SECTIONS 65350-65362 - California Statutes

GOVERNMENT CODE

SECTION 65350-65362

65350. Cities and counties shall prepare, adopt, and amend general
plans and elements of those general plans in the manner provided in
this article.

65351. During the preparation or amendment of the general plan, the
planning agency shall provide opportunities for the involvement of
citizens, California Native American Indian tribes, public agencies,
public utility companies, and civic, education, and other community
groups, through public hearings and any other means the planning
agency deems appropriate.

65352. (a) Prior to action by a legislative body to adopt or
substantially amend a general plan, the planning agency shall refer
the proposed action to all of the following entities:
(1) A city or county, within or abutting the area covered by the
proposal, and any special district that may be significantly affected
by the proposed action, as determined by the planning agency.
(2) An elementary, high school, or unified school district within
the area covered by the proposed action.
(3) The local agency formation commission.
(4) An areawide planning agency whose operations may be
significantly affected by the proposed action, as determined by the
planning agency.
(5) A federal agency if its operations or lands within its
jurisdiction may be significantly affected by the proposed action, as
determined by the planning agency.
(6) (A) The branches of the United States Armed Forces that have
provided the Office of Planning and Research with a California
mailing address pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 65944 when the
proposed action is within 1,000 feet of a military installation, or
lies within special use airspace, or beneath a low-level flight path,
as defined in Section 21098 of the Public Resources Code, provided
that the United States Department of Defense provides electronic maps
of low-level flight paths, special use airspace, and military
installations at a scale and in an electronic format that is
acceptable to the Office of Planning and Research.
(B) Within 30 days of a determination by the Office of Planning
and Research that the information provided by the Department of
Defense is sufficient and in an acceptable scale and format, the
office shall notify cities, counties, and cities and counties of the
availability of the information on the Internet. Cities, counties,
and cities and counties shall comply with subparagraph (A) within 30
days of receiving this notice from the office.
(7) A public water system, as defined in Section 116275 of the
Health and Safety Code, with 3,000 or more service connections, that
serves water to customers within the area covered by the proposal.
The public water system shall have at least 45 days to comment on the
proposed plan, in accordance with subdivision (b), and to provide
the planning agency with the information set forth in Section
65352.5.
(8) The Bay Area Air Quality Management District for a proposed
action within the boundaries of the district.
(9) On and after March 1, 2005, a California Native American
tribe, that is on the contact list maintained by the Native American
Heritage Commission, with traditional lands located within the city
or county's jurisdiction.
(10) The Central Valley Flood Protection Board for a proposed
action within the boundaries of the Sacramento and San Joaquin
Drainage District, as set forth in Section 8501 of the Water Code.
(b) Each entity receiving a proposed general plan or amendment of
a general plan pursuant to this section shall have 45 days from the
date the referring agency mails it or delivers it in which to comment
unless a longer period is specified by the planning agency.
(c) (1) This section is directory, not mandatory, and the failure
to refer a proposed action to the other entities specified in this
section does not affect the validity of the action, if adopted.
(2) To the extent that the requirements of this section conflict
with the requirements of Chapter 4.4 (commencing with Section 65919),
the requirements of Chapter 4.4 shall prevail.

65352.2. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this
section to foster improved communication and coordination between
cities, counties, and school districts related to planning for school
siting.
(b) Following notification by a local planning agency pursuant to
paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 65352, the governing
board of any elementary, high school, or unified school district, in
addition to any comments submitted, may request a meeting with the
planning agency to discuss possible methods of coordinating planning,
design, and construction of new school facilities and schoolsites in
coordination with the existing or planned infrastructure, general
plan, and zoning designations of the city and county in accordance
with subdivision (d). If a meeting is requested, the planning agency
shall meet with the school district within 15 days following
notification.
(c) At least 45 days prior to completion of a school facility
needs analysis pursuant to Section 65995.6, a master plan pursuant to
Sections 16011 and 16322 of the Education Code, or other long-range
plan, that relates to the potential expansion of existing schoolsites
or the necessity to acquire additional schoolsites, the governing
board of any school district shall notify and provide copies of any
relevant and available information, master plan, or other long-range
plan, including, if available, any proposed school facility needs
analysis, that relates to the potential expansion of existing
schoolsites or the necessity to acquire additional schoolsites, to
the planning commission or agency of the city or county with land use
jurisdiction within the school district. Following notification, or
at any other time, the affected city or county may request a meeting
in accordance with subdivision (d). If a meeting is requested, the
school district shall meet with the city or county within 15 days
following notification. After providing the information specified in
this section within the 45-day time period specified in this
subdivision, the governing board of the affected school district may
complete the affected school facility needs analysis, master plan, or
other long-range plan without further delay.
(d) At any meeting requested pursuant to subdivision (b) or (c)
the parties may review and consider, but are not limited to, the
following issues:
(1) Methods of coordinating planning, design, and construction of
new school facilities and schoolsites in coordination with the
existing or planned infrastructure, general plan, and zoning
designations of the city and county.
(2) Options for the siting of new schools and whether or not the
local city or counties existing land use element appropriately
reflects the demand for public school facilities, and ensures that
new planned development reserves location for public schools in the
most appropriate locations.
(3) Methods of maximizing the safety of persons traveling to and
from schoolsites.
(4) Opportunities to coordinate the potential siting of new
schools in coordination with existing or proposed community
revitalization efforts by the city or county.
(5) Opportunities for financial assistance which the local
government may make available to assist the school district with site
acquisition, planning, or preparation costs.
(6) Review all possible methods of coordinating planning, design,
and construction of new school facilities and schoolsites or major
additions to existing school facilities and recreation and park
facilities and programs in the community.

