§ 8111-2

Applications may be filed as provided in the following sections:

a.

Who May Apply—An application for a permit, ordinance amendment or variance may be filed by the owner of the property or his/her authorized agent, by a lessee who holds a lease with terms that permit the use applied for, or by any duly constituted government authority or agent thereof. Regardless of who is the applicant, the property owner shall sign the application.

(Am. Ord. 4123—9/17/96)

b.

Co-applicants—All holders or owners of any other interests of record in the affected property shall be notified in writing of the permit application and invited to join as co-applicant.

c.

Modification, Suspension and Revocation—An application for modification, suspension or revocation of any variance or permit may be filed by any person listed in the preceding section, or by any person or political entity aggrieved; or by an official department, board or commission of the county affected.

d.

Amendments to this Chapter—An application to amend this Chapter shall be proposed in accordance with Article 15.

e.

Appeals—An appeal concerning any order, requirement, permit, determination or decision made in the administration or enforcement of this Chapter may be filed in accordance with Section 8111-7.

f.

Processing Applications Where Violations Occur—No application request for a new entitlement or time extension of an existing entitlement whose initial term has expired shall be accepted if a violation of Chapter 1 or Chapter 2 exists on the lot, unless the acceptance of the application is necessary to abate the existing violation.

(Am. Ord. 4123—9/17/96—grammar)

g.

Nullification of Applications When Violations Are Discovered—Where a violation is discovered on a lot where an application request has been accepted or is being processed after being deemed complete, said application shall become null and void and returned to the applicant. All new applications shall comply with the provisions of this Chapter including, but not limited to, the filing of Late Filing Fees and the submission of full, true and correct information.

h.

Completeness of Application—Not later than 30 calendar days after the Planning Division has accepted an application under this Chapter, the applicant shall be notified in writing as to whether the application is complete or incomplete, except in the case of zone changes, which are legislative acts and thus are not

subject to the 30-day limit. If the application is determined to be incomplete, the applicant shall be notified in writing of the reasons for such determination and of the information needed to make the application complete.

(1)

Review of Supplemental Information—If any application is deemed incomplete and the applicant subsequently submits the required information, the application is then treated as if it were a new filing, and the 30-day review period begins on the day that the supplemental information is submitted.

(2)

Termination of Incomplete Application—Upon written notification to the applicant, processing of an incomplete application may be terminated if no reasonable effort has been made by the applicant to complete the application for a period of six months from the date of notification of incompleteness. All unused fees shall be refunded to the applicant. An extension to this six-month period may be granted by the Planning Director on written request by the applicant showing good cause.

The form and content of all applications shall be determined by the Planning Division. Additional information may be required to be submitted with an application request such as site plans and elevations (in color, with building materials identified), sample floor plans and samples of exterior finishing materials as deemed appropriate by the Planning Director for complete review of the request. If the project is proposed to be developed in phases, the sequence of such phases shall also be shown. For applications to develop oil or gas resources, see Section 8107-5.6 for additional requirements.

The names of all persons entitled to notice pursuant to Section 8111-4 shall be obtained by the applicant and filed with the application. The omission by the applicant of the name and address of any such person is grounds for denial or revocation of the permit, variance, or amendment, or such other action as the Planning Commission or Planning Director may choose to take in regard thereto. Names and addresses of property owners shall be obtained from the last equalized assessment roll, or from such other records of the assessor or tax collector as may contain more recent addresses.

Applications and proposed uses shall be reviewed for the appropriate environmental document and also by various County departments as well as interested parties such as cities and special districts which are involved in the review and conditioning of projects.

(Ord. No. 4518, § 3, 2-6-2018; Ord. No. 4526, § 4, 7-17-2018)

Any application request proposing an activity which is defined as a "project" in the Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Fault Zoning Act (Public Resources Code, Chapter 7.5, section 2621 et seq.) shall be reviewed by the County Geologist in accordance with the requirements of said Act and the policies and criteria established by the State Mining and Geology Board pursuant to said Act.

