Article I — Purpose

• (a) The California Legislature in Section 65864 of the Government Code has found that the lack of certainty in the approval of development projects can result in a waste of resources, escalate

the cost of housing and other development to the consumer, and discourage investment in and commitment to comprehensive planning which would make maximum efficient utilization of resources at the least economic cost to the public.

• (b) The City Council finds and determines that under appropriate circumstances, development agreements will strengthen the public planning process, encourage private participation in comprehensive planning by providing a greater degree of certainty in the process, and through corresponding assurances by the developers, reduce the economic costs to government of development, allow for the orderly planning of public improvements and services and the allocation of costs therefor in order to achieve the maximum utilization of public and private resources in the development process, and assure, to the extent feasible, that appropriate measures to enhance and protect the environment of the City are achieved.

The City Council further finds and determines that the public safety, health, convenience, comfort, prosperity, and general welfare will be furthered by the adoption of this chapter in order to provide a mechanism for the enactment of development agreements with flexibility of adding supplementary regulations to development standards for particular projects and to provide a mechanism for allowing expenditures to respond selectively to development proposals, to encourage the achievement of growth management goals, including assurances of adequate public facilities at the time of development, proper timing and sequencing of development, effective capital improvement programming and appropriate development incentives to accomplish the foregoing purposes and aims and the realization of the benefits to be derived therefrom.

(Ord. 1589 § 1, 7-5-1988; Formerly § 8B-1)

Development agreements enacted pursuant to this chapter are to ensure to the qualified applicant for a development project that upon approval of the project, the qualified applicant may proceed with the project in accordance with certain existing policies, rules and regulations, and subject to specified conditions of approval, in order to implement the intent of the City Council in enacting this chapter. Development agreements will also ensure that all conditions of approval, including the construction of off-site improvements made necessary by such land developments, will proceed in an orderly and economical fashion to the benefit of the City. (Ord. 1589 § 1, 7-5-1988; Formerly § 8B-2)