65352.3. (a) (1) Prior to the adoption or any amendment of a city
or county's general plan, proposed on or after March 1, 2005, the
city or county shall conduct consultations with California Native
American tribes that are on the contact list maintained by the Native
American Heritage Commission for the purpose of preserving or
mitigating impacts to places, features, and objects described in
Sections 5097.9 and 5097.993 of the Public Resources Code that are
located within the city or county's jurisdiction.
(2) From the date on which a California Native American tribe is
contacted by a city or county pursuant to this subdivision, the tribe
has 90 days in which to request a consultation, unless a shorter
timeframe has been agreed to by that tribe.
(b) Consistent with the guidelines developed and adopted by the
Office of Planning and Research pursuant to Section 65040.2, the city
or county shall protect the confidentiality of information
concerning the specific identity, location, character, and use of
those places, features, and objects.

65352.4. For purposes of Section 65351, 65352.3, and 65562.5,
"consultation" means the meaningful and timely process of seeking,
discussing, and considering carefully the views of others, in a
manner that is cognizant of all parties' cultural values and, where
feasible, seeking agreement. Consultation between government agencies
and Native American tribes shall be conducted in a way that is
mutually respectful of each party's sovereignty. Consultation shall
also recognize the tribes' potential needs for confidentiality with
respect to places that have traditional tribal cultural significance.

65352.5. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that it is vital
that there be close coordination and consultation between California'
s water supply agencies and California's land use approval agencies
to ensure that proper water supply planning occurs in order to
accommodate projects that will result in increased demands on water
supplies.
(b) It is, therefore, the intent of the Legislature to provide a
standardized process for determining the adequacy of existing and
planned future water supplies to meet existing and planned future
demands on these water supplies.
(c) Upon receiving, pursuant to Section 65352, notification of a
city's or a county's proposed action to adopt or substantially amend
a general plan, a public water system, as defined in Section 116275
of the Health and Safety Code, with 3,000 or more service
connections, shall provide the planning agency with the following
information, as is appropriate and relevant:
(1) The current version of its urban water management plan,
adopted pursuant to Part 2.6 (commencing with Section 10610) of
Division 6 of the Water Code.
(2) The current version of its capital improvement program or
plan, as reported pursuant to Section 31144.73 of the Water Code.
(3) A description of the source or sources of the total water
supply currently available to the water supplier by water right or
contract, taking into account historical data concerning wet, normal,
and dry runoff years.
(4) A description of the quantity of surface water that was
purveyed by the water supplier in each of the previous five years.
(5) A description of the quantity of groundwater that was purveyed
by the water supplier in each of the previous five years.
(6) A description of all proposed additional sources of water
supplies for the water supplier, including the estimated dates by
which these additional sources should be available and the quantities
of additional water supplies that are being proposed.
(7) A description of the total number of customers currently
served by the water supplier, as identified by the following
categories and by the amount of water served to each category:
(A) Agricultural users.
(B) Commercial users.
(C) Industrial users.
(D) Residential users.
(8) Quantification of the expected reduction in total water
demand, identified by each customer category set forth in paragraph
(7), associated with future implementation of water use reduction
measures identified in the water supplier's urban water management
plan.
(9) Any additional information that is relevant to determining the
adequacy of existing and planned future water supplies to meet
existing and planned future demands on these water supplies.

