(California Government Code)
TITLE 7. PLANNING AND LAND USE
DIVISION 1. PLANNING AND ZONING
Chapter 2. Regional Planning Districts
Article 1. General Provisions and Definitions
65060. This chapter may be cited and shall be known
as the Regional Planning Law.
(Added by Stats. 1963, Ch. 1811.)
65060.1. The Legislature finds and declares that the
people of California have a fundamental interest in
the orderly development of the urban regions of the State in which large segments
of the State's population are concentrated.
(Added by Stats. 1963, Ch. 1811.)
65060.2. The Legislature further finds and declares:
(a) That the State has a positive interest in the preparation
and maintenance of a long-term, general plan for the
physical development of each of the State's urban areas that
can serve as a guide to the affected local governmental
units within such
areas and to the state departments and divisions that
are charged with constructing state-financed public
works within such
urban areas.
(b) That continuing growth of the State, and particularly
urban areas within the State, present problems which
are not
confined to the boundaries of any single county or city.
(c) That the planning activities of counties and cities
can be strengthened and more effectively performed
when conducted in
relation to studies and planning of an urban regional
character.
(d) That in order to assure, insofar as possible, the
orderly and harmonious development of the urban areas
of the State, and
to provide for the needs of future generations, it is
necessary to develop a means of studying, forecasting,
and planning for the
physical growth and development of these areas.
(Added by Stats. 1963, Ch. 1811.)
65060.3. "District," as used in this chapter,
means a district created and operating under this chapter.
(Added by Stats. 1963, Ch. 1811.)
65060.4. "Board," as used in this chapter,
means the regional planning board.
(Added by Stats. 1963, Ch. 1811.)
65060.5. "Official census," as used in this
chapter, means any decennial or special federal census,
or an official estimate of the
State Department of Finance.
(Added by Stats. 1963, Ch. 1811.)
65060.6. "Region," as used in this chapter,
means the area included within a district.
(Added by Stats. 1963, Ch. 1811.)
65060.7. "Regional plan," as used in this
chapter, means a comprehensive, long-term general plan
for the physical development
of the region, and any land outside its boundaries which
in the board's judgment bears relation to its planning.
The regional
plan shall consist of a text and a map or maps, and
such recommendations of the regional planning board
concerning current or
future problems as may in its opinion affect the region
as a whole and are proper for inclusion in the regional
plan.
(Added by Stats. 1963, Ch. 1811.)
65060.8. A regional plan shall be advisory only and
shall not have any binding effect on the counties and
cities located within the
boundaries of the regional planning district for which
the regional plan is adopted.
(Added by Stats. 1963, Ch. 1811.)
Article 2. Creation of Districts
65061. There is hereby created a regional planning district
in each of the regional areas designated by the Council
on
Intergovernmental Relations for the purposes of this
chapter after a public hearing within the region. No
county, city and
county, or city shall be divided in determining the
boundaries of a regional planning district.
(Amended by Stats. 1974, Ch. 544.)
65061.2. The boundaries of every regional planning district
shall be coextensive with the boundaries of the region
within which it
is situated.
(Added by Stats. 1963, Ch. 1811.)
65061.3. A district shall not transact any business
or exercise any of its powers under this chapter unless
the legislative bodies of
two-thirds of the counties and two-thirds of the cities,
located within the boundaries of the district, by resolution
declare that
there is a need for such a district to function in the
region.
(Added by Stats. 1963, Ch. 1811.)
65061.4. A district shall not transact any business
or exercise any of its powers under this chapter if
two-thirds of the cities and
counties within the district are participating in regional
planning pursuant to a joint powers agreement under
Chapter 5
(commencing with Section 6500) of Division 7 of Title
1 of the Government Code.
(Added by Stats. 1963, Ch. 1811.)
Article 3. City Selection Committees
65062. The city selection committee organized in each
county within a district pursuant to Article 11 (commencing
with Section
50270) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 1 of Title
5 shall meet within 60 days after the date upon which
the district becomes
operative for the purpose of making the first appointments
to the district board as prescribed in Sections 65063.1
and 65063.3.
Succeeding appointments to the board shall be made by
such city selection committees as required by this
chapter.
(Repealed and added by Stats. 1972, Ch. 1232.)
Article 4. Governing Body
65063. The Regional Planning Board shall be the governing
body of the district, and shall be selected as provided
in this article.
(Repealed and added by Stats. 1963, Ch. 1811.)
