La Habra Heights Municipal Code Ch. 8.2 Land Use and Development Applications

The purpose of this Chapter is to prescribe procedures for the submission, consideration, processing and issuance of land use and development applications specified in Article 7 of this Municipal Code or by state law.

The provisions of this Chapter apply to all land use and development applications including, but not limited to, municipal code amendments, General Plan amendments, Zoning Code amendments, conditional use permits, variances, standards modifications, minor exceptions, lot line adjustments, and tree removal permits. Applications for development agreements shall be governed by the provisions of Chapter 7.20. (Ord. 2013-04 § 2; Ord. 2017-03 § 3)

This Section provides the procedures for submittal and processing of land use and development applications.

A. Eligibility for Filing. Applications must be completed either by the owner, or designated
agent, of the property for which the application is requested.

B. Application Submittal. Land use and development applications shall be filed with the
individual or department specified in the Municipal Code or, if none is specified, with the
Community Development Director. Land use and development applications must be
submitted on forms prescribed by the Community Development Director and contain all
information deemed necessary by the Community Development Director for a complete
review. The following procedures govern this process:

1. The completed application form, all required fees and any other information required
for the processing of the land use and development application must be submitted for
the application to be considered complete.

2. Whenever more than one approval under Article 7 or 9 is required, all applications
shall be filed and processed concurrently.

3. Whenever an application or portion of an application has been denied with prejudice,
or revoked, and the denial or revocation becomes final, no new application for the
same or substantially similar request may be accepted within one (1) year of the date
of the denial.

C. Pre-Application Conference. The applicant or agent is strongly encouraged to request a
pre-application conference with the appropriate City Department prior to completion of
project design and the formal submittal of the application. The purpose of this conference
is to inform the applicant of City requirements as they apply to the proposed project, review
the procedures outlined in this Municipal Code, explore possible alternatives or
modifications to the project and to identify any technical studies that may be necessary
before the application is filed. The pre-file application review does not result in any official recommendation or final decision with respect to the application.

D. General Application Requirements. All project applications must include property information including legal description and details of all existing development and uses of the site. All applications for new development must include a title report. Depending upon the proposed project, other information required at the discretion of the Community Development Director may include, but not be limited to, neighborhood location detail and neighbor notification list, property line survey, view impact analysis, setback and privacy analysis, site selection analysis, landscape analysis, geo-hazards analysis, storm water runoff analysis, engineering analyses and traffic impact analysis. These requirements are conceptual and are not intended to constitute or be a substitute for final, detailed engineering or technical documents. Nothing in this Chapter shall be construed as eliminating or reducing the requirements that must be met prior to any construction are identified in Articles 5 and 6 of this Municipal Code.

1. A complete project description should be submitted that includes written detail of all
components of the project including, but not limited to, what is to be built, what is to
be removed or modified, what exists on the site, what alteration of the site is planned
and a description of the detailed use of all components of development.

2. Every application must include the site information that the Community Development
Director determines is required to evaluate the project, which may include one or
more of the following:

a. A site description including an explanation of the reasons for selection of the
particular development areas of the site as compared to other areas and the
relative impacts of each;

b. Topographic detail sufficient to evaluate the project;

c. Identification of all existing storm water drainage channels on or across the site;

d. Proof of property line locations where there is any reasonable possibility that the
proposed development would be within thirty-five (35) feet of a property line;

e. Identification of all existing development on the site;

f. Identification of all existing legal non-conforming structures and uses on the
site;

g. Identification of the location of the project development with respect to
neighboring development;

h. Identification of all property owners to be notified regarding the project;

i. Appropriate reports from licensed engineers and/or geologists if the project is located in any geo-hazards area including the Alquist-Priolo Zone, or on any site known to have existing faults, landslides or other identified adverse geologic conditions; and

j. Information sufficient to establish that any required SUSMP mitigation or
compliance can be accomplished.

3. All planned development information must be presented to the Planning Division in the degree of detail prescribed in the specific application materials and as required by
Article 7. The detail provided must be adequate to identify the impact of the project
upon the neighbors’ views and privacy and upon community character. Typically this
will require complete presentation of conceptual plans and elevation views of any
structures or structural modifications, often including three-dimensional renderings
from viewpoints of potentially affected neighbors and of the public.

