This chapter establishes procedures that are common to the application
and processing of all permits and approvals provided for in this title,
unless superseded by specific requirement of this title or state law.
Pre-application review is intended to provide preliminary information
on relevant policies, regulations, and procedures, and to identify
significant issues relevant to a proposed project.
A. Applicability.
1. Mandatory Pre-Application Review. Pre-application
review is required for the following projects:
b. Tentative maps and vesting tentative maps where the Planning Commission
is the designated Advisory Agency.
c. Permits for Conversion of Residential Units to Condominiums, Hotels,
or Similar Uses.
d. Development Plans of more than 3,000 square feet of new nonresidential
development.
e. Transfer of Existing Development Right Permit.
f. Projects proposed in accordance with the Average Unit-Size Density Incentive Program, pursuant to Section
30.150.060, Pre-Application and Concept Review Required.
h. General Plan and Zoning Amendments.
i. Local Coastal Program Amendments.
j. Specific Plans and Amendments to Specific Plans.
2. Optional Pre-Application Review. Pre-application
review is optional for all other projects.
B. Review Procedure. The Pre-Application Review Team shall review
the project and associated materials and advise the applicant of relevant
policies, regulations and procedures, identify significant issues
relevant to a proposed project, and document any conclusions and recommendations
in a letter to the applicant. Applicants and their representatives
shall be entitled to meet with the Pre-Application Review Team in
order to discuss the recommendations and any identified issues. The
Pre-Application Review Team is authorized to prepare and effect rules
and procedure as necessary or convenient to carry on the Team's business.
C. Pre-Application Review Team Members. The following City officials,
or their designee, shall be members of the Pre-Application Review
Team:
5. Transportation and Parking Manager;
6. Water Resources Manager; and
7. Any other City official or their designee, when deemed appropriate
by other Team members.
D. Recommendations are Advisory. Neither the pre-application
review nor the provision of information and pertinent policies shall
be construed as a recommendation for approval or denial of the application
by City representatives. Any recommendations that result from pre-application
review are considered advisory only and shall not be binding on either
the applicant or the City.
E. Expiration. Comments and recommendations from any pre-application
review are valid for a period of 12 months from the date of the Pre-Application
Review Team letter. If a project is substantially revised, or if applicable
policies, regulations, or procedures change that could affect the
recommendations or conclusions of the pre-application review, the
Team may require a subsequent pre-application review prior to formal
application submittal. If, however, there are no substantial changes
to either the project or any relevant policies, regulations, and procedures,
the Team may allow the submittal of an application for a development
project up to a maximum of 24 months after the date of the Pre-Application
Review Team letter.
Concept review provides an opportunity for early input from
the Planning Commission or Staff Hearing Officer to staff and applicants.
It is an informal review where general information, questions, comments,
and suggestions for further study may be made. Comments made at the
Concept Review level are not binding for future review. The types
of projects that may benefit most from a Concept Review tend to involve
new or difficult issues, or large development projects.
A. Applicability.
1. Mandatory Concept Review. Concept review
is required for the following projects:
a. Planned Unit Development (PUD) Overlay Zone.
b. Projects proposed in accordance with the Average Unit-Size Density Incentive Program, pursuant to Section
30.150.060, Pre-Application and Concept Review Required.
2. Optional Concept Review. Concept Review
is optional for all other projects.
B. Review Procedure. The Planning Commission shall review the
project and associated materials and advise the applicant of project-related
issues and concerns.
C. Application Requirements. Applications for Concept Review shall be filed with the Community Development Director in accordance with the provisions set forth in Section
30.205.020, Application Forms and Fees. A conceptual plan shall be submitted showing generalized development proposals including, as applicable, lot sizes and open spaces proposed, proposed reductions or waivers, existing easements, existing neighborhood development, and any other information which may be reasonably required by the Community Development Director to aid and assist the Planning Commission in an initial consideration.
D. Public Notice and Hearing. All applications for Concept Review shall require public notice and hearing pursuant to Section
30.205.070, Public Notice, and Section
30.205.080, Conduct of Public Hearings.
E. Recommendations are Advisory. No formal action shall be taken
by the Planning Commission or Staff Hearing Officer regarding the
conceptual proposal. Any recommendations that result from Concept
Review shall be considered advisory only and shall not be binding
on either the applicant or the City.
