§ 26-82-040. Approval of building permits, zoning permits and land use—Status of approved preliminary and final development plan(s), and improvement agreements.

(a)

Compliance. No building permit, zoning permit nor land use approval shall be issued in any zoning district where this article is applicable until the preliminary and final development plan(s) have been approved by the planning director or other applicable decision making body.

The planning department shall not authorize final building inspection or any level of occupancy of the building(s) until satisfied that: all on-site improvements shown on the grading and utility drawings are installed or bonded for in accordance with the site plan approved by the design review committee; the buildings are constructed in accordance with the illustrative building elevation drawings, material samples and color samples approved by the design review committee; the landscaping and landscape irrigation system are installed or bonded for in accordance with the drawings approved by the design review board and that all conditions of approval are met.

(b)

Improvement Agreements.

(1)

If the improvement works required as a condition of an approval of a project by the design review committee are not satisfactorily completed before the issuance of a building permit(s) the owner(s) of the property shall, prior to the issuance of such permit(s), enter into an agreement with county, agreeing to have the work completed within the time required, and specifying that should such work not be satisfactorily completed within the time limit, in addition to any other remedies it may have, the county may complete all specified improvements and be completely reimbursed for such improvements by the owner of the property. For purposes of this section, "improvement works" means those landscape, street and drainage improvements required as a condition of design review. Any such improvement agreement shall be approved as to form by the county counsel and shall include, but not be limited to:

(i)

Construction of all improvements works per the approved plans; provided, however, that the development shall not be obligated to complete design review improvements in the event the developer elects not to construct the underlying project;

(ii)

Completion of improvements within one (1) year from approval of design review. This completion date may be extended by the county as provided in this chapter;

(iii)

Warranty by developer that construction of on-site drainage improvements will not adversely affect any portion of adjacent properties;

(iv)

Payment of inspection fees in accordance with the county's established fees and charges;

(v)

Improvement security;

(vi)

Maintenance and repair of any defects or failures and causes thereof;

(vii)

Release and indemnification of the county from all liability incurred as a result of construction associated with the development and payment of all reasonable attorney's fees that the county may incur because of any legal action arising as a result of construction associated with the development;

(viii)

Registered civil engineer's, architect's or landscape architect's written verification to the county, based upon field inspection, that landscaping, private road and drainage improvements located on the property and subject to the agreement have been constructed in substantial conformance with approved plans.

(2)

Modification of Improvement Agreements. Improvement agreements may be modified to reduce the amount of security in recognition of the partial completion of improvements, and to allow changes to improvement plans as approved by the design review committee as specified under the terms of an existing agreement. All modifications of improvement agreements shall be at the discretion of the county of Sonoma, upon written request by the developer. In consideration of a modification to reduce the amount of security, the following will be required:

(i)

Engineer's, architect's, landscape architect's or licensed Contractor's written verification to the county that the partially constructed landscaping, private road and drainage improvements located on the property and subject to the agreement have been completed in substantial conformance with approved plans;

(ii)

Revised improvement construction estimate to reflect current improvement costs as approved by the responsible department;

(iii)

Revised improvement securities in accordance with revised construction cost estimates;

(iv)

A fee shall be paid to the county to cover the actual costs for processing the modification.

(3)

Extension of Improvement Agreements. The completion date for any improvements to be constructed under an improvement agreement may be extended by the county of Sonoma upon written request by the developer and the submittal of evidence to justify such extension. The request shall be made not less than thirty (30) days prior to the expiration of the improvement agreement. Any such extension shall be authorized in writing by the county. Any request for extension, at the discretion of the county, may be denied. In consideration of the extension, the following will be required:

(i)

In those cases where construction has not commenced, revision of the improvement plan to provide the current design and construction standards required by the responsible department;

(ii)

Revised improvement construction estimate to reflect current improvement costs as approved by the responsible department;

(iii)

Increase of improvement securities in accordance with revised construction estimates;

(iv)

Increase in any inspection fees to reflect current fees;

(v)

The design review committee may impose additional requirements it may deem necessary as a condition to approving any time extension for the completion of improvements;

(vi)

A fee shall be paid to the county to cover the actual costs for processing the extension.

(4)

Amount of Security to Accompany Improvement Agreement. Applicant/developer shall, prior to county's execution of the design review agreement, deliver to county the following security in a form satisfactory to the county counsel:

(i)

Either a cash deposit, a corporate surety bond or an instrument of credit sufficient to assure county that the improvement work approved by the county will be satisfactorily completed. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to require duplicate security for improvements for which the county, as principal obligee, is already holding security;

(ii)

If required by county, a cash deposit, corporate surety bond, or instrument of credit sufficient to assure county that wet weather construction mitigation measures will be constructed in accordance with the approved plan.

(5)

Release of Improvement Securities. The performance security for dedicated improvements shall be released only upon acceptance of the improvements by the county and, if required as a condition of design review, approved warranty security has been filed with the county. The performance security for other improvements shall be released only upon satisfactory passage of final inspection by the county. Additional, with respect to improvements which will not be dedicated and accepted by the county, the applicant/developer shall comply with Section 3093 of the Civil Code and deliver forthwith to the planning director or the directors' appointed designee, a copy of the notice of completion and the engineer's, architect's or licensed landscape architect's written verification based upon field inspection of satisfactory completion as required for the landscaping, private road and drainage improvements; and, if required as a condition of design review, shall deliver to the county any required maintenance and/or warranty agreements and security, prior to the release of the performance security.

(6)

Delegation to Approve Improvement Agreements. Where the board of supervisors has, by resolution, adopted a standard form design review agreement which conforms to the requirements of this section, the planning director is authorized to execute such agreements and accept security therefore on behalf of the county, including any extensions or minor modification thereto which are consistent with this section.

(7)

The planning director may waive the requirement for an improvement agreement and securities on landscape and irrigation improvements when found appropriate and the applicant enters into an agreement with the county to hold occupancy on the project pending completion of all required improvements. In considering such a waiver, the planning director shall review the scale of the project, visibility of the project from adjacent roads and properties, and demonstrated prior performance of the applicant.

(Ord. No. 5933, § II(j), 5-10-2011; Ord. No. 4643, 1993; Ord. No. 3707.)