Butte County Municipal Code Art. XXIV Indemnification Requirements

The purpose of this article is to provide greater certainty to the county and to applicants for discretionary land use approvals concerning how legal challenges to such projects shall be addressed. As the parties primarily interested in, and benefiting from, development approvals sought from the county, and recognizing that legal challenges may result in significant potential public agency expense even in the event of meritless actions to attack or set aside such approvals, this article is intended to require that applicants for discretionary land use approvals assume the primary responsibility for any such challenges.

(Ord. No. 4254, § 1, 10-22-24)

(a) At the time of submitting an application for a discretionary land use approval, and as a condition of approval, all applicants requesting such an approval shall agree, as part of the required application, to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the county from any claim, action, or proceeding brought to attack, set aside, void, or annul any subsequent approval by the county. The indemnification shall include damages awarded against the county, costs of suit, attorneys' fees, and all other costs and expenses incurred in connection with any such claim, action, or proceeding.

(b) In the event that a claim, action, or proceeding referenced in subsection (a) is brought, the county shall promptly notify the applicant thereof. Nothing set forth in this article shall prohibit the county from participating in the defense of any claim, action, or proceeding if the county elects to bear its own attorneys' fees and costs and defend the action in good faith.

(Ord. No. 4254, § 1, 10-22-24)

As used in this article, the following words and phrases are used and defined as follows:

"County" means the Butte County Board of Supervisors, the Planning Commission, the Department of Development Services, the Department of Public Works, and all officers, agents, and employees of the county.

"Discretionary land use approval" means any decision of the county approving a request by an applicant for a land use or public works entitlement requiring the county's exercise of discretion, including the imposition or denial of any conditions of approval, and any accompanying California Environmental Quality Act determinations pertaining to any such approval.

(Ord. No. 4254, § 1, 10-22-24)