65063.1. The number of members of the board to which
each county is entitled shall be determined as follows:
(a) Each county having, within the district, a population
of 350,000 or less shall have two (2) members of the
regional
planning board, one (1) appointed by the board of supervisors
and one (1) appointed by the city selection committee.
(b) Each county having, within the district, a population
of more than 350,000 and not more than 600,000 shall
have four (4)
members of the regional planning board. Two
members shall be appointed by the board of supervisors
and two (2) members shall be appointed by the city
selection
committee.
(c) Each county having, within the district, a population
of more than 600,000 shall have six (6) members of
the regional
planning board. Three (3) members shall be appointed
by the board of supervisors and three (3) members shall
be appointed by
the city selection committee.
The population figures as used herein shall be determined
by the latest official census.
(Repealed and added by Stats. 1963, Ch. 1811.)
65063.2. Within 60 days after the date the district
first becomes operative, the board of supervisors of
each county in the district
shall appoint as members of the regional planning board
of said district the number authorized by Section 65063.1.
The members of the regional planning board appointed
by boards of supervisors shall be members of said boards
of
supervisors.
(Repealed and added by Stats. 1963, Ch. 1811.)
65063.3. The members of the regional planning board
appointed by the city selection committee shall be
mayors or members of
the city councils of the cities.
(Repealed and added by Stats. 1963, Ch. 1811.)
65063.4. A member of the board of supervisors of any
county, or a mayor or member of a city council of any
city within any
county, in the district may be appointed to and serve
contemporaneously as a member of the regional planning
board.
(Repealed and added by Stats. 1963, Ch. 1811.)
65063.5. After the members of the regional planning
board to be appointed by the city selection committees
and the county
boards of supervisors have been designated, they shall
meet and appoint one citizen-at-large member for each
county included
in the district who will be full members of the regional
planning board. These citizen-at-large members shall
be selected from
among persons living within the district who have made
outstanding contributions to, or have demonstrated
an active interest
in, matters of regional concern.
(Repealed and added by Stats. 1963, Ch. 1811.)
65063.6. The term of office of the member shall be four
years and until the appointment and qualification of
his successor;
provided that the first members of the board shall classify
themselves by lot within the city and county group
and the citizen-
at-large group so that approximately one-third (1/3)
of the members of each group shall hold office for
two (2) years,
approximately one-third (1/3) shall hold office for
three (3) years and approximately one-third (1/3) shall
hold office for four
(4) years. The power which originally appointed a member
whose term has expired shall appoint his successor
for a full term
of four (4) years. Any member may be removed by the
power appointing him.
(Added by Stats. 1963, Ch. 1811.)
65063.7. No supervisor, mayor or city councilman shall
hold office on the regional planning board after ceasing
to hold the office
of supervisor, mayor or city councilman, respectively,
and his membership on the board shall thereafter be
considered vacant,
except that any mayor who continues to hold office as
a city councilman, or city councilman who continues
to hold office as
mayor, shall not be considered to have ceased to hold
office under this section.
(Added by Stats. 1963, Ch. 1811.)
65063.8. Any vacancy on the regional planning board
shall be filled for the unexpired term by appointment
by the power which
originally appointed the member whose position had become
vacant.
(Added by Stats. 1963, Ch. 1811.)
65064. No person while serving as a member of the regional
planning board shall be eligible to be appointed to
any salaried
office or employment in the service of the district
nor shall he become eligible for such appointment within
one (1) year after
he has ceased to be a member.
(Added by Stats. 1963, Ch. 1811.)
65064.1. The board is the governing body of the district
and shall exercise all of the powers of the district,
except as otherwise
provided.
(Added by Stats. 1963, Ch. 1811.)
65064.2. A majority of the members of the board constitutes
a quorum for the transaction of business and may act
for the board.
(Added by Stats. 1963, Ch. 1811.)
65064.3. The board may elect a chairman and other officers
as it deems necessary from among its own members.
(Added by Stats. 1963, Ch. 1811.)
65064.4. The board may appoint an executive committee,
consisting of the chairman of the board, and not more
than eight or less
than four other members of the board, and such executive
committee may carry on the administrative and executive
functions
of the board between full meetings.
(Added by Stats. 1963, Ch. 1811.)
65064.5. The board shall meet at least six times in
each year, and may call additional
meetings at its own discretion, or, during periods between
meetings, at the discretion of the chairman or of a
majority of the
executive committee.
(Added by Stats. 1963, Ch. 1811.)
