Article 2.5 - Development Agreements

California Government Code — §§ 65864-65869.5

Sections (14)

Amended by Stats. 1984, Ch. 143, Sec. 1.

The Legislature finds and declares that:

(a)The lack of certainty in the approval of development projects can result in a waste of resources, escalate the cost of housing and other development to the consumer, and discourage investment in and commitment to comprehensive planning which would make maximum efficient utilization of resources at the least economic cost to the public.

(b)Assurance to the applicant for a development project that upon approval of the project, the applicant may proceed with the project in accordance with existing policies, rules and regulations, and subject to conditions of approval, will strengthen the public planning process, encourage private participation in comprehensive planning, and reduce the economic costs of development.

(c)The lack of public facilities, including, but not limited to, streets, sewerage, transportation, drinking water, school, and utility facilities, is a serious impediment to the development of new housing. Whenever possible, applicants and local governments may include provisions in agreements whereby applicants are reimbursed over time for financing public facilities.

§ 65865

Amended by Stats. 2003, Ch. 288, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2004.

(a)Any city, county, or city and county, may enter into a development agreement with any person having a legal or equitable interest in real property for the development of the property as provided in this article.

(b)Any city may enter into a development agreement with any person having a legal or equitable interest in real property in unincorporated territory within that city’s sphere of influence for the development of the property as provided in this article. However, the agreement shall not become operative unless annexation proceedings annexing the property to the city are completed within the period of time specified by the agreement. If the annexation is not completed within the time specified in the agreement or any extension of the agreement, the agreement is null and void.

(c)Every city, county, or city and county, shall, upon request of an applicant, by resolution or ordinance, establish procedures and requirements for the consideration of development agreements upon application by, or on behalf of, the property owner or other person having a legal or equitable interest in the property.

(d)A city, county, or city and county may recover from applicants the direct costs associated with adopting a resolution or ordinance to establish procedures and requirements for the consideration of development agreements.

(e)For any development agreement entered into on or after January 1, 2004, a city, county, or city and county shall comply with Section 66006 with respect to any fee it receives or cost it recovers pursuant to this article.

§ 65865.1

Added by Stats. 1979, Ch. 934.

Procedures established pursuant to Section 65865 shall include provisions requiring periodic review at least every 12 months, at which time the applicant, or successor in interest thereto, shall be required to demonstrate good faith compliance with the terms of the agreement. If, as a result of such periodic review, the local agency finds and determines, on the basis of substantial evidence, that the applicant or successor in interest thereto has not complied in good faith with terms or conditions of the agreement, the local agency may terminate or modify the agreement.

§ 65865.2

Amended by Stats. 1984, Ch. 143, Sec. 2.

A development agreement shall specify the duration of the agreement, the permitted uses of the property, the density or intensity of use, the maximum height and size of proposed buildings, and provisions for reservation or dedication of land for public purposes. The development agreement may include conditions, terms, restrictions, and requirements for subsequent discretionary actions, provided that such conditions, terms, restrictions, and requirements for subsequent discretionary actions shall not prevent development of the land for the uses and to the density or intensity of development set forth in the agreement. The agreement may provide that construction shall be commenced within a specified time and that the project or any phase thereof be completed within a specified time.

The agreement may also include terms and conditions relating to applicant financing of necessary public facilities and subsequent reimbursement over time.

§ 65865.3

Amended by Stats. 1989, Ch. 664, Sec. 1.

(a)Except as otherwise provided in subdivisions (b) and (c), Section 65868, or Section 65869.5, notwithstanding any other law, if a newly incorporated city or newly annexed area comprises territory that was formerly unincorporated, any development agreement entered into by the county prior to the effective date of the incorporation or annexation shall remain valid for the duration of the agreement, or eight years from the effective date of the incorporation or annexation, whichever is earlier. The holder of the development agreement and the city may agree that the development agreement shall remain valid for more than eight years, provided that the longer period shall not exceed 15 years from the effective date of the incorporation or annexation. The holder of the development agreement and the city shall have the same rights and obligations with respect to each other as if the property had remained in the unincorporated territory of the county.

(b)The city may modify or suspend the provisions of the development agreement if the city determines that the failure of the city to do so would place the residents of the territory subject to the development agreement, or the residents of the city, or both, in a condition dangerous to their health or safety, or both.

(c)Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (d), this section applies to any development agreement which meets all of the following requirements:

(1)The application for the agreement is submitted to the county prior to the date that the first signature was affixed to the petition for incorporation or annexation pursuant to Section 56704 or the adoption of the resolution pursuant to Section 56800, whichever occurs first.

(2)The county enters into the agreement with the applicant prior to the date of the election on the question of incorporation or annexation, or, in the case of an annexation without an election pursuant to Section 57075, prior to the date that the conducting authority orders the annexation.

(3)The annexation proposal is initiated by the city. If the annexation proposal is initiated by a petitioner other than the city, the development agreement is valid unless the city adopts written findings that implementation of the development agreement would create a condition injurious to the health, safety, or welfare of city residents.

(d)This section does not apply to any territory subject to a development agreement if that territory is incorporated and the effective date of the incorporation is prior to January 1, 1987.

§ 65865.4

Amended by Stats. 1986, Ch. 857, Sec. 3.

Unless amended or canceled pursuant to Section 65868, or modified or suspended pursuant to Section 65869.5, and except as otherwise provided in subdivision (b) of Section 65865.3, a development agreement shall be enforceable by any party thereto notwithstanding any change in any applicable general or specific plan, zoning, subdivision, or building regulation adopted by the city, county, or city and county entering the agreement, which alters or amends the rules, regulations, or policies specified in Section 65866.