Any alteration of existing topography should be thoroughly identified as to location
limits of grading, depths of cuts and fills and height and length of retaining walls
and provisions for maintenance of existing drainage characteristics. Any trees to
be removed or drainage patterns to be altered must be identified. All applications
for new residential construction or modifications of existing residential structures
involving fifty (50) percent or more of the existing structure’s floor area must include
information on the location limits of grading, depths of cuts and fills and height
and length of retaining walls and provisions for maintenance of existing drainage
characteristics and must identify any trees to be removed or drainage patterns which
will be altered.

The final architectural and precise grading plans subsequently submitted to the
Engineering Division must conform to the materials upon which the approval was
based or the project will require resubmittal.

Article 7 of this Municipal Code provides all of the Development Standards that apply
to the planned development. The applicant will certify that the project meets all of
those standards except those for which a Standards Modification or Variance has been
requested.

Development detail should also address the mitigation of any impacts of the project, either direct or cumulative. Typical mitigation detail includes conceptual landscape plans evidencing capability to screen the development without causing view impairment. Cumulative impacts include the impact of new development when added to the impacts of existing development on the site. Address of cumulative impacts may require mitigation of existing impacts.

4. At the time of submittal, the Planning Division may require additional information to
determine the environmental impact of the project or to assess feasible alternatives or
mitigation measures for such impacts as required by the California Environmental
Quality Act (CEQA) and the La Habra Heights CEQA Guidelines.

5. The Findings provided in Article 7 of this Municipal Code must be made for any
approval to be granted. The application should include specific address of the
methods employed to ensure that each of the required findings can be made.

E. Application Fees. The City Council has established a schedule of fees and deposits for the
processing of land use and development applications established by this Municipal Code.
The processing fees are cumulative. For example, if an applicant requests two approvals,
fees and deposits for both will be charged. Processing shall not commence on any
application until all required fees or deposits have been paid and processing may be halted
if fee deposit levels fall below specified amounts.

F. Determination of Application Completeness. Land use and development applications
submitted to the Planning Division will be reviewed to determine completeness, taking into account the Community Development Director’s discretion with regard to application
submittal requirements as provided in this Chapter and Article 7 of this Municipal Code.
This process generally includes review by a variety of individuals and agencies to
determine whether additional information is necessary to process the application through
the final decision.

The Planning Division shall make a written determination of application completeness
within thirty (30) days of submittal of all required information. If the application is deemed
complete, City staff shall continue to process the request. If the application is deemed
incomplete, the applicant shall be informed in writing what additional information must be
provided.

G. Inspections. An applicant shall allow the City access to any premises or property that is
the subject of, or used in connection with, the application under consideration. If the
application approval is granted, the owner or applicant shall allow the City continued
access to the premises to determine compliance with any Conditions of Approval.

H. Discretionary Review Authorities. The reviewing authorities associated with the various
land use and development applications are provided in Table 8-1.

Table 8-1
Discretionary Review and Approval Authorities

Planning
Application Staff Commission City Council

General Plan Analysis/Advice Recommendation Decision
Amendment

Zone Change or Zone Analysis/Advice Recommendation Decision
Text Amendment

Variance Analysis/Advice Recommendation Decision

Development Analysis/Advice Recommendation Decision
Agreement

Conditional Use Analysis/Advice Decision Appeal/Call for
Permit Review

Standards Analysis/Advice Decision Appeal/Call for
Modification Review

Standards Decision Appeal/Call for Appeal/Call for
Modification, Review Review
Administrative

Minor Exception Decision Appeal/Call for Appeal/Call for
Review Review

(Ord. 2013-04 § 3; Ord. 2015-01 §§ 36 – 42; Ord. 2017-03 § 4)

Approvals issued pursuant to this Chapter become effective on the eleventh (11th) day following the date the application was approved provided that no Appeal of the action has been filed in compliance with this Article. Any land use and development application deemed approved shall nonetheless be subject to all applicable provisions of this Municipal Code which shall be satisfied by the applicant before any construction permit is issued, or a land use not requiring a construction permit is established.

