.
E. Findings Upon Hearing. The board of supervisors shall determine upon the basis of substantial evidence whether or not the property owner and project applicant have, for the period under review, complied in good faith with the terms and conditions of the development agreement.
F. Procedures Upon Findings.
1. If the board of supervisors finds and determines on the basis of substantial evidence that the property owner and project applicant have complied in good faith with the terms and conditions of the development agreement during the period under review, the review for that period is concluded.
2. If the board of supervisors finds and determines on the basis of substantial evidence that the property owner and project applicant have not complied in good faith with the terms and conditions of the development agreement during the period under review, the board of supervisors may modify or terminate the development agreement or extend the time for or waive compliance upon a showing of good cause. (Ord. 556 § 1(part), 1994).

A. Proceedings for Modification or Termination. If upon a finding under Section 15.01.130(f)(2) the board of supervisors decides to proceed with modification or termination of the development agreement, the board of supervisors shall give thirty days’ written notice to the property owner and project applicant of its intention to do so. The notice shall contain:
1. The date, time and place for a public hearing on the matter;
2. A statement as to whether the board of supervisors proposes to terminate or to modify the development agreement;
3. Other information which the board of supervisors considers necessary to inform the property owner and project applicant of the nature of the proceedings.
B. Hearing on Modification or Termination. At the time and place set for the public hearing on modification or termination, the property owner and project applicant shall be given an opportunity to be heard. The board of supervisors may refer the matter back to the planning commission for further proceedings or for report and recommendation. The board of supervisors may impose those conditions to the action it takes as it considers necessary to protect the interests of the county. The decision of the board of supervisors is final. (Ord. 556 § 1(part), 1994).

In the event that 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, such provisions of the agreement shall be modified or suspended as may be necessary to comply with such state or federal laws or regulations. (Ord. 556 § 1(part), 1994).

If this chapter is ever repealed or otherwise terminated, such repeal or termination shall not affect the validity of, or procedure governing a development agreement in which the board of supervisors entered. (Ord. 556 § 1(part), 1994).