§ 65865.5

Amended by Stats. 2025, Ch. 777, Sec. 1. (SB 639) Effective January 1, 2026.

(a)Notwithstanding any other law, after the amendments required by Sections 65302.9 and 65860.1 have become effective, the legislative body of a city or county within the Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley shall not enter into a development agreement for property that is located within a flood hazard zone unless the city or county finds, based on substantial evidence in the record, one of the following:

(1)The facilities of the State Plan of Flood Control or other flood management facilities protect the property to the urban level of flood protection in urban and urbanizing areas or the national Federal Emergency Management Agency standard of flood protection in nonurbanized areas.

(2)The city or county has imposed conditions on the development agreement that will protect the property to the urban level of flood protection in urban and urbanizing areas or the national Federal Emergency Management Agency standard of flood protection in nonurbanized areas.

(3)The local flood management agency has made adequate progress on the construction of a flood protection system that will result in flood protection equal to or greater than the urban level of flood protection in urban or urbanizing areas or the national Federal Emergency Management Agency standard of flood protection in nonurbanized areas for property located within a flood hazard zone, intended to be protected by the system. Except as provided in Sections 65962.1, 65962.2, and 65962.4, for urban

and urbanizing areas protected by project levees, the urban level of flood protection shall be achieved by 2025.

(4)The property in an undetermined risk area has met the urban level of flood protection based on substantial evidence in the record.

(b)The effective date of amendments referred to in this section shall be the date upon which the statutes of limitation specified in subdivision (c) of Section 65009 have run or, if the amendments and any associated environmental documents are challenged in court, the validity of the amendments and any associated environmental documents has been upheld in a final decision.

(c)This section does not change or diminish existing requirements of local flood

plain management laws, ordinances, resolutions, or regulations necessary to local agency participation in the national flood insurance program.

§ 65866

Amended by Stats. 2018, Ch. 856, Sec. 11. (SB 1333) Effective January 1, 2019.

(a)Unless otherwise provided by the development agreement, rules, regulations, and official policies governing permitted uses of the land, governing density, and governing design, improvement, and construction standards and specifications, applicable to development of the property subject to a development agreement, shall be those rules, regulations, and official policies in force at the time of execution of the agreement. A development agreement shall not prevent a city, county, or city and county, in subsequent actions applicable to the property, from applying new rules, regulations, and policies which do not conflict with those rules, regulations, and policies applicable to

the property as set forth herein, nor shall a development agreement prevent a city, county, or city and county from denying or conditionally approving any subsequent development project application on the basis of these existing or new rules, regulations, and policies.

(b)Notwithstanding Section 65803, this section shall also apply to a charter city.

§ 65867

Amended by Stats. 1984, Ch. 1009, Sec. 26.

A public hearing on an application for a development agreement shall be held by the planning agency and by the legislative body. Notice of intention to consider adoption of a development agreement shall be given as provided in Sections 65090 and 65091 in addition to any other notice required by law for other actions to be considered concurrently with the development agreement.

§ 65867.5

Amended by Stats. 2018, Ch. 856, Sec. 12. (SB 1333) Effective January 1, 2019.

(a)A development agreement is a legislative act that shall be approved by ordinance and is subject to referendum.

(b)A development agreement shall not be approved unless the legislative body finds that the provisions of the agreement are consistent with the general plan and any applicable specific plan.

(c)A development agreement that includes a subdivision, as defined in Section 66473.7, shall not be approved unless the agreement provides that any tentative map prepared for the subdivision will comply with Section 66473.7.

(d)Notwithstanding Section 65803, this section shall also apply to a charter city.

§ 65868

Added by Stats. 1979, Ch. 934.

A development agreement may be amended, or canceled in whole or in part, by mutual consent of the parties to the agreement or their successors in interest. Notice of intention to amend or cancel any portion of the agreement shall be given in the manner provided by Section 65867. An amendment to an agreement shall be subject to the provisions of Section 65867.5.

§ 65868.5

Added by Stats. 1979, Ch. 934.

No later than 10 days after a city, county, or city and county enters into a development agreement, the clerk of the legislative body shall record with the county recorder a copy of the agreement, which shall describe the land subject thereto. From and after the time of such recordation, the agreement shall impart such notice thereof to all persons as is afforded by the recording laws of this state. The burdens of the agreement shall be binding upon, and the benefits of the agreement shall inure to, all successors in interest to the parties to the agreement.

§ 65869

Added by Stats. 1979, Ch. 934.

A development agreement shall not be applicable to any development project located in an area for which a local coastal program is required to be prepared and certified pursuant to the requirements of Division 20 (commencing with Section 30000) of the Public Resources Code, unless:

(1)the required local coastal program has been certified as required by such provisions prior to the date on which the development agreement is entered into, or (2) in the event that the required local coastal program has not been certified, the California Coastal Commission approves such development agreement by formal commission action.

§ 65869.5

Amended by Stats. 2018, Ch. 856, Sec. 13. (SB 1333) Effective January 1, 2019.

(a)If state or federal laws or regulations, enacted after a development agreement has been entered into, prevent or preclude compliance with one or more provisions of the development agreement, those provisions of the agreement shall be modified or suspended as may be necessary to comply with those state or federal laws or regulations.

(b)Notwithstanding Section 65803, a development agreement entered into by a charter city before July 1, 2018, shall not be required

to comply with this article.