SECTIONS 66020-66025 - California Statutes

GOVERNMENT CODE

SECTION 66020-66025

66020. (a) Any party may protest the imposition of any fees,
dedications, reservations, or other exactions imposed on a
development project, as defined in Section 66000, by a local agency
by meeting both of the following requirements:
(1) Tendering any required payment in full or providing
satisfactory evidence of arrangements to pay the fee when due or
ensure performance of the conditions necessary to meet the
requirements of the imposition.
(2) Serving written notice on the governing body of the entity,
which notice shall contain all of the following information:
(A) A statement that the required payment is tendered or will be
tendered when due, or that any conditions which have been imposed are
provided for or satisfied, under protest.
(B) A statement informing the governing body of the factual
elements of the dispute and the legal theory forming the basis for
the protest.
(b) Compliance by any party with subdivision (a) shall not be the
basis for a local agency to withhold approval of any map, plan,
permit, zone change, license, or other form of permission, or
concurrence, whether discretionary, ministerial, or otherwise,
incident to, or necessary for, the development project. This section
does not limit the ability of a local agency to ensure compliance
with all applicable provisions of law in determining whether or not
to approve or disapprove a development project.
(c) Where a reviewing local agency makes proper and valid findings
that the construction of certain public improvements or facilities,
the need for which is directly attributable to the proposed
development, is required for reasons related to the public health,
safety, and welfare, and elects to impose a requirement for
construction of those improvements or facilities as a condition of
approval of the proposed development, then in the event a protest is
lodged pursuant to this section, that approval shall be suspended
pending withdrawal of the protest, the expiration of the limitation
period of subdivision (d) without the filing of an action, or
resolution of any action filed. This subdivision confers no new or
independent authority for imposing fees, dedications, reservations,
or other exactions not presently governed by other law.
(d) (1) A protest filed pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be filed
at the time of approval or conditional approval of the development
or within 90 days after the date of the imposition of the fees,
dedications, reservations, or other exactions to be imposed on a
development project. Each local agency shall provide to the project
applicant a notice in writing at the time of the approval of the
project or at the time of the imposition of the fees, dedications,
reservations, or other exactions, a statement of the amount of the
fees or a description of the dedications, reservations, or other
exactions, and notification that the 90-day approval period in which
the applicant may protest has begun.
(2) Any party who files a protest pursuant to subdivision (a) may
file an action to attack, review, set aside, void, or annul the
imposition of the fees, dedications, reservations, or other exactions
imposed on a development project by a local agency within 180 days
after the delivery of the notice. Thereafter, notwithstanding any
other law to the contrary, all persons are barred from any action or
proceeding or any defense of invalidity or unreasonableness of the
imposition. Any proceeding brought pursuant to this subdivision shall
take precedence over all matters of the calendar of the court except
criminal, probate, eminent domain, forcible entry, and unlawful
detainer proceedings.
(e) If the court finds in favor of the plaintiff in any action or
proceeding brought pursuant to subdivision (d), the court shall
direct the local agency to refund the unlawful portion of the
payment, with interest at the rate of 8 percent per annum, or return
the unlawful portion of the exaction imposed.
(f) (1) If the court grants a judgment to a plaintiff
invalidating, as enacted, all or a portion of an ordinance or
resolution enacting a fee, dedication, reservation, or other
exaction, the court shall direct the local agency to refund the
unlawful portion of the payment, plus interest at an annual rate
equal to the average rate accrued by the Pooled Money Investment
Account during the time elapsed since the payment occurred, or to
return the unlawful portion of the exaction imposed.
(2) If an action is filed within 120 days of the date at which an
ordinance or resolution to establish or modify a fee, dedication,
reservation, or other exactions to be imposed on a development
project takes effect, the portion of the payment or exaction
invalidated shall also be returned to any other person who, under
protest pursuant to this section and under that invalid portion of
that same ordinance or resolution as enacted, tendered the payment or
provided for or satisfied the exaction during the period from 90
days prior to the date of the filing of the action which invalidates
the payment or exaction to the date of the entry of the judgment
referenced in paragraph (1).
(g) Approval or conditional approval of a development occurs, for
the purposes of this section, when the tentative map, tentative
parcel map, or parcel map is approved or conditionally approved or
when the parcel map is recorded if a tentative map or tentative
parcel map is not required.
(h) The imposition of fees, dedications, reservations, or other
exactions occurs, for the purposes of this section, when they are
imposed or levied on a specific development.

