Chapter 19.62

PERMIT IMPLEMENTATION, TIME LIMITS, AND EXTENSIONS

This chapter provides requirements for implementing or "exercising" the permits or entitlements approved in compliance with this Zoning Ordinance, including time limits, and procedures for granting amendments and extensions of time. (Ord. 01-594 § 2, 2001)

• A. Discretionary Decisions by Community Development Director or Planning Commission. Administrative permits, development permits, conditional use permits, minor conditional use permits, modifications, and variances shall become effective on the 11th day following the date a decision is rendered, unless an appeal is filed in compliance with Chapter 19.76 (Appeals). The number of days shall be construed as calendar days. Time limits will extend to the following City Hall working day where the last of the specified number of days falls on a weekend, holiday, or other day when City Hall is officially closed. A decision shall be considered rendered as follow:

  1. Decisions Made Following a Public Hearing. When a resolution is adopted without changes or with changes that are read into the record.

  2. Decisions Made by Staff. When a permit, including plans and conditions is stamped and signed.

• B. Ministerial Permits. Zone clearances and other ministerial staff decisions shall be effective immediately upon being stamped and signed by staff.

• C. Decisions by Council. Development agreements, specific plans, and amendments to the Zoning Map and this Zoning Ordinance shall become effective on the 30th day following the adoption of an ordinance by the Council. A General Plan amendment shall be effective immediately upon adoption of a resolution by the Council.

• (Ord. 01-594 § 2, 2001; Ord. 19-1058 § 209, 2019; Ord. 24-16, 6/24/2024)

• A. Permit Time Limits. To ensure continued compliance with the provisions of this chapter, each approved permit or entitlement shall expire three years from its effective date set by Section 19.62.020, or other date specified in the permit or entitlement, if the use has not been established on the site. These time limits do not apply to temporary use or special event permits, which shall specify their effective date within the approved permit. Time extensions may be granted in compliance with subsection (C), below. The remaining time left on the permit shall also be tolled from the time that an extension request is submitted until the review authority makes a final decision on the request.

If the use authorized by a permit or entitlement has not been established within the required time, and a time extension is not granted, the permit or entitlement shall be deemed void. These time limits shall be tolled while any action, claim or proceeding to attack, set aside or void a permit is pending before any court of law. A case is "pending" from the day the action, claim or proceeding is filed with any court until the court enters its ultimate

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City of West Hollywood, CA § 19.62.030

WEST HOLLYWOOD CODE

§ 19.62.040

disposition of the case, such as entry of an order, judgment or final decision, or issuance of remittitur, whichever action occurs last.

• B. Use Established. An approved use shall be deemed to have been established if actual construction, or the approved activity which did not require construction, has commenced and has diligently been continued.

• C. Extensions of Time.

  1. The applicant may request an extension of the permit expiration date by filing a written request for an extension before the expiration of the permit or entitlement, together with the filing fee required by the city's fee resolution. The permittee has the burden of proof to establish, with substantial evidence, the justification for extension of the permit or entitlement.

  2. The review authority may grant an extension for a period of time that is deemed commensurate with the justification for the extension presented by the applicant, but in no event for more than one year per extension.

  3. No more than two extensions shall be granted per permit or entitlement and the maximum time period for an approved permit or entitlement shall not exceed five years.

  4. Notwithstanding subsection (C)(3), above, the review authority may extend the permit expiration date for one additional year as part of a major change to an approved project (see Section 19.62.070) for a maximum time period of six years. A major change request shall be submitted before a permit's original expiration date, and not during any periods of extension (see subsection (A)).

  5. Minor changes to an approved project are not eligible for the additional one-year extension authorized under subsection (C)(4) above.

• D. Review Authority. Upon good cause shown, the first extension may be approved, approved with modifications, or denied by the Community Development Director. The Community Development Director may refer the application to the Planning Commission. Subsequent extensions of permits approved by the Planning Commission may be approved, approved with modifications, or denied by the Planning Commission. Permit extension decisions may be appealed in compliance with Chapter 19.76 (Appeals).

• E. Public Notice for Extensions.

  1. Notice of a requested extension shall be given in compliance with Chapter 19.74 (Public Hearings and Notice) and by mail 10 days in advance of the hearing to any person who spoke or wrote a letter that was read on the record or submitted to the Community Development Director on or before the date of the original approval.

  2. Notwithstanding subsection (E)(1), notice of the decision on a time extension for a reasonable accommodation permit shall be provided as specified in Section 19.69.050(A).

(Ord. 01-594 § 2, 2001; Ord. 04-683 § 5 (Att. A), 2004; Ord. 10-861 § 5, 2010; Ord. 12-894

§ 2, 2012; Ord. 15-957 § 7, 2015; Ord. 19-1058 §§ 210, 211, 2019; Ord. 24-16, 6/24/2024)

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City of West Hollywood, CA

ZONING ORDINANCE

§ 19.62.040

§ 19.62.070

No land use permit approval in compliance with this chapter shall be deemed effective and no construction permit shall be issued until each owner of record signs and executes an affidavit provided by the Community Development Department declaring that each owner is aware of and accepts any conditions of approval that have been imposed upon the land use permit, and each owner records or has recorded the permit and affidavit with the Los Angeles County RegistrarRecorder's Office.