65064.6. Each member of the board shall receive the
actual and necessary expenses incurred by him in the
performance of his
duties, plus a compensation of twenty dollars ($20)
for each day attending the meetings of the board, but
such compensation
shall not exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) in any
one year.
(Added by Stats. 1963, Ch. 1811.)
65064.7. The provisions for the executive committee
set forth in this article shall not be construed to
limit the board or the
executive committee from setting up any other committees
or groups which it may see fit.
(Added by Stats. 1963, Ch. 1811.)
Article 5. Powers and Duties of District
65065. The district shall have power to establish and
maintain such offices as are judged best to facilitate
the accomplishment of
the purposes of the district, and to take by grant,
purchase, devise, or gift, or to lease or rent, and
to hold, use, and enjoy any
property necessary or convenient to the establishment,
maintenance, or operation of such offices, and to exchange
or dispose of
such property, except that the district shall not purchase
real property.
(Added by Stats. 1963, Ch. 1811.)
65065.1. The district may perform the following four
major functions:
(a) The district may prepare, maintain, and regularly
review and revise, a regional plan as defined in Section
65060.7, and
may, after at least two public hearings in different
parts of the region and such other public meetings
as may appear to it
advisable, adopt such plan as the regional plan for
the region. In preparing, adopting, maintaining, reviewing
and revising the
regional plan, the board shall take account of and seek
to harmonize, within the framework of the needs of
the regional
community as a whole, the master or general plans of
cities and counties within the region, and the plans
and planning
activities of state, federal and other public and private
agencies, organizations and instrumentalities within
the region and
adjacent to it.
(b) The district, acting in its own judgment, may make,
publish, or assist in making or publishing, studies
or investigations
of the resources of the region and of existing or emerging
problems of any nature related to the physical growth
and
development, living conditions, beauty, or prosperity
of the region, or any part thereof.
(c) The district may, acting in its own judgment, offer
its facilities and services to assist in the solution
of problems related
to physical development involving two or more governing
bodies, planning commissions, agencies, organizations
or
instrumentalities, public or private; and may otherwise
participate in any program or activity intended to
seek or find common
or co-operative solutions to problems related to physical
development or the integration of policies related
to physical
development and conservation within the region, or in
any part thereof.
(Added by Stats. 1963, Ch. 1811.)
65065.2. The district shall have power to contract or
otherwise participate in, and to accept grants, funds,
or services from the federal government, its agencies or instrumentalities
in connection with any federal program judged by the
board to be relevant
to its functions; and the board shall similarly have
the power to contract or otherwise participate in,
and to accept grants, funds,
or services from the State, or any agency or instrumentality
thereof, or any city, county, civic organization or
private person in
connection with any program judged by the board to be
relevant to its function.
(Added by Stats. 1963, Ch. 1811.)
65065.3. The district shall have power to contract with
any person, firm, association, or corporation, or to
contract for any other
types of services judged by the board to be necessary
or convenient for carrying out the purposes of the
district.
(Added by Stats. 1963, Ch. 1811.)
65065.4. The board, acting with the advice of the director,
shall determine the compensation, number, and general
duties of
personnel employed by the district.
(Added by Stats. 1963, Ch. 1811.)
Article 6. Regional Planning Director
65066. The board shall appoint a regional planning director.
(Repealed and added by Stats. 1963, Ch. 1811.)
65066.1. The regional planning director shall be the
chief administrative and planning officer and technical
adviser of the board.
The director shall, subject to the supervision of the
board:
(a) Direct and administer the preparation, maintenance,
regular review and revision of the regional plan, and
administer and
execute all of the other functions and duties of the
district set forth in this chapter.
(b) Appoint and remove personnel of the district.
(c) Serve, or designate personnel to serve, as executive
secretary to the board.
(d) Perform such other duties and exercise such other
powers as the board may delegate to him.
(Added by Stats. 1963, Ch. 1811.)
Article 7. Co-ordination of Local Planning
65067. To facilitate effective and harmonious planning
and development of the region, all county and city
legislative bodies, and
all county, city or other planning agencies within the
district shall file with the board, for its information,
all county or city
master or general plans, the elements of such master
or general plans, and any other published development
plans, zoning
ordinances, official maps, subdivision regulations,
or amendments or revisions thereof. All agencies, organizations
and
instrumentalities of the State within the region shall
file with the board, for its information, all public
plans, maps, reports and
other documents which are related to regional planning
or physical development.