All projects must be reviewed for compliance with the California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Environmental review will be conducted
pursuant to Title 14 of the
California Code of Regulations (CEQA Guidelines),
and the City of Santa Barbara Guidelines for the Implementation of
the California Environmental Quality Act. If Title 14 of the California
Code is amended, such amendments will govern City procedures.
Unless otherwise specified, whenever the provisions of this
title require public notice, the City shall provide notice in compliance
with state law and the following.
A. Mailed Notice. At least 10 calendar days before the date of
the public hearing or the date of action when no public hearing is
required, the Community Development Director, or the City Clerk for
hearings before the City Council, shall provide notice by First Class
mail delivery to:
1. The applicant and the owner of the subject property;
2. All property owners of record within a minimum 300-foot radius of
the subject property as shown on the latest available records of the
County Assessor; and
3. Any person or group who has filed a written request for notice regarding
the specific application.
4. Alternative Method for Large Mailings. If the number of owners to whom notice would be mailed or delivered
is greater than 1,000, instead of mailed notice, the Community Development
Director or City Clerk may provide notice by placing a display advertisement
of at least one-eighth page in at least one newspaper of general circulation
in the City at least 10 calendar days prior to the hearing.
B. Newspaper Notice. At least 10 calendar days before the date
of the public hearing or the date of action when no public hearing
is required, the Community Development Director, or the City Clerk
for hearings before the City Council, shall publish a notice in at
least one newspaper of general circulation in the City.
C. Additional Noticing Methods. The City may also require public
notice in any other manner it deems necessary or desirable, including,
but not limited to, posted notice on the project site.
D. Contents of Notice. The required Mailed Notice and Newspaper
Notice shall include the following information:
1. Process Information.
a. The date, time and place of the hearing and the name of the Review
Authority, or the date of action when no public hearing is required;
and
b. A brief description of the City's general procedure concerning the
submission of public comments and conduct of hearings and decisions
(e.g., the public's right to appear and be heard).
2. Project Information.
a. The name of the applicant and owner of the subject property;
b. The City's file number(s) assigned to the application;
c. A general explanation of the matter to be considered;
d. A general description, in text or by diagram, of the location of
the property that is the subject of the hearing; and
e. A statement, if applicable, that the project is located within the
City's Coastal Zone, the date of filing of the application, and whether
the project is appealable to the Coastal Commission under Public Resources
Code 30603(a).
E. Failure to Receive Notification. The validity of the proceedings
shall not be affected by the failure of any property owner, resident,
or neighborhood or community organization to receive a mailed notice
or receive notice by any additional noticing methods.
Whenever the provisions of this title require a public hearing,
the hearing shall be conducted in compliance with the requirements
of state law as follows.
A. Generally. Hearings shall be conducted pursuant to procedures
adopted by the hearing body. They do not have to be conducted according
to technical rules relating to evidence and witnesses.
B. Scheduling. Hearings before the City Council shall be scheduled
by the City Clerk. All other hearings required under this title shall
be scheduled by the Community Development Director.
C. Staff Presentation. The Director may prepare a presentation
and staff report regarding the proposed project.
D. Applicant Presentation. An applicant or an applicant's representative
may make a presentation of a proposed project.
E. Public Hearing Testimony. Any person may appear at a public
hearing and submit oral or written comments, either individually or
as a representative of a person or an organization.
F. Time Limits. The Review Authority may establish time limits
for individual testimony and require that individuals with shared
concerns select one or more spokespersons to present testimony on
behalf of those individuals.
G. Continuance of Public Hearing. The Review Authority conducting
the public hearing may, by motion, continue the public hearing to
a fixed date, time and place without additional notice; or the body
conducting the public hearing may continue the item to an undetermined
date and provide notice of the continued hearing in the same manner
and within the same time limits as required for the original hearing.
H. Additional Information. The Review Authority conducting the
public hearing may require additional information or cause such investigations
to be made as it deems necessary and in the public interest in any
matter to be heard by it.
I. Decision. The public hearing must be closed before a vote
is taken.
When making a decision to approve, approve with conditions,
revise, revoke or deny any discretionary permit or approval under
this title, the Review Authority shall issue a written Record of Decision
and make findings of fact as required by this title. The Record may
take the form of a resolution, letter, notice, memo, meeting minutes
or similar document, and shall describe the action taken, including
any applicable conditions, and shall list the findings that were the
basis for the decision. The Community Development Director or the
City Clerk shall retain the original Record and provide a copy of
the Record to the applicant.