(Ord. 01-594 § 2, 2001; Ord. 19-1058 § 212, 2019; Ord. 24-16, 6/24/2024)

The applicant or owner may be required by a permit's conditions of approval or by action of the Community Development Director to provide adequate security to guarantee the faithful performance of any or all conditions of approval imposed by the review authority. The Community Development Director shall set the amount of the required security at a level that is reasonable in relation to the conditions being guaranteed.

(Ord. 01-594 § 2, 2001; Ord. 19-1058 § 213, 2019; Ord. 24-16, 6/24/2024)

Construction permits for a project which is required to be authorized through the approval of a land use permit in compliance with this article may be issued only after:

• A. The appeal period provided by Chapter 19.76 (Appeals) has expired without an appeal being filed, or an appeal has been concluded by the appeal body approving the project; and

• B. All conditions of approval prerequisite to construction have been completed, or the Community Development Director has authorized their deferral on the basis of a performance guarantee (see Section 19.62.050, Performance guarantees).

• (Ord. 01-594 § 2, 2001; Ord. 19-1058 § 214, 2019; Ord. 24-16, 6/24/2024)

An approved development or new land use shall be established only as specified by the approved land use permit, and subject to any conditions of approval. An applicant may request, in writing, to amend the approved permit, and shall furnish appropriate supporting materials and an explanation of the reasons for the request.

• A. Minor changes may be approved, modified, or denied by the Community Development Director. Major changes shall be approved, modified or denied by the original review authority.

• B. The Community Development Director shall determine whether a proposed change is major or minor. The determination that the change is major depends on whether the proposal may result in:

  1. Significant impacts to the surrounding neighborhood;

  2. Significant environmental impacts;

  3. A change to the approved use or a significant change to project design;

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City of West Hollywood, CA § 19.62.070

WEST HOLLYWOOD CODE

§ 19.62.100

4. A change to the basis on which the environmental determination for the project was made; or

5. A change to the basis upon which the review authority made the findings for approval of the project.

A major change request shall be processed in the same manner as the original permit or entitlement. See Section 19.62.030(C) for extensions of time, which may be approved for major change(s) to an approved project.

(Ord. 01-594 § 2, 2001; Ord. 15-957 § 8, 2015; Ord. 19-1058 § 215, 2019; Ord. 24-16, 6/24/ 2024)

A land use permit that is valid and in effect, and was granted in compliance with the provisions of this Zoning Ordinance, shall run with the land and continue to be valid upon a change of ownership of the land.

(Ord. 01-594 § 2, 2001)

• A. Denial With Prejudice. An application or appeal may be denied with prejudice. If the denial becomes final, no further application for the same or substantially similar discretionary permit or entitlement for the same parcel shall be filed for a period of one year. An application may be denied with prejudice on the grounds that two or more similar applications for the same parcel have been denied in the past two years, or that another cause exists for limiting the refiling of the application.

The Community Development Director shall determine whether a subsequent application for a discretionary land use permit or entitlement is for the same or a substantially similar use, or land use request that was denied with prejudice.

• B. Denial Without Prejudice. There shall be no limitation on subsequent land use permit applications for a parcel on which a project was denied without prejudice.

• (Ord. 01-594 § 2, 2001; Ord. 19-1058 § 216, 2019; Ord. 24-16, 6/24/2024)

• A. Applicability. When necessary to achieve the land use goals of the city, the city may require a property owner holding property in common ownership to execute and record a covenant of easement in favor of the city.

  1. A covenant of easement may be required to provide for parking and pedestrian access, ingress, egress, emergency access, light and air access, landscaping, or for open space, other features and amenities.

  2. The covenant may be imposed as a condition of approval by the review authority.

• B. Form of Covenant. The form of the covenant shall be approved by the City Attorney, and the covenant shall:

  1. Describe the real property to be subject to the easement;

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City of West Hollywood, CA

ZONING ORDINANCE

§ 19.62.100

§ 19.62.100

2. Describe the real property to be benefitted by the easement; and

3. Identify the city approval or permit granted which relied on or required the covenant.

• C. Recordation. The covenant of easement shall be recorded in the County Recorder's Office.

• D. Effect of Covenant. From and after the time of its recordation, the covenant of easement shall:

  1. Act as an easement in compliance with state law (Chapter 3 [commencing with Section 801] of Title 2 of Part 2 of Division 2 of the Civil Code), except that it shall not merge into any other interest in the real property. Civil Code Section 1104 shall apply to the conveyance of the affected real property.

  2. Impart notice to all persons to the extent afforded by the recording laws of the state. Upon recordation, the burdens of the covenant shall be binding on, and the benefits of the covenant shall inure to, all successors-in-interest to the real property.

• E. Enforceability. The covenant shall be enforceable by the successors-in-interest to the real property benefitted by the covenant and the city. Nothing in this section creates standing in any person, other than the city, and any owner of the real property burdened or benefitted by the covenant, to enforce or to challenge the covenant or any requested amendment or release.

• F. Release of Covenant. The covenant may be released by the city, at the request of any person, including the city or an affected property owner and after a public hearing, on a determination that the restriction on the property is no longer necessary to achieve the land use goals of the city. The release may be effected by the review authority which originally imposed the requirement for the covenant. A notice of the release of the covenant shall be recorded by the city with the County Recorder's Office.

• G. Fees. The city may impose fees to recover the city's reasonable cost of processing a request for a release. Fees for the processing shall be specified in the city's Fee Resolution.

• (Ord. 01-594 § 2, 2001)

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City of West Hollywood, CA