(Repealed and added by Stats. 1963, Ch. 1811.)
65067.1. To facilitate further the effective and harmonious
planning of the district, the board may request from
the federal
government, its agencies and instrumentalities, and
from private organizations, agencies, or individuals,
copies of those plans,
maps, reports and other documents which are related
to regional planning.
(Added by Stats. 1963, Ch. 1811.)
65067.2. County or city legislative bodies, planning
commissions, and all other county or city planning
agencies within the
district, and agencies, organizations and instrumentalities
of the state and federal government within the district,
and private
planning consultants acting within the district, may
submit proposals for any master or general plan, the
elements of any
master or general plan, any other plan, map, report,
capital improvement program, proposed bond issue, or
any other report or
document or amendments or revisions thereto, prior to
their adoption, to the regional planning board for
its advice thereon,
which advice the board shall give whenever in its opinion
it is reasonably possible for it to do so. Such advice
shall consist of a
report as to the conformance of such proposals to the
regional plan, the possible effect of such proposals
on other portions of
the region, and any other matters which in the judgment
of the board may be of assistance to the body requesting
such advice.
(Added by Stats. 1963, Ch. 1811.)
65067.3. In addition to the other reports, studies and
documents provided in this chapter, the board shall
submit to the legislative
bodies and to the planning agencies of all of the counties,
cities, and to other governmental agencies and instrumentalities,
official representatives, other agencies, organizations
and individuals, public or private, designated by the
board, an annual
report on or before the first day of March. The annual
report shall contain a report on the status of the
regional plan, and
descriptions of those sections of the regional plan
which have been amended, revised, added or deleted
during the year, and a
brief report of other major activities.
(Added by Stats. 1963, Ch. 1811.)
Article 8. Financial Provisions
65069. Pursuant to concurrent resolution adopted by
the boards of supervisors of the several counties in
which the district
functions, such counties may lend to the district out
of available funds an amount not to exceed seventy-five
thousand dollars
($75,000) in order to enable the district to perform
its functions and meet its obligations. The loan shall
be repaid out of the
first tax revenues of the district and shall be repaid
out of such revenues prior to the payment of any other
obligations of the
district.
(Repealed and added by Stats. 1963, Ch. 1811.)
65069.1. Before the 15th day of June of each year the
board shall estimate and determine the amount of money
required by the
district for purposes of the district during the ensuing
fiscal year and shall apportion this amount to the
counties included
within the district, one-half according to the relative
value of all the property in each county within the
district as determined
by the board and one-half in the proportion that the
population of each county bears to the total population
of the district. For
the purposes of this section the board shall base its
determination of the population of the several counties
on the latest official
census information available to it. The total amount
of money required by the district for district purposes
during any one fiscal
year shall not exceed one-half cent ($0.005) on each
one hundred dollars ($100) of the assessed valuation
of all the property
included in the district.
(Added by Stats. 1963, Ch. 1811.)
65069.2. On or before the 15th day of June of each year,
the board shall inform the boards of supervisors of
each county of the
amount apportioned to the county. Each board of supervisors
shall levy an ad valorem tax on the taxable property
within the
county included within the district sufficient to secure
the amount so apportioned to it and such taxes shall
be levied and
collected together with, and not separately from, the
taxes for county purposes and paid to the treasurer
of each of the counties
to the credit of the district.
The board of supervisors, in lieu of levying a tax to
secure the amount so apportioned, and if funds are
available in the
county general fund, may require such amount to be paid
by the county treasurer from the general fund of the
county to the
district treasury.
In lieu of levying a tax and in lieu of using money
in the county general fund to secure all or part of
the amount so
apportioned to the county, the board of supervisors
may, with the consent of the board, contribute to the
district services of
county officers or employees.
(Added by Stats. 1963, Ch. 1811.)
65069.3. Taxes levied by the board of supervisors for
the benefit of the district shall be a lien upon all
property within such
county lying within the district and shall have the
same force and effect as other liens for taxes. Their
collection may be
enforced in the same manner as liens for county taxes
are enforced.
(Added by Stats. 1963, Ch. 1811.)
65069.4. The treasurers of the several counties within
the district shall pay into the district treasury all
funds held by them to the
credit of the district.
(Added by Stats. 1963, Ch. 1811.)
65069.5. The district board shall, in carrying out the
provisions of this article, comply as nearly as possible
with the provisions of
Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 29000) of Division
3 of Title 3 of the Government Code.
(Added by Stats. 1963, Ch. 1811.)