SECTIONS 65900-65909.5 - California Statutes

GOVERNMENT CODE

SECTION 65900-65909.5

65900. The legislative body of a city or county may, by ordinance,
create and establish either a board of zoning adjustment, or the
office of zoning administrator or both. It may also, by ordinance,
create and establish a board of appeals. Members of a board of zoning
adjustment and members of a board of appeals may receive
compensation for their attendance at each meeting of their respective
boards in a sum to be fixed by the legislative body by which they
are appointed. In addition, they may also receive reasonable
traveling expenses to and from the usual place of business of such
board to any place of meeting of the board within the county or city.

65901. (a) The board of zoning adjustment or zoning administrator
shall hear and decide applications for conditional uses or other
permits when the zoning ordinance provides therefor and establishes
criteria for determining those matters, and applications for
variances from the terms of the zoning ordinance. The board of zoning
adjustment or the zoning administrator may also exercise any other
powers granted by local ordinance, and may adopt all rules and
procedures necessary or convenient for the conduct of the board's or
administrator's business.
(b) In accordance with the requirements for variances specified in
Section 65906, the legislative body of the city or county may, by
ordinance, authorize the board of zoning adjustment or zoning
administrator to decide applications for variance from the terms of
the zoning ordinance without a public hearing on the application.
That ordinance shall specify the kinds of variances which may be
granted by the board of zoning adjustment or zoning administrator,
and the extent of variation which the board of zoning adjustment or
zoning administrator may allow.

65902. In the event that neither a board of zoning adjustment or
the office of a zoning administrator has been created and
established, the planning commission shall exercise all of the
functions and duties of said board or said administrator.
The legislative body of a county may provide that an area planning
commission shall exercise all of the functions and duties of a board
of zoning adjustment or a zoning administrator in a prescribed
portion of the county.

65903. A board of appeals, if one has been created and established
by local ordinance, shall hear and determine appeals from the
decisions of the board of zoning adjustment or the zoning
administrator, as the case may be. Procedures for such appeals shall
be as provided by local ordinance. Such board may reverse or affirm,
wholly or partly, or may modify the order, requirement, decision or
determination appealed from, and may make such order, requirement,
decision, or determination as should be made, and such action shall
be final.

65904. If a board of appeals has not been created and established
the local legislative body shall exercise all of the functions and
duties of the board of appeals in the same manner and to the same
effect as provided in Section 65903.

65905. (a) Except as otherwise provided by this article, a public
hearing shall be held on an application for a variance from the
requirements of a zoning ordinance, an application for a conditional
use permit or equivalent development permit, a proposed revocation or
modification of a variance or use permit or equivalent development
permit, or an appeal from the action taken on any of those
applications.
(b) Notice of a hearing held pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be
given pursuant to Section 65091.

65906. Variances from the terms of the zoning ordinances shall be
granted only when, because of special circumstances applicable to the
property, including size, shape, topography, location or
surroundings, the strict application of the zoning ordinance deprives
such property of privileges enjoyed by other property in the
vicinity and under identical zoning classification.
Any variance granted shall be subject to such conditions as will
assure that the adjustment thereby authorized shall not constitute a
grant of special privileges inconsistent with the limitations upon
other properties in the vicinity and zone in which such property is
situated.
A variance shall not be granted for a parcel of property which
authorizes a use or activity which is not otherwise expressly
authorized by the zone regulation governing the parcel of property.
The provisions of this section shall not apply to conditional use
permits.

65906.5. Notwithstanding Section 65906, a variance may be granted
from the parking requirements of a zoning ordinance in order that
some or all of the required parking spaces be located offsite,
including locations in other local jurisdictions, or that in-lieu
fees or facilities be provided instead of the required parking
spaces, if both the following conditions are met:
(a) The variance will be an incentive to, and a benefit for, the
nonresidential development.
(b) The variance will facilitate access to the nonresidential
development by patrons of public transit facilities, particularly
guideway facilities.

65908. (a) Any agency which institutes a judicial action or
proceeding to enforce zoning regulations may file a notice of the
pendency of the action or proceeding in the county recorder's office
of the county where the property affected by the action or proceeding
is situated. The notice shall be filed at the time of the
commencement of the action or proceeding, and, upon recordation of
such notice as provided in this subdivision, shall have the same
effect as a notice recorded pursuant to Section 409 of the Code of
Civil Procedure.
The county recorder shall record and index the notice of pendency
of action or proceeding in the index of grantors and any other index
relative to the property in question.
(b) Any notice of pendency of action or proceeding filed pursuant
to subdivision (a) may, upon motion of a party to the action or
proceeding, be vacated upon an appropriate showing of need therefor
by an order of a judge of the court in which the action or proceeding
is pending. A certified copy of the order of vacation may be
recorded in the office of the recorder of the county where the notice
of pendency of action is recorded, and upon such recordation the
notice of pendency of the action or proceeding shall not constitute
constructive notice of any of the matters contained therein nor
create any duty of inquiry in any person thereafter dealing with the
property described therein. Such an order of vacation shall not be
appealable, but the party aggrieved by such order may, within 20 days
after service of written notice of the order, or within such
additional time not exceeding 20 days as the court may, within the
original 20 days, allow, but in no event later than 60 days after
entry of the order, petition the proper reviewing court to review
such order by writ of mandate. No such order of vacation shall be
effective, nor shall it be recorded in the office of any county
recorder, until the time within which a petition for writ of mandate
may be filed pursuant to this subdivision has expired.

65909. No local governmental body, or any agency thereof, may
condition the issuance of any building or use permit or zone variance
on any or all of the following:
(a) The dedication of land for any purpose not reasonably related
to the use of the property for which the variance, building, or use
permit is requested.
(b) The posting of a bond to guarantee installation of public
improvements not reasonably related to the use of the property for
which the variance, building, or use permit is requested.

65909.5. The legislative body of any county or city, including a
charter city, may establish reasonable fees for the processing of use
permits, zone variances, or zone changes pursuant to the procedures
required or authorized by this chapter or local ordinance, but the
fees shall not exceed the amount reasonably required to administer
the processing of such permits or zone variances. The fees shall be
imposed pursuant to Sections 66014 and 66016.