A. Notice of Final Action, Coastal Development Permits. Within
seven calendar days of a final City decision on an application for
a coastal development permit, the Community Development Director shall
provide notice of the action in writing by first class mail to the
California Coastal Commission and to any persons who specifically
requested such notice and provided a self-addressed, stamped envelope.
Such notice shall include conditions of approval, written findings
and the procedures for appeal of the City decision to the California
Coastal Commission.
A final decision on an application for any discretionary permit
or approval subject to appeal shall become effective after the expiration
of any applicable appeal period following the date of action, unless
an appeal is filed. No building permit or business license shall be
issued until the permit or approval becomes effective.
Permits and approvals granted under this title shall automatically
expire and become null and void if the approval is not exercised pursuant
to subsection A, Exercising a Permit or Approval, or the approved
use, structure, or site development is not continued pursuant to subsection
B, Continuation of Use, Structure, or Site Development.
A. Exercising a Permit or Approval. A permit or approval is exercised
when a valid City building permit has been issued for work related
to the approval and construction work has begun and been carried on
diligently without substantial suspension or abandonment of work.
If an approval does not require a permit for construction, alterations,
or to establish a use, the approval shall be considered exercised
when operations of the use authorized by the approval have commenced.
1. Time Period to Exercise a Permit or Approval. A permit or approval granted under this title shall be
exercised within its initial approval period unless a time extension
is granted pursuant to paragraph 2, Extensions, of this subsection,
or as provided below.
a. Initial Approval Period.
i. Development Plans, Transfer of Existing Development Rights
Permits, and Conditional Use Permits for Overlay Zones. Four years from the effective date.
ii. Other Discretionary Permits or Approvals. Three
years from the effective date unless a different time is specified
in the Record of Decision.
iii.
Zoning Clearance. 12 months, or the effective
date of applicable ordinance changes, whichever is sooner.
b. Multiple Land Use Approvals. If a project requires
multiple discretionary permits or approvals pursuant to Title 22,
27, or 28 of the Santa Barbara Municipal Code, the expiration date
shall be measured from date of the final action of the City on the
longest discretionary permit or approval related to the application,
unless otherwise specified by State or federal law, with the following
exceptions:
i. Design review approval shall be measured from the date of the Project
Design Approval;
ii. Design review approval shall not operate to extend any other discretionary
permit or approval; and
iii.
The recordation of a Parcel Map or Final Map does not extend
any other discretionary permit or approval or design review approval.
Approval periods run concurrently with, not consecutively to,
each discretionary approval term.
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c. Exclusions of Time.
i. Moratorium or Litigation. The periods of time
specified in this section shall not include any period of time during
which either a development moratorium imposed by the City after the
project received a permit or approval, is or was in effect; or a lawsuit
involving the permit or approval for the project is or was pending
in a court of competent jurisdiction. For this exclusion to operate,
the moratorium must apply to an element of the project that received
the permit or approval. The maximum length of any exclusion of time
under this subsection shall be five years.
(1)
Moratorium. Once a moratorium
is terminated, the permit or approval shall be valid for the same
period of time as was left to run on the permit or approval at the
time that the moratorium was imposed or 120 days from the termination
of the moratorium, whichever is later.
(2)
Litigation.
(a)
After service of the initial petition or complaint in the lawsuit
upon the City, the applicant may advise the City of the need for a
litigation tolling stay pursuant to the City's adopted procedures.
(b)
Once the litigation ends, the permit or approval shall be valid
for the same period of time as was left to run on the permit or approval
at the time that the lawsuit was filed.
ii. Tentative Maps. If the project requires the approval of a tentative subdivision pursuant to Title
27 of the Santa Barbara Municipal Code, the periods of time specified in this section shall not include a period of time during which a lawsuit involving the approval of the tentative map is or was pending in a court of competent jurisdiction for which a stay was approved by the Reviewing Authority that approved the tentative subdivision map.
d. Approvals Contingent Upon Action of Other Governmental Bodies. When a discretionary approval by the City made pursuant to this
title is contingent upon an action by another governmental body, including,
but not limited to, the approval of an annexation by the Local Agency
Formation Commission or any action by the California Coastal Commission,
the timeline for all discretionary approvals related to the project
shall not commence until all such outside agency contingencies are
satisfied.
i. The suspension of project timelines allowed in this subsection shall
not exceed three years from the date of the final City action on the
discretionary approval that is contingent upon the action of another
governmental body.
ii. This suspension shall not run consecutively to a moratorium or litigation
exclusion unless the moratorium or litigation legally prevented the
applicant from processing the application before the other governmental
body.