Where an applicant is required to provide adequate security to guarantee the faithful performance, proper completion and /or maintenance of any approved work and/or compliance with Conditions of Approval, the following provisions apply:

A. Form and Amount of Security. The required security shall be in the form of a cash or
equivalent deposit to the City Treasurer. Where approved by the City Manager, and by the
City Attorney as to form, a certificate of deposit, instrument or letter of credit, with the City
named as beneficiary, may be used as security. The amount of security shall be determined
by the City Manager as the amount necessary to insure proper completion and maintenance
of the work and/or compliance with Conditions of Approval.

B. Duration of Security. Required security shall be retained for the time period specified in
the Conditions of Approval of the project. Where no such period is specified, required
security shall be retained until either the City Manager determines the work, including
ongoing maintenance obligations, has been completed or one (1) year after the date of final
inspection, whichever is sooner. In certain cases, a longer duration of security may be
required by conditions of the project.

C. Release or Forfeit of Security. Upon satisfactory completion of work and the approval of
a final inspection (or after the end of the required time for security maintenance), the
improvement and/or maintenance security shall be released. However, failure to complete
the work, failure to comply with all of the terms of any applicable approval or failure of the
completed improvements to function properly shall entitle the City to recourse to the
security. The City will collect from the applicant or security all costs incurred by the City,
including the costs of completing any of the work and all administrative and inspection
costs. Any unused portion of the deposit shall be refunded to the applicant.
(Ord. 2015-01 § 43)

This section establishes time limits for approved land use and development implementation.

A. Time Limits. Unless Conditions of Approval or other provisions of this Municipal Code
establish a different time limit, any entitlement not exercised within one (1) year of
approval shall expire and become void. The entitlement shall not be deemed exercised until
the applicant has actually obtained a building permit and commenced construction or has
actually commenced the permitted use in compliance with the Conditions of Approval.

B. Extensions of Time by Community Development Director. Upon request by the
applicant, the Community Development Director may extend the time for a land use or
development approval for an additional period of up to one-year unless the terms of
approval of the entitlement state otherwise. The applicant shall submit a written request and
applicable fees for an extension at least ten (10) days prior to the expiration of the entitlement. The Community Development Director shall then determine whether the
entitlement holder has made a good faith attempt to comply with the conditions of the
entitlement. The burden of proof is on the entitlement holder to establish that the
entitlement should not expire.

C. Extensions of Time by Issuing Authority. Upon request by the applicant, the body that
issued the approval may extend the time for a land use or development approval for an
additional period of up to two-years. The applicant shall submit a written request and
applicable fees for an extension at least ten (10) days prior to the expiration of the
entitlement. The issuing authority shall then determine whether the entitlement holder has
made a good faith attempt to comply with the conditions of the approval. The reviewing
authority may also consider whether the findings upon which the original approval was
based can still be made and whether the proposed extension is in furtherance of the goals
and policies of the General Plan. The burden of proof is on the entitlement holder to
establish that the entitlement should not expire.

D. Appeal or Call for Review. Decisions of the Community Development Director pursuant
to subsections B and C may be appealed or called for review.

Changes to a project may be requested either before or after construction or establishment and operation of the approved use.

A. Changes by the Community Development Director. The Community Development
Director may authorize changes to an approved site plan, architecture or the nature of the
approved use if the changes meet all of the conditions listed below:

1. The changes are consistent with all applicable provisions of this Chapter.

2. The changes do not involve a feature of the project that was specifically addressed or
was a basis for Findings in a negative declaration or environmental impact report for
the project.

3. The changes do not involve a feature of the project that was specifically addressed or
was a basis for Conditions of Approval for the project or that was a specific
consideration by the review authority in the approval of the permit.

4. The changes do not result in a significant expansion of the use.

5. The changes do not violate other provisions of the Code or allow other discretionary
approvals.

6. The project remains in substantial conformance to the project as originally approved.

B. Project Amendment. The authority that issued an approval may, after receipt of a written
application using the form provided by the City, approve an amendment to that approval
upon a determination that the proposed amendment would not alter the findings that were
required for that approval and that the goals and policies of the General Plan would be
furthered by allowing the amendment. The same notice, hearing and processing
requirements apply to a request for amendment as applied to the original approval.

C. Other Changes. Other changes shall require a new application processed in compliance with this Code.

A land use and development entitlement granted in compliance with this Article shall run with the land and continue to be valid upon a change of ownership of the site, business, service, use or structure that was the subject of the application. All terms and conditions of the entitlement shall be binding upon the new owners, whether or not recorded against title.