DATE:
December 20, 2022
TO:
Mayor and Council Members
FROM:
Nils Bentsen, City Manager
BY:
Rachel Molina Assistant City Manager
Ryan Leonard, Senior Planner
SUBJECT:
Appeal to the City Council (APP22-00003); Applicant Pacific Communities Builder; APNs: 3046-011-12
RECOMMENDED ACTION
It is recommended that the City Council adopt Resolution No. 2022-82, denying appeal APP22-00003 and upholding the Planning Commission and Development Review Committee (DRC) denial of a second extension of time for Tentative Tract No. 15033 (TTE22-00004).
BACKGROUND
Proposal: On November 8, 2022 the Planning Commission voted 2-1 (Commissioner’s Bartz and Dunbar were absent; Commissioner Steeno abstained) to uphold the DRC’s denial for a second extension of time for TT-15033. The Planning Commission denied the extension of time for the reasons that are listed below in this staff report. Although the applicant is requesting that the City Council grant this appeal to overturn the Planning Commission’s denial, the City Council is precluded from granting a discretionary extension of time.
Current General Plan, Zoning and Land Uses: The project is located on the northwest corner of Palm Street and Fuente Avenue. The site is within Single Family Residential (R1) zone. The surrounding land is designated as noted on Attachment 1. The property is currently vacant. Single-family residences exist to the south and the Rick Novak Community Center is to the west. The properties to the north and east are vacant (Attachment 2).
Project Approval Timelines:
On December 9, 2008, the Planning Commission approved TT-15033 to subdivide 10 gross acres into 36 single-family residential lots. The smallest lot was 7,200 square feet, the largest lot was 16,521 square feet and the average lot size was 8,456 square feet. TT-15033 was approved for 3 years and was set to expire on December 19, 2011.
In 2009, 2011, and 2013 the California Legislature passed assembly bills automatically extending the expiration dates of tentative maps. These automatic extensions amounted to 6 years of automatic State extensions. The automatic extensions are in addition to multiple City discretionary extensions that are allowed by the Subdivision Map Act. The Subdivision Map Act allows the City to extend a tentative tract map for a maximum of 6 total years. The 6 years is a cumulative total, and the extensions of time may be broken up into multiple increments.
On January 10, 2018, the DRC approved the first extension of time for TT-15033 that extended the tract for an additional 3 years.
In 2020 the California Legislature passed Assembly Bill AB-1561 that granted an 18-month extension to residential entitlements that were otherwise due to expire before the end of 2021. AB-1561 was enacted as a result of the ongoing economic and administrative challenges created by the Covid-19 pandemic. Table 1 provides the chronological order of the entitlements for this project.
Table 1: Timeline of the Project Entitlement
Land Use Entitlement Activity
Approval Date
Effective Date
Denial Date
Expiration Date
Length of Extension
Tentative Tract No. 15033
12/09/2008
12/19/2008
12/19/2011
-
Assembly Bill 333; AB-208; AB-116
6 years of automatic State extensions
12/19/17
6 years
TTE17-00018
01/10/2018
12/19/2020
3 years
Assembly Bill 1561
18-month automatic State extension
06/19/2022
18 months
ISSUES/ANALYSIS
In September 2020, the applicant submitted grading plans and improvement plans to the Engineering Division for plan check. The grading plan and improvement plans were reviewed and returned to the applicant on 4 separate occasions, with each plan check containing various corrections. In June of 2022 the 4th plan check was returned to the applicant; there were no additional plan check corrections, however, the applicant was required to provide evidence of compliance with the conditions of approval that specified that the applicant needed to provide an off-site grading letter from the adjacent property owner. In addition, the tract required improvements that were outside the boundary of the City and within the jurisdiction of the County. The applicant was required to coordinate the improvements with the County and provide an approval letter to the City. The applicant was not able to provide any documentation to the City regarding the outstanding conditions of approval and City staff subsequently informed the applicant that TR-15033 was determined to have officially expired.
On June 16, 2022, the applicant submitted an application for an extension of time. On June 29, 2022, the Development Review Committee denied the extension (Attachment 3) on the basis that the request was in conflict with Measure N. Ballot Measure N was approved by City voters in November 2020. Measure N made changes to the City General Plan, Main Street and Freeway Corridor Specific Plan, and City Municipal Code. Among other things, Measure N modified City Municipal Code Section 17.08.040 (E) to state that “no extensions of time are allowed for residential subdivisions.” Measure N was approved by a majority of voters and therefore may only be amended by a subsequent ballot measure. As a result, there is no mechanism in the Development Code that authorizes an approval process for any extensions of time. Furthermore, the Development Code may not be modified to allow for such an approval process.
It’s important to point out that while the City Council does not have the authority to approve a discretionary extension of time, the City Council is authorized under Government Code Section 65864 to enter into a development agreement that could extend the life of the tract. However, the applicant has not submitted an application for a development agreement. Furthermore, development agreements are customarily considered as part of the land use entitlement application at the time when the project is initially approved, not 14 years after the original approval. In addition, approving a development agreement for this purpose would set a questionable precedent and would be inconsistent with Measure N.
CONCLUSION
The City Council does not have the authority to approve a discretionary extension of time. The City Council must uphold the Planning Commission’s denial of a second extension of time for Tentative Tract No. 15033.
ALTERNATIVE(S)
Provide alternative direction to staff.
ATTACHMENTS
Resolution No. 2022-82
Planning Commission Staff Report with Attachments
City of Hesperia STAFF REPORT City of Hesperia STAFF REPORT City of Hesperia
STAFF REPORT
City of Hesperia
STAFF REPORT
Staff Report to the City Council
APP22-00003
December 20, 2022