(Ord. No. 4639, § 9, 12-17-2024)

All projects will be reviewed for location over or near any abandoned or idle-deserted oil or gas well, based on maps provided by the California Geologic Energy Management (CalGEM). In addition, applicants shall notify the County and CalGEM immediately when such wells are encountered in site preparation or construction. Applicants shall bear the cost of reabandonment if required prior to project approval. The County will notify CalGEM of the location of any proposed project that is found to be over or near any such well(s).

(Ord. No. 4639, § 9, 12-17-2024)

All projects will be reviewed for location over or near any abandoned water wells in conjunction with Division 4, Chapter 8, Article 1, of the Ventura County Ordinance Code. Applicants shall immediately notify the Public Works Agency, Groundwater Resources Section, when such wells are encountered in site preparation or construction. Applicants shall bear the cost of abandonment, if required, prior to project approval. The Planning Division will notify the Public Works Agency of the location of any proposed project that is found to be over or near any such well(s).

(Ord. No. 4639, § 9, 12-17-2024)

No person obtains any right or privilege to use land or structures for any purpose or in any manner described in an application request merely by virtue of the County's acceptance of an application or approval of the subject request.

Zoning Clearances and all licenses issued therefrom, and all other entitlements, shall be null and void for any of the following causes, once the applicant has been notified of such nullification:

a.

The application request that was submitted was not in full, true and correct form. Examples of such inadequate submittals are failures to show all existing uses, structures, facilities and improvements, which have been authorized by Division 8, Chapters 1 and 2 of the Ventura County Ordinance Code, or which were commenced without required authorization.

b.

The entitlement issued does not comply with the terms and conditions of the permit originally granting the use under Division 8, Chapters 1 and 2, of the Ventura County Ordinance Code.

c.

The entitlement was issued erroneously.

(Am. Ord. 4123—9/17/96; Ord. No. 4639, § 9, 12-17-2024)

Except as otherwise specified in this Chapter, the decision-making authority may impose a penal and/or performance surety requirement on any discretionary entitlement as a condition of approval of such entitlement. The sureties shall be provided in a form acceptable to the County Counsel.

a.

The required amount of the surety(s) may be increased periodically by the Planning Director in order to compensate for inflation (based on the applicable regional Consumer Price Index) or other factors, so that the same relative value of the surety is maintained over the life of the permit, and to assure that performance sureties continue to reflect the actual anticipated costs for completing a required task. No surety shall be released until after all of the applicable conditions of the permit have been met.

b.

In the event of any failure by the permittee to perform or comply with any term or condition of a discretionary entitlement, the decision-making authority may, after notice to the permittee and after a public hearing, determine by resolution the amount of the penalty or other surety forfeiture, and declare all or part of the surety forfeited. The sureties and principal will be jointly and severally obligated to pay forthwith the full amount of the forfeiture to the County of Ventura. The forfeiture of any surety shall not insulate the permittee from liability in excess of the sum of the surety for damages or injury, nor from expense or liability suffered by the County of Ventura from any breach by the permittee of any term or condition of the permit or of any applicable ordinance or of the surety.

c.

The permittee shall maintain the minimum specified amount of a surety throughout the life of the entitlement. Within thirty (30) days of any forfeiture of a surety, the permittee shall restore the surety to the required level.

(Ord. No. 4639, § 9, 12-17-2024)

Each application request for any purpose subject to the regulations of Division 8, Chapters 1 and 2 of the Ventura County Ordinance Code, except appeals, shall be accompanied by payment of all required processing fees and all outstanding fees, charges, and penalties billed by and owed to the County under Division 8, Chapters 1 and 2 of said Code by the applicant or by persons, partnerships, corporations or other entities owned or controlled by the applicant or owning or controlling the applicant. Furthermore, each application request for any purpose, including appeals and requests for presubmittal review, shall be accompanied by the fee specified in the Board-adopted Fee Schedule before it is accepted for filing and processing.

(Ord. No. 4639, § 9, 12-17-2024)

Exemptions, in whole or in part, from application filing fees may be authorized as set forth in the Boardadopted Fee Schedule.

(Ord. No. 4639, § 9, 12-17-2024)

8111-2.9.2 - Late filing fees.