65353. (a) When the city or county has a planning commission
authorized by local ordinance or resolution to review and recommend
action on a proposed general plan or proposed amendments to the
general plan, the commission shall hold at least one public hearing
before approving a recommendation on the adoption or amendment of a
general plan. Notice of the hearing shall be given pursuant to
Section 65090.
(b) If a proposed general plan or amendments to a general plan
would affect the permitted uses or intensity of uses of real
property, notice of the hearing shall also be given pursuant to
paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 65091.
(c) If the number of owners to whom notice would be mailed or
delivered pursuant to subdivision (b) is greater than 1,000, a local
agency may, in lieu of mailed or delivered notice, provide notice by
publishing notice pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of
Section 65091.
(d) If the hearings held under this section are held at the same
time as hearings under Section 65854, the notice of the hearing may
be combined.

65354. The planning commission shall make a written recommendation
on the adoption or amendment of a general plan. A recommendation for
approval shall be made by the affirmative vote of not less than a
majority of the total membership of the commission. The planning
commission shall send its recommendation to the legislative body.

65354.5. (a) A city or county with a planning agency, other than
the legislative body itself, which has the authority to consider and
recommend the approval, conditional approval, or disapproval of a
proposed amendment to a general plan, shall establish procedures for
any interested party to file a written request for a hearing by the
legislative body with its clerk within five days after the planning
agency acts on the proposed amendment. Notice of the hearing shall be
given pursuant to Section 65090.
(b) The legislative body may establish a fee to cover the cost of
establishing the procedures and conducting the hearing pursuant to
subdivision (a). The legislative body shall impose the fee pursuant
to Section 66016.

65355. Prior to adopting or amending a general plan, the
legislative body shall hold at least one public hearing. Notice of
the hearing shall be given pursuant to Section 65090.

65356. The legislative body shall adopt or amend a general plan by
resolution, which resolution shall be adopted by the affirmative vote
of not less than a majority of the total membership of the
legislative body. The legislative body may approve, modify, or
disapprove the recommendation of the planning commission, if any.
However, any substantial modification proposed by the legislative
body not previously considered by the commission during its hearings,
shall first be referred to the planning commission for its
recommendation. The failure of the commission to report within 45
calendar days after the reference, or within the time set by the
legislative body, shall be deemed a recommendation for approval.

65357. (a) A copy of the adopted general plan or amendment to the
general plan shall be sent to all public entities specified in
Section 65352 and any other public entities that submitted comments
on the proposed general plan or amendment to the general plan during
its preparation. Failure to send the adopted general plan or
amendment as provided in this section shall not affect its validity
in any manner.
(b) Copies of the documents adopting or amending the general plan,
including the diagrams and text, shall be made available to the
general public as follows:
(1) Within one working day following the date of adoption, the
clerk of the legislative body shall make the documents adopting or
amending the plan, including the diagrams and text, available to the
public for inspection.
(2) Within two working days after receipt of a request for a copy
of the adopted documents adopting or amending the plan, including the
diagrams and text, accompanied by payment for the reasonable cost of
copying, the clerk shall furnish the requested copy to the person
making the request.
(c) A city or county may charge a fee for a copy of the general
plan or amendments to the general plan that is reasonably related to
the cost of providing that document.

65358. (a) If it deems it to be in the public interest, the
legislative body may amend all or part of an adopted general plan. An
amendment to the general plan shall be initiated in the manner
specified by the legislative body. Notwithstanding Section 66016, a
legislative body that permits persons to request an amendment of the
general plan may require that an amount equal to the estimated cost
of preparing the amendment be deposited with the planning agency
prior to the preparation of the amendment.
(b) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (c) or (d), no
mandatory element of a general plan shall be amended more frequently
than four times during any calendar year. Subject to that limitation,
an amendment may be made at any time, as determined by the
legislative body. Each amendment may include more than one change to
the general plan.
(c) The limitation on the frequency of amendments to a general
plan contained in subdivision (b) does not apply to amendments of the
general plan requested and necessary for a single development of
residential units, at least 25 percent of which will be occupied by
or available to persons and families of low or moderate income, as
defined by Section 50093 of the Health and Safety Code. The specified
percentage of low- or moderate-income housing may be developed on
the same site as the other residential units proposed for
development, or on another site or sites encompassed by the general
plan, in which case the combined total number of residential units
shall be considered a single development proposal for purposes of
this section.
(d) This section does not apply to the adoption of any element of
a general plan or to the amendment of any element of a general plan
in order to comply with any of the following:
(1) A court decision made pursuant to Article 14 (commencing with
Section 65750).
(2) Subdivision (b) of Section 65302.3.
(3) Subdivision (b) of Section 30500 of the Public Resources Code.

65359. Any specific plan or other plan of the city or county that
is applicable to the same areas or matters affected by a general plan
amendment shall be reviewed and amended as necessary to make the
specific or other plan consistent with the general plan.

