(a) (1) A city, county, or city and county may incorporate provisions in its housing sustainability district ordinance prescribing the contents of an application for a permit for residential development.

(2) The city, county, or city and county may charge an application fee to persons seeking government approval of a project within the housing sustainability district. A fee charged pursuant to this paragraph shall be established to defray the costs of preparation, adoption, and administration of the housing sustainability district plan, including costs incurred related to the implementation of Chapter 4.3 (commencing with Section 21155.10) of Division 13 of the Public Resources Code. As nearly as can be estimated, the fee charged shall be a prorated amount in accordance with the applicant’s relative benefit derived from the housing sustainability district plan.

(3) The housing sustainability district ordinance may provide for referral of an application for a permit to any officers, agencies, boards, or bureaus of the city, county, or city and county for review and comment. A reviewing officer, agency, board, or bureau shall provide any comments on an application within 60 days of receipt.

(b) The applicable provisions of the city’s, county’s, or city and county’s general plan and housing sustainability district ordinance in effect at the time an application is submitted to the approving authority shall govern the application for the purposes of the following:

(1) The processing and review of the application.

(2) The pendency of any appeal of a decision of the approving authority.

(3) If the application is approved, for three years following approval of the application.

(c) (1) The applicant shall file an application for a permit with the official designated for this purpose in the housing sustainability district ordinance of the city, county, or city and county and with the approving authority.

(2) The authority shall conduct a public hearing in accordance with the Ralph M. Brown Act (Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 54950) of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5) and issue a written decision on the application within 120 days of receipt of the application, unless extended by agreement between the approving authority and the applicant. The approving authority shall file a copy of its written decision with the official designated for this purpose in the housing sustainability district ordinance of the city, county, or city and county.

(3) If the approving authority fails to act within 120 days, or within the period agreed upon by the approving authority and the applicant, as applicable, the application shall be deemed approved. In the event an application is deemed approved pursuant to this paragraph, the applicant shall provide notice to any interested parties and notify the official designated for this purpose in the housing sustainability district ordinance of the city, county, or city and county within 14 days of the application being deemed approved. The notice provided to interested parties shall specify that any appeals must be filed within 20 days following the official’s receipt of the notice.

(4) The approving authority shall issue to the applicant a copy of its written decision, including the name and address of the owner of the property proposed to be developed, an identification of the property proposed to be developed, the development plans, and certification that a copy of the decision has been filed with the official designated for this purpose in the housing sustainability district ordinance of the city, county, or city and county.

(d) (1) In reviewing an application for a permit pursuant to this section, the approving authority shall consider the requirements of the housing sustainability district ordinance and of this chapter, including the requirement that the applicant replace affordable housing units affected by the proposed development pursuant to Section 66208.

(2) The approving authority may deny an application only for the following reasons:

(A) The proposed development project does not fully comply with the housing sustainability district ordinance.

(B) The applicant has not submitted all of the required information or paid an application fee required by the housing sustainability district ordinance and necessary for an adequate and timely design review or assessment of potential impacts on nearby property.

(C) The approving authority determines, based upon substantial evidence in light of the whole record of the public hearing on the project, that a physical condition on the site of development that was not known and could not have been discovered with reasonable investigation at the time the application was submitted would have a specific adverse impact upon the public health or safety and that there is no feasible method to satisfactorily mitigate or avoid the specific adverse impact. As used in this subparagraph, “specific adverse impact” means a significant, quantifiable, direct, and unavoidable impact based on identified objective written public health or safety standards, policies, or conditions, as in existence at the time the application is deemed complete. Nothing in this subparagraph is intended to affect thresholds of significance or standards of review for any impact reviewed pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code).

(e) The official designated for this purpose in the housing sustainability district ordinance of the city, county, or city and county shall certify the following, as applicable, on a copy of the written decision of the approving authority:

(1) No appeal has been filed, or has been dismissed or denied, within 20 days of the issuance of the decision of the approving authority.

(2) The application is deemed approved by reason of the failure of the approving authority to issue a decision within 120 days of submission of the application.

(f) A developer may choose to develop a project in a housing sustainability district in accordance with the already existing land use approval procedures that would otherwise apply to the parcel in the absence of the establishment of the housing sustainability district pursuant to this chapter, and in so doing shall not receive any of the incentives and benefits or be required to comply with any of the provisions specified in the housing sustainability district ordinance or this chapter.

(Added by Stats. 2017, Ch. 371, Sec. 2. (AB 73) Effective January 1, 2018. Conditionally inoperative as provided in Stats. 2017, Ch. 371, Sec. 4.)