2. Extensions. Extensions of time may
be granted by the Community Development Director upon finding that
the applicant is demonstrating due diligence to implement and complete
the proposed development as substantiated by competent evidence in
the record, and that the project continues to be consistent with this
title, the certified Local Coastal Program, the Coastal Act, or applicable
City ordinances, resolutions and other laws.
a. Projects Not Involving a Tentative Subdivision Map or Lot
Line Adjustment. The Community Development Director may approve
up to two one-year extensions of any permit or approval granted under
this title, except for Development Plans, which may receive only one
one-year extension, upon receipt of a written application with the
required fee prior to the date of expiration of the approval. Under
no circumstances shall the time for exercise of the permit or approval
of development be more than five years after the effective date of
the approval, unless otherwise allowed by State Law or if approvals
are contingent upon other governmental bodies, pursuant to subparagraph
30.205.120.A.1.d, Approvals Contingent Upon Action of Other Governmental
Bodies.
b. Projects Involving a Tentative Subdivision Map or Lot Line
Adjustment. When the permit or approval granted under this
title also includes approval of a Tentative Subdivision Map or Lot
Line Adjustment, the Staff Hearing Officer is the Review Authority
and may approve the requested extension in accordance with the applicable
provision(s) of Title 27.
B. Continuation of Use, Structure, or Site Development. A use, structure, or site development authorized by the permit or approval is considered continued unless the structure or site development are demolished or substantially redeveloped pursuant to Section
30.140.200, Substantial Redevelopment, or the uses authorized by the approval are discontinued pursuant to Section
30.140.080, Discontinuation of Use.
(Ord. 5908, 2019)
No change to any structure, site development, or use for which
a permit or approval has been issued or granted under this title is
permitted unless the permit or approval is revised as provided for
in this title.
A. Substantial Conformance. The Community Development Director
may approve minor changes to approved projects that are found to be
in substantial conformance with the original project description,
findings and conditions; provided that, the minor changes would not
increase the intensity of any aspect of the project that could have
a potentially detrimental effect. Substantial Conformance Determinations
shall be documented by the Director with a Record of Decision and
the Director may request input from applicable City Departments or
the original Review Authority for help in determining whether the
request is consistent with the original approval pursuant to administrative
procedures adopted by a resolution of the City Council.
B. Amendments. A request for a change to a condition of approval;
or a change in an approved structure, site development, or use that
would affect the original project description, findings, or a condition
of approval beyond what the Director finds to be in Substantial Conformance;
shall require approval by the original Review Authority and shall
be processed in the same manner as the original approval.
Any permit or approval granted under this title may be revoked
or revised for cause if any of the conditions or terms of the permit
or approval are violated or if any applicable law or ordinance is
violated.
A. Initiation of Proceeding. Revocation proceedings may be initiated
by the Community Development Director, Chief of Police, or City Administrator.
B. Public Notice, Hearings, and Action. A decision to revoke or revise a permit or approval shall require public notice and hearing before the Planning Commission pursuant to Chapter
30.205, Common Procedures.
C. Required Findings. The Planning Commission may revoke or revise
a permit or approval if it makes any of the following findings:
1. The approval was obtained by means of fraud or misrepresentation
of a material fact by the applicant;
2. The use, building, or structure has been substantially altered or
expanded beyond what is set forth in the permit or approval or substantially
changed in character in a manner that violates the terms of the permit
or approval;
3. There is or has been a documented violation of, or failure to observe
the terms or conditions of, the permit or approval, or the use has
been conducted in violation of the provisions of this title, or any
applicable law or regulation; or
4. The use to which the permit or approval applies has been conducted
in a manner detrimental to the public safety, health or welfare, or
so as to be a nuisance.
(Ord. 6027 § 6, 2021)