65360. The legislative body of a newly incorporated city or newly
formed county shall adopt a general plan within 30 months following
incorporation or formation. During that 30-month period of time, the
city or county is not subject to the requirement that a general plan
be adopted or the requirements of state law that its decisions be
consistent with the general plan, if all of the following
requirements are met:
(a) The city or county is proceeding in a timely fashion with the
preparation of the general plan.
(b) The planning agency finds, in approving projects and taking
other actions, including the issuance of building permits, pursuant
to this title, each of the following:
(1) There is a reasonable probability that the land use or action
proposed will be consistent with the general plan proposal being
considered or studied or which will be studied within a reasonable
time.
(2) There is little or no probability of substantial detriment to
or interference with the future adopted general plan if the proposed
use or action is ultimately inconsistent with the plan.
(3) The proposed use or action complies with all other applicable
requirements of state law and local ordinances.

65361. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, upon
application by a city or county, the Director of Planning and
Research shall grant a reasonable extension of time not to exceed two
years from the date of issuance of the extension, for the
preparation and adoption of all or part of the general plan, if the
legislative body of the city or county, after a public hearing, makes
any of the following findings:
(1) Data required for the general plan shall be provided by
another agency and it has not yet been provided.
(2) In spite of sufficient budgetary provisions and substantial
recruiting efforts, the city or county has not been able to obtain
necessary staff or consultant assistance.
(3) A disaster has occurred requiring reassignment of staff for an
extended period or requiring a complete reevaluation and revision of
the general plan, or both.
(4) Local review procedures require an extended public review
process that has resulted in delaying the decision by the legislative
body.
(5) The city or county is jointly preparing all or part of the
general plan with one or more other jurisdictions pursuant to an
existing agreement and timetable for completion.
(6) Other reasons exist that justify the granting of an extension,
so that the timely preparation and adoption of a general plan is
promoted.
(b) The director shall not grant an extension of time for the
preparation and adoption of a housing element except in the case of a
newly incorporated city or newly formed county that cannot meet the
deadline set by Section 65360. Before the director grants an
extension of time pursuant to this subdivision, he or she shall
consult with the Director of Housing and Community Development.
(c) The application for an extension shall contain all of the
following:
(1) A resolution of the legislative body of the city or county
adopted after public hearing setting forth in detail the reasons why
the general plan was not previously adopted as required by law or
needs to be revised, including one or more of the findings made by
the legislative body pursuant to subdivision (a), and the amount of
additional time necessary to complete the preparation and adoption of
the general plan.
(2) A detailed budget and schedule for preparation and adoption of
the general plan, including plans for citizen participation and
expected interim action. The budget and schedule shall be of
sufficient detail to allow the director to assess the progress of the
applicant at regular intervals during the term of the extension. The
schedule shall provide for adoption of a complete and adequate
general plan within two years of the date of the application for the
extension.
(3) A set of proposed policies and procedures which would ensure,
during the extension of time granted pursuant to this section, that
the land use proposed in an application for a subdivision, rezoning,
use permit, variance, or building permit will be consistent with the
general plan proposal being considered or studied.
(d) The director may impose any conditions on extensions of time
granted that the director deems necessary to ensure compliance with
the purposes and intent of this title. Those conditions shall apply
only to those parts of the general plan for which the extension has
been granted. In establishing those conditions, the director may
adopt or modify and adopt any of the policies and procedures proposed
by the city or county pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (c).
(e) During the extension of time specified in this section, the
city or county is not subject to the requirement that a complete and
adequate general plan be adopted, or the requirements that it be
adopted within a specific period of time. Development approvals shall
be consistent with those portions of the general plan for which an
extension has been granted, except as provided by the conditions
imposed by the director pursuant to subdivision (d). Development
approvals shall be consistent with any element or elements that have
been adopted and for which an extension of time is not sought.
(f) If a city or county that is granted a time extension pursuant
to this section determines that it cannot complete the elements of
the general plan for which the extension has been granted within the
prescribed time period, the city or county may request one additional
extension of time, which shall not exceed one year, if the director
determines that the city or county has made substantial progress
toward the completion of the general plan. This subdivision shall not
apply to an extension of time granted pursuant to subdivision (b).
(g) An extension of time granted pursuant to this section for the
preparation and adoption of all or part of a city or county general
plan is exempt from Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of
the Public Resources Code.

65362. Any city, county, or city and county whose application for
an extension of time under Section 65361 has been denied or approved
with conditions by the director may appeal that denial or approval
with conditions to the Planning Advisory and Assistance Council. The
council may review the action of the director and act upon the
application and approve, conditionally approve, or deny the
application, and the decision of the council shall be final. If the
council acts on an appeal and by doing so grants a one-year
extension, that extension of time shall run from the date of the
action by the council.