2005 California Government Code Sections 65950-65957.5 Article 5. Approval of Development Permits

65950.  (a) Any public agency that is the lead agency for a
development project shall approve or disapprove the project within
whichever of the following periods is applicable:
   (1) One hundred eighty days from the date of certification by the
lead agency of the environmental impact report if an environmental
impact report is prepared pursuant to Section 21100 or 21151 of the
Public Resources Code for the development project.
   (2) Ninety days from the date of certification by the lead agency
of the environmental impact report if an environmental impact report
is prepared pursuant to Section 21100 or 21151 of the Public
Resources Code for the development project and all of the following
conditions are met:
   (A) The development project is affordable to very low or
low-income households, as defined by Sections 50105 and 50079.5 of
the Health and Safety Code, respectively.
   (B) Prior to the application being deemed complete for the
development project pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section
65940), the lead agency received written notice from the project
applicant that an application has been made or will be made for an
allocation or commitment of financing, tax credits, bond authority,
or other financial assistance from a public agency or federal agency,
and the notice specifies the financial assistance that has been
applied for or will be applied for and the deadline for application
for that assistance, the requirement that one of the approvals of the
development project by the lead agency is a prerequisite to the
application for or approval of the application for financial
assistance, and that the financial assistance is necessary for the
project to be affordable as required pursuant to subparagraph (A).
   (C) There is confirmation that the application has been made to
the public agency or federal agency prior to certification of the
environmental impact report.
   (3) Sixty days from the date of adoption by the lead agency of the
negative declaration if a negative declaration is completed and
adopted for the development project.
   (4) Sixty days from the determination by the lead agency that the
project is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act
(Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources
Code) if the project is exempt from the California Environmental
Quality Act.
   (b) Nothing in this section precludes a project applicant and a
public agency from mutually agreeing in writing to an extension of
any time limit provided by this section pursuant to Section 65957.
   (c) For purposes of this section, "lead agency" and "negative
declaration" shall have the same meaning as those terms are defined
in Sections 21067 and 21064 of the Public Resources Code,
respectively.
65950.1.  Notwithstanding Section 65950, if there has been an
extension of time pursuant to Section 21100.2 or 21151.5 of the
Public Resources Code to complete and certify the environmental
impact report, the lead agency shall approve or disapprove the
project within 90 days after certification of the environmental
impact report.
65950.5.  (a) If an applicant for a development project for natural
gas exploration or production and a public agency agree in writing to
expedite the public agency's actions pursuant to Article 3
(commencing with Section 65940) or this article, the public agency
may provide the services, contract with a private entity, or employ
persons on a temporary basis to perform the services necessary to
meet those time limits.
   (b) The private entities or persons temporarily employed by the
public agency may, pursuant to a contract or agreement with the
public agency, perform any of the functions necessary to comply with
the requirements of Article 3 (commencing with Section 65940), this
article, or local ordinances adopted pursuant to those articles,
except those functions reserved by those articles or local ordinances
to the legislative body of a local agency.
   (c) A public agency may charge the applicant a fee that does not
exceed the estimated reasonable cost of providing the service
pursuant to this section.  A local agency shall comply with Section
66014, Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 66016), and Chapter 9
(commencing with Section 66020).
65951.  In the event that a combined environmental impact
report-environmental impact statement is being prepared on a
development project pursuant to Section 21083.6 of the Public
Resources Code, a lead agency shall approve or disapprove the project
within 90 days after the combined environmental impact
report-environmental impact statement has been completed and adopted.
65952.  (a) Any public agency which is a responsible agency for a
development project that has been approved by the lead agency shall
approve or disapprove the development project within whichever of the
following periods of time is longer:
   (1) Within 180 days from the date on which the lead agency has
approved the project.
   (2) Within 180 days of the date on which the completed application
for the development project has been received and accepted as
complete by that responsible agency.
   (b) At the time a decision by a lead agency to disapprove a
development project becomes final, applications for that project
which are filed with responsible agencies shall be deemed withdrawn.
65952.1.  (a) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (b), where
a development project consists of a subdivision pursuant to the
Subdivision Map Act (Division 2 (commencing with Section 66410) of
Title 7), the time limits established by Sections 65950 and 65952
shall apply to the approval or disapproval of the tentative map, or
the parcel map for which a tentative map is not required.
   (b) The time limits specified in Sections 66452.1, 66452.2, and
66463 for tentative maps and parcel maps for which a tentative map is
not required, shall continue to apply and are not extended by the
time limits specified in subdivision (a).
65952.2.  No public agency shall disapprove an application for a
development project in order to comply with the time limits specified
in this chapter.  Any disapproval of an application for a
development project shall specify reasons for disapproval other than
the failure to timely act in accordance with the time limits
specified in this chapter.
65953.  All time limits specified in this article are maximum time
limits for approving or disapproving development projects.  All
public agencies shall, if possible, approve or disapprove development
projects in shorter periods of time.
65954.  The time limits established by this article shall not apply
in the event that federal statutes or regulations require time
schedules which exceed such time limits.
65955.  The time limits established by this article shall not apply
to applications to appropriate water where such applications have
been protested pursuant to Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 1330)
of Part 2 of Division 2 of the Water Code, or to petitions for
changes pursuant to Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 1700) of Part
2 of Division 2 of the Water Code.
