(California Government Code)
TITLE 7. PLANNING AND LAND USE
DIVISION 1. PLANNING AND ZONING
Chapter 9. Protests, Legal Actions, and Audits
66020. (a) Any party may protest the imposition of any
fees, dedications, reservations, or other exactions
imposed on a
residential housing development 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 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 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
of the residential housing development. 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 residential housing 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) 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 residential housing development. 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
residential housing development by a local agency within
180 days after the date of the imposition. 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 residential housing development 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.
(Added by Stats. 1990, Ch. 1572.; Amended by Stats.
1992, Ch. 605.)
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, as provided in Sections
66020 and 66475.4, the establishment or imposition
of the fee, tax,
assessment, dedication, reservation, or other exaction.
If a party files a protest under both Sections 66020
and 66475.4, Section
66475.4 shall prevail over Section 66020 to the extent
of any conflict between those two sections.
(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 which contains protest procedures, or
(2) that is pledged to secure payment of the principal
of, or interest on,
bonds or other public indebtedness.
(Added by Stats. 1990, Ch. 1572.)
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
and 66014.
(Added by Stats. 1990, Ch. 1572.)
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 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.
(b) Any costs incurred by a local agency in having an
audit conducted by an independent auditor pursuant
to subdivision (a)
may be recovered from the person who requests the audit.
(c) 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.
(d) The procedures specified in this section shall be
alternative and in addition to those specified in Section
54985.
(e) 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.
(f) 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.
(Added by Stats. 1990, Ch. 1572.)
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 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 request 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.
(Added by Stats. 1990, Ch. 1572.)
66025. "Local agency," as used in this chapter,
means a local agency as defined in Section 66000.
(Added by Stats. 1990, Ch. 1572.)