El Dorado County Municipal Code Ch. 130.51 General Application Procedures

This Chapter establishes the application requirements and noticing provisions necessary to process land use and development proposals in any zone.

An application for an allowed use decision or permit required by this Title shall be submitted on an application form provided by the Department and shall include the written consent of the lawful owner or owners of record. Each allowed use application and information packet shall include a list of the information and materials necessary to render the requested allowed use decision. Each application shall be accompanied by the required information and materials before the application is deemed complete and accepted for filing. Any application made under the provisions of this Title may be initiated by the Board or by an applicant identified in [Subsection] A below.

A. A permit application may be filed by:

1. The lawful owner or owners of record of the lot on which the proposed project will be located, or their duly authorized agent.

2. A person with lawful power of attorney or other acceptable authority from the lawful owner of record. Evidence of authorization shall be submitted with the application.

B. When more than one land use decision is required for a single project, all applications may be filed concurrently. The review authority shall act on the different parts of a combined application on their own merits, and may approve one application without approving the other or others.

C. Approvals granted for an application that was submitted containing a material misrepresentation or omission of material facts known to the applicant may result in revocation or unilateral modification of conditions of a permit or approval by the County, as provided in Section 130.54.090 (Revocation or County Mandated Modification of a Permit) below in this Article.

D. Applications for permits or authorizations required by this Title shall be filed with the Department. All applications shall meet the following requirements:

1. The proposed use is allowed, or has been found to be similar and compatible with allowed uses, within the zone in which it is located;

2. The proposed use meets all applicable standards and requirements of this Title or such standards that are the subject of a concurrently filed Variance application; and

3. No violation of the County Code or any condition of approval of an applicable use entitlement exists on the subject site, unless the purpose of the application is to bring the violation into compliance.

E. Application Fees. Application fees adopted by resolution of the Board shall be paid upon application submittal. Additional fees may be required subject to the provisions of the adopted fee schedule, such as for "time and material" fee categories. Policies for collection of fees, refunds, and handling overdue accounts while processing applications shall be determined by the Director, or by the Agricultural Commissioner in the case of fees for Administrative Permits issued under Chapter 130.44 (Ranch Marketing).

F. Review of Applications. Within 30 days of the filing of an application, the Department shall review it for completeness and accuracy before the application is accepted as being complete and officially filed. The applicant shall be notified in writing by the Department that either:

1. The application has been determined to be complete and accepted for processing; or

2. The application is incomplete and additional information, specified in writing, must be provided. If an application is determined to be incomplete, the time in which the application must be processed shall be stayed until such time as the applicant has provided the required information.

If the Department fails to notify the applicant in writing within 30 days of filling, the application shall be deemed complete. The Department may request additional information where needed to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

G. Expiration of Application. The application shall expire and be deemed withdrawn, requiring processing to stop and the filing of a new application for project consideration, if:

1. An application has been determined to be incomplete and the required information is not submitted within one year from the date of the written determination; or

2. An applicant has requested that processing be delayed or stayed or placed on hold for a period of more than one year. Any request for a delay, stay, or hold shall be made in writing; or

3. The Director provides written notice of a determination that a complete application has not been actively pursued for a cumulative period of more than one year.

(Ord. No. 5177, § 9, 6-20-2023; Ord. No. 5241, § 11, 8-19-2025)

A. After acceptance of an application in compliance with Subsection 130.51.020.F (Review of Applications) above in this Chapter, the Department shall review the proposed project in compliance with the CEQA Statutes and Guidelines (California Public Resources Code 21050 et seq.) and any county CEQA implementation resolutions, as may be amended from time to time. Unless the Department determines that the proposed project is not a "project" as defined by CEQA, and that the project is not exempt from the requirements of CEQA, the Department shall prepare the appropriate CEQA document concurrently with the processing of the application(s).

B. The Department may require the applicant to submit additional information, reports, or analyses that may be needed for the environmental review of the project.

C. When a determination is made to prepare an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) in compliance with CEQA, the Commission may, when necessary, separately consider the Director's decision to require the preparation of an EIR prior to its preparation.

D. Before taking an action to approve an allowed use application that is subject to CEQA, the review authority shall consider and certify the applicable the CEQA document, including appropriate findings.

When an application requires action by a review authority at a public hearing, the Department shall prepare a report and make a recommendation on the project. The procedure for preparing said report shall be as follows:

A. Application information shall be distributed to appropriate County departments, local, state, and federal agencies, interested organizations and individuals, and any other party whom the Department finds could provide relevant comments on the potential effects of the project.

B. The Department may perform an on-site inspection of the project site before confirming that the request complies with all of the applicable criteria and provisions identified in this Title.