65956.  (a) If any provision of law requires the lead agency or
responsible agency to provide public notice of the development
project or to hold a public hearing, or both, on the development
project and the agency has not provided the public notice or held the
hearing, or both, at least 60 days prior to the expiration of the
time limits established by Sections 65950 and 65952, the applicant or
his or her representative may file an action pursuant to Section
1085 of the Code of Civil Procedure to compel the agency to provide
the public notice or hold the hearing, or both, and the court shall
give the proceedings preference over all other civil actions or
proceedings, except older matters of the same character.
   (b) In the event that a lead agency or a responsible agency fails
to act to approve or to disapprove a development project within the
time limits required by this article, the failure to act shall be
deemed approval of the permit application for the development
project.  However, the permit shall be deemed approved only if the
public notice required by law has occurred.  If the applicant has
provided seven days advance notice to the permitting agency of the
intent to provide public notice, then no earlier than 60 days from
the expiration of the time limits established by Sections 65950 and
65952, an applicant may provide the required public notice using the
distribution information provided pursuant to Section 65941.5.  If
the applicant chooses to provide public notice, that notice shall
include a description of the proposed development substantially
similar to the descriptions which are commonly used in public notices
by the permitting agency, the location of the proposed development,
the permit application number, the name and address of the permitting
agency, and a statement that the project shall be deemed approved if
the permitting agency has not acted within 60 days.  If the
applicant has provided the public notice required by this section,
the time limit for action by the permitting agency shall be extended
to 60 days after the public notice is provided.  If the applicant
provides notice pursuant to this section, the permitting agency shall
refund to the applicant any fees which were collected for providing
notice and which were not used for that purpose.
   (c) Failure of an applicant to submit complete or adequate
information pursuant to Sections 65943 to 65944, inclusive, may
constitute grounds for disapproving a development project.
   (d) Nothing in this section shall diminish the permitting agency's
legal responsibility to provide, where applicable, public notice and
hearing before acting on a permit application.
65956.5.  (a) Prior to an applicant providing advance notice to an
environmental agency of the intent to provide public notice pursuant
to subdivision (b) of Section 65956 for action on an environmental
permit, the applicant may submit an appeal in writing to the
governing body of the environmental agency, or if there is no
governing body, to the director of the environmental agency, as
provided by the environmental agency, for a determination regarding
the failure by the environmental agency to take timely action on the
issuance or denial of the environmental permit in accordance with the
time limits specified in this chapter.
   (b) There shall be a final written determination by the
environmental agency on the appeal not later than 60 calendar days
after receipt of the applicant's written appeal.  The final written
determination by the environmental agency shall specify both of the
following:
   (1) The reason or reasons for failing to act pursuant to the time
limits in this chapter.
   (2) A date by which the environmental agency shall act on the
permit application.
   (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, any
appeal submitted pursuant to subdivision (a) involving an
environmental permit from an environmental agency shall be made to
the Secretary for Environmental Protection if the environmental
agency declines to accept the appeal for a decision pursuant to
subdivision (a) or the environmental agency does not make a final
written determination pursuant to subdivision (b).
   (d) Any appeal submitted pursuant to subdivision (a) involving an
environmental permit to a board, office, or department within the
California Environmental Protection Agency shall be made to the
Secretary for Environmental Protection.
   (e) For purposes of this section, "environmental permit" has the
same meaning as defined in Section 71012 of the Public Resources
Code, and "environmental agency" has the same meaning as defined in
Section 71011 of the Public Resources Code, except that
"environmental agency" does not include the agencies described in
subdivisions (c) and (h) of Section 71011 of the Public Resources
Code.
65957.  The time limits established by Sections 65950, 65950.1,
65951, and 65952 may be extended once upon mutual written agreement
of the project applicant and the public agency for a period not to
exceed 90 days from the date of the extension.  No other extension,
continuance, or waiver of these time limits either by the project
applicant or the lead agency shall be permitted, except as provided
in this section and Section 65950.1.  Failure of the lead agency to
act within these time limits may result in the project being deemed
approved pursuant to the provisions of subdivision (b) of Section
65956.
65957.1.  In the event that a development project requires more than
one approval by a public agency, such agency may establish time
limits (1) for submitting the information required in connection with
each separate request for approval and (2) for acting upon each such
request; provided, however, that the time period for acting on all
such requests shall not, in aggregate, exceed those limits specified
in Sections 65950 and 65952.
65957.5.  (a) Whenever the director of a Department of
Transportation highway district recommends to a public agency
considering an application to subdivide real property or to issue a
construction permit that the agency impose certain conditions on its
approval of the application, the applicant may appeal the district
director's recommendation.
   (b) The Department of Transportation shall adopt regulations
prescribing procedures for effecting an appeal pursuant to
subdivision (a).  The appeal shall be made in writing to the Director
of Transportation.  The director's decision on the appeal shall be
rendered within 60 calendar days after receipt of the appeal, and the
director's written determination shall be transmitted to the
appellant and to the agency to whom the appealed recommendation was
made.  The adopted regulations shall require the appellant to pay to
the department a fee of not more than 50 percent of the estimated
administrative cost to the department of conducting the appeal.
   (c) The appeal process, including the director's written
determination, shall be completed at least 60 days prior to
completion of the period of public review for a draft environmental
impact report or a negative declaration prescribed by Section 21091
of the Public Resources Code.