Where a use actually commences, or construction to that end is commenced, prior to the granting of required County entitlements, a late filing fee for said entitlements shall be collected, in addition to the required processing fees, provided that the County has given written notification to the property owner of the violation. If applications for the entitlements needed to remedy the violation have been filed within thirty (30) days of the issuance of said notification and deemed complete within ninety (90) days of said notification, the late filing fee shall be waived. However, if applications for the required entitlements needed to remedy the violation have not been filed within thirty (30) days of the issuance of said notification, the late filing fee shall be paid by the applicant prior to or at the time of the submittal of the application for the required entitlements. The late filing fee shall be equal to the filing fee or initial deposit of each application request necessary to legalize the violation as set forth in the Board-adopted Fee Schedule, but shall not individually exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000.00.) Payment of a late filing fee does not constitute a vested right and shall not relieve persons from fully complying with the requirements of this Chapter, nor from any other penalties prescribed herein.

(Am. Ord. 4123—9/17/96; Ord. No. 4639, § 9, 12-17-2024)

8111-2.9.3 - Billing method.

Once a project has been acted upon and inaugurated or the application is either withdrawn or closed, the applicant shall be billed for the balance of fees and charges up to the ceiling amount as specified by the Boardadopted Fee Schedule. Should final costs be less than the deposit fee, the unused portion of the deposit shall be refunded to the applicant. Upon written request to the Operations Division of the Resource Management Agency, an accounting of all fees and charges billed to the applicant shall be made available. An applicant may request, or the County may require, incremental billing for processing costs of an application request. All fees and charges shall be due and payable within thirty (30) days of the date of any billing invoice. If billed fees and charges are not paid within thirty (30) days of the invoice date, a penalty charge of five (5) percent of the unpaid balance will be added to the balance due. Each month thereafter, an interest charge of two (2) percent of the unpaid balance shall be added and compounded until the bill is paid in full. Whenever fees and charges are not paid as prescribed, the County shall pursue collection of said fees and charges in a diligent manner, and the permit/entitlement is subject to revocation.

(Ord. No. 4639, § 9, 12-17-2024)

8111-2.9.4 - Failure to pay.

While the County may choose not to stop processing an application for which the applicable billed fees and charges have not been paid, the County may, after a hearing, deny such application based on the applicant's failure to pay said fees and charges. Such fees and charges shall include those costs associated in processing any environmental documents that might be required as a result of an application.

(Ord. No. 4639, § 9, 12-17-2024)

Unless otherwise provided in the conditions of the permit, permits being processed for renewal shall remain in full force and effect until the renewal request is acted on, or up to twenty-four (24) months maximum or all administrative appeals have been exhausted, provided that: 1) the renewal application was accepted as complete by the Planning Division prior to the expiration of the permit; and 2) the permittee is in compliance with all terms and conditions of the original permit at the time of the application for renewal. All the terms and conditions of the original permit must be followed at all times. At the sole discretion of the Planning Director,

the 24 month period may be extended if the protracted time frame for permit processing was substantially beyond the control of the applicant.

If an application requesting a discretionary entitlement under Chapter 1 or Chapter 2 of the Ventura County Ordinance Code, and/or a County legislative action, and/or any other County discretionary permit or approval (collectively, "discretionary approval") is required for a project that includes a request for one or more other discretionary approvals, all applications seeking the discretionary approvals for the project as a whole shall be consolidated for CEQA review, public noticing, public hearing, and/or final decision in accordance with all substantive and procedural requirements applicable to each of the project's constituent discretionary approvals to the extent not in conflict with state law. All discretionary approvals shall be consolidated and considered for final decision by the highest-ranking County decision-making authority (i.e., Planning Director, Planning Commission, or Board of Supervisors) as designated for any of the project's discretionary approvals. If a conflict exists between the procedural or substantive requirements applicable to the project's discretionary approvals, such conflicts shall be harmonized and resolved at the discretion of the Planning Director in consultation with County Counsel in accordance with state law.

(Ord. No. 4639, § 9, 12-17-2024)