C. Upon receipt of comments after distribution, the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) shall conduct a meeting as set forth in Section 130.60.060 (Technical Advisory Committee) in Article 6 (Zoning Ordinance Administration) of this Title, unless staff determines no TAC meeting is necessary. The applicant is encouraged to attend the TAC meeting.

D. After the meeting, or where staff determines no TAC meeting is necessary, the Department shall review the application and prepare a report to the applicable review authority on whether the proposed project should be approved, conditionally approved, or denied. The staff report shall include the recommendations of state and local agencies, and other County departments, and shall include an analysis of the proposed project and its compliance with this Title, the General Plan, adopted design standards, and any other applicable provisions of the County Code or State law.

E. The staff report shall be distributed to the applicant and made available to the public within the time frames established by state law, as may be amended from time to time.

A. This Section implements greater public notice requirements than the prescribed requirements in California Government Code §§ 65090—65095). The public notice requirements and procedures for the various types of planning actions are set forth below in Table 130.51.050.1 (Public Notice Requirements and Procedures—Administrative Projects) and Table 130.51.050.2 (Public Notice Requirements and Procedures—Discretionary Projects). Public notice regarding projects will be mailed to nearby property owners according to the distance radius from the project site parcel boundary as specified in these tables. If the project has multiple actions with conflicting distance radii, then the greater distance radius shall apply.

B. The notice shall be mailed at least ten days prior to the hearing to any person who has filed a written request for notice either with the clerk of the governing body or with any other person designated by the governing body to receive these requests. The local agency may charge a fee, which is reasonably related to the costs of providing this service, and the local agency may require each request to be annually renewed. As used in this Chapter, "person" includes a California Native American tribe that is on the contact list maintained by the Native American Heritage Commission (Government Code § 65092).

C. The failure of any person or entity to receive notice pursuant to this Title shall not constitute grounds for any court to invalidate the actions by the Director, Zoning Administrator, Planning Commission, and/or Board of Supervisors for which the notice was given (Government Code § 65093).

D. Any public hearing conducted under this Title may be continued from time to time (Government Code § 65095). If a hearing on a project is continued to a date certain, no additional public notice is required. Projects continued off calendar require new public notice.

E. Public Notice Requirements and Procedures—Administrative Projects. Administrative projects are projects that require the issuance of an Administrative Permit as specified throughout the various matrices of allowed uses set forth in this Title. Administrative project types listed in Table 130.51.050.1 (Public Notice Requirements and Procedures—Administrative Projects) require public notice prior to a Director decision or no public notice as specified below.

Table 130.51.050.1. Public Notice Requirements and Procedures— Administrative Projects

F. Public Notice Requirements and Procedures—Discretionary Projects. Discretionary projects require the issuance of a discretionary permit as specified throughout the various matrices of allowed uses set forth in this Title. Discretionary projects include project types such as Conditional Use Permit, Design Review, General Plan Amendment, and other project types listed in Table 130.51.050.2 (Public Notice Requirements and Procedures—Discretionary Projects). Discretionary projects listed in this table require public notice prior to Director, Zoning Administrator, Planning Commission, and/or Board of Supervisors decision; or no public notice as specified below:

1. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Title, the following determination shall apply to all County-initiated planning efforts, including, but not limited to, Board of Supervisors directed zone changes:

a. The physical sign posting requirements shown on Table 103.51.050.2 shall not apply. No physical sign posting shall be required for County-initiated planning efforts, including Planned Developments, Specific Plans, or Zone Changes.

Table 130.51.050.2 Public Notice Requirements and Procedures— Discretionary Projects

G. Reserved.

H. Physical Sign Posting. The applicant shall post a sign on the subject property for the purpose of providing notice that an application at the subject property is currently undergoing review. The sign shall comply with the following specifications:

1. The size of the sign shall be a minimum of 32 square feet (four feet high by eight feet wide).

2. The sign text shall be large, black letters on a white background. The font size shall be proportional to the sign size for optimum readability. The sign content shall specify project type (e.g., Commercial, Residential, Industrial, Mixed Use) and shall include the following minimum information: Project type, project name, number of units or building square footage, project number, Planning Services phone number, and Planning Services website. Below is a typical example as a guideline for a sign layout; apply the information as it pertains to the individual project.

Typical Example

3. A minimum of one sign shall be posted facing each right-of-way on which the property has frontage.

4. The sign shall be posted no more than 20 feet from the edge of the right-of-way for maximum visibility.

5. For property that does not have street frontage or is not easily visible from the right-of-way, the sign(s) shall be posted in a location deemed suitable by the Director or designee.