66021. (a) Any party on whom a fee, tax, assessment, dedication,
reservation, or other exaction has been imposed, the payment or
performance of which is required to obtain governmental approval of a
development, as defined by Section 65927, or development project,
may protest the establishment or imposition of the fee, tax,
assessment, dedication, reservation, or other exaction as provided in
Section 66020.
(b) The protest procedures of subdivision (a) do not apply to the
protest of any tax or assessment (1) levied pursuant to a principal
act that contains protest procedures, or (2) that is pledged to
secure payment of the principal of, or interest on, bonds or other
public indebtedness.

66022. (a) Any judicial action or proceeding to attack, review, set
aside, void, or annul an ordinance, resolution, or motion adopting a
new fee or service charge, or modifying or amending an existing fee
or service charge, adopted by a local agency, as defined in Section
66000, shall be commenced within 120 days of the effective date of
the ordinance, resolution, or motion.
If an ordinance, resolution, or motion provides for an automatic
adjustment in a fee or service charge, and the automatic adjustment
results in an increase in the amount of a fee or service charge, any
action or proceeding to attack, review, set aside, void, or annul the
increase shall be commenced within 120 days of the effective date of
the increase.
(b) Any action by a local agency or interested person under this
section shall be brought pursuant to Chapter 9 (commencing with
Section 860) of Title 10 of Part 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
(c) This section shall apply only to fees, capacity charges, and
service charges described in and subject to Sections 66013, 66014,
and 66016.

66023. (a) Any person may request an audit in order to determine
whether any fee or charge levied by a local agency exceeds the amount
reasonably necessary to cover the cost of any product, public
facility, as defined in Section 66000, or service provided by the
local agency. If a person makes that request, the legislative body of
the local agency may retain an independent auditor to conduct an
audit to determine whether the fee or charge is reasonable, but is
not required to conduct the audit if an audit has been performed for
the same fee within the previous 12 months.
(b) To the extent that the audit determines that the amount of any
fee or charge does not meet the requirements of this section, the
local agency shall adjust the fee accordingly. This subdivision does
not apply to a fee authorized pursuant to Section 17620 of the
Education Code, or Sections 65995.5 and 65995.7.
(c) The local agency shall retain an independent auditor to
conduct an audit only if the person who requests the audit deposits
with the local agency the amount of the local agency's reasonable
estimate of the cost of the independent audit. At the conclusion of
the audit, the local agency shall reimburse unused sums, if any, or
the requesting person shall pay the local agency the excess of the
actual cost of the audit over the sum which was deposited.
(d) Any audit conducted by an independent auditor to determine
whether a fee or charge levied by a local agency exceeds the amount
reasonably necessary to cover the cost of providing the product or
service shall conform to generally accepted auditing standards.
(e) The procedures specified in this section shall be alternative
and in addition to those specified in Section 54985.
(f) The Legislature finds and declares that oversight of local
agency fees is a matter of statewide interest and concern. It is,
therefore, the intent of the Legislature that this chapter shall
supersede all conflicting local laws and shall apply in charter
cities.
(g) This section shall not be construed as granting any additional
authority to any local agency to levy any fee or charge which is not
otherwise authorized by another provision of law, nor shall its
provisions be construed as granting authority to any local agency to
levy a new fee or charge when other provisions of law specifically
prohibit the levy of a fee or charge.

66024. (a) In any judicial action or proceeding to validate,
attack, review, set aside, void, or annul any ordinance or resolution
providing for the imposition of a development fee by any city,
county, or district in which there is at issue whether the
development fee is a special tax within the meaning of Section 50076,
the city, county, or district has the burden of producing evidence
to establish that the development fee does not exceed the cost of the
service, facility, or regulatory activity for which it is imposed.
(b) No party may initiate any action or proceeding pursuant to
subdivision (a) unless both of the following requirements are met:
(1) The development fee was directly imposed on the party as a
condition of project approval.
(2) At least 30 days prior to initiating the action or proceeding,
the party requests the city, county, or district to provide a copy
of the documents which establish that the development fee does not
exceed the cost of the service, facility, or regulatory activity for
which it is imposed. In accordance with Section 6257, the city,
county, or district may charge a fee for copying the documents
requested pursuant to this paragraph.
(c) For purposes of this section, costs shall be determined in
accordance with fundamental fairness and consistency of method as to
the allocation of costs, expenses, revenues, and other items included
in the calculation.

66025. "Local agency," as used in this chapter, means a local
agency as defined in Section 66000.