6. The sign(s) shall be posted on the property at least 30 calendar days prior to the hearing or the first hearing if there are multiple hearings. The sign(s) shall remain posted until final action has been taken on the application and the appeal period has expired.

7. The sign(s) shall be removed within 30 days of the final action.

8. The sign(s) shall be constructed of materials suitable to withstand the estimated posting time and to endure weather conditions.

(Ord. No. 5127, § 18, 9-1-2020; Ord. No. 5241, §§ 12, 16, 8-19-2025)

Editor's note— Ord. No. 5127, § 18, adopted Sept. 1, 2020, changed the title of § 130.51.050 from public notice to public notice requirements and procedures.

In approving an application for a permit or authorization, the review authority may establish reasonable conditions to its approval that are found to be necessary to mitigate impacts created by the proposed project, that are consistent with the General Plan, Zoning Ordinance, and other applicable laws, ordinances, standards, or regulations, and that protect the public health, safety, and welfare.

A. Conditions of approval may be revised in compliance with Chapter 130.54.070 (Revisions to an Approved Permit or Authorization).

B. The violation of any required condition shall constitute a violation of this Section and may constitute grounds for revocation of the permit or authorization in compliance with Section 130.54.090 (Revocation or County Mandated Modification of a Permit) below in this Article.

C. The review authority may require recordation of the conditions of approval for Design Review, Variance, Conditional/Minor Use, and Development Plan permits.

A. In the event the County fails to act on a development project, as defined in California Government Code (GC) Section 65928, within the time limits set forth in GC Section 65920 et seq., the development project shall be deemed approved provided the project meets all of the following:

1. Public notice is provided by the applicant in compliance with GC Section 65956(b).

2. The proposed use in the development project is an allowed use in the applicable zone.

3. The development project is consistent with General Plan policies, any applicable specific plan requirements, and development standards and other provisions in this Title.

4. The development project complies with the adopted standards of the Department of Transportation, Environmental Management Department, Planning and Building Department, the responsible fire department, and any other state or local agency necessary to protect the public health, safety, and welfare.

B. Any automatic approval of a development project shall become null and void unless all conditions imposed by this Section have been fully complied with and the occupancy, use of the land, and use of the proposed or existing structure(s) authorized by the automatic approval has taken place within 24 months after the date of the automatic approval.

A. Within ten days of a final decision on an application for an allowed use decision or permit required by this Article, the County shall provide notice of its final action to the applicant and to any person(s) who specifically requested notice of the County's final action and has provided a self-addressed stamped envelope.

B. The notice shall contain the final decision by the review authority, any conditions that may have been imposed, and the findings made to support the decision.

A. This process provides for a pre-application or conceptual review prior to the submittal of development applications to:

1. Review preliminary project design to ensure compliance with County policy and ordinances;

2. Provide early identification of possible issues, giving the applicant the opportunity to seek solutions or consider design alternatives before formal filing of an application;

3. Suggest alternatives for the project;

4. Assist the applicant in determining the scope of materials required for submittal of an application, especially those which are complex or involve multiple applications; and

5. Improve the quality of the application when submitted, thereby simplifying its processing.

B. Application. The applicant must submit an application to the Department requesting either a pre-application meeting with staff or a conceptual review hearing before the Commission or the Board.

C. Information Provided. Contents of the application at the time of submittal shall be any available information that will assist staff, Commission members, or the Board in reviewing the proposed project in a timely manner. Required and suggested information shall be listed on the application form, as may be amended from time to time.

D. When the complexities of an allowed use or permit application warrants, the Department or the applicable review authority may recommend that the applicant submit materials and attend necessary conferences or hearings to conduct, in an informal workshop setting, a preliminary review of the development proposal.

For some Planning Commission-level and Board-level discretionary development projects, the Director may require the applicant to prepare a public outreach plan to provide for early public notice and an opportunity for the public to provide input to the applicant on the proposed development project. For discretionary projects with 300 or more dwelling units, a public outreach plan shall be required.

A. The public outreach plan may include but shall not be limited to:

1. Direct mailing to the property owners nearby (distance radius from the proposed project site parcel boundary) for the Project Type as noted in Table 130.51.050.2 (Public Notice Requirements and Procedures—Discretionary Projects) that includes a description of the proposed project and methods for how to submit comments; and

2. One or more public workshops held in the community by the applicant prior to any County public hearing on the proposed project.

B. The applicant shall submit the public outreach plan to the Director for approval and inclusion in the public record. The applicant shall implement the public outreach plan and provide a summary to the Director of the outreach efforts conducted including number of attendees at public outreach meetings and public comments received which will be part of the agenda packet presented to the Planning Commission and/or Board of Supervisors.

(Ord. No. 5127, § 19, 9-1-2020)