Santa Clarita May Limit Developer Agreements to 7 Years

Consistent with its increasingly cool attitude toward developers, Santa Clarita is proposing to limit the duration of development agreements, which guarantee that long-term commercial and residential projects can be completed even if growth-control measures and new development standards are enacted later.

Under the city’s proposal, agreements sought by developers would last a maximum of seven years--less than half the period granted by the city of Los Angeles in some cases. For instance, the Los Angeles City Council in December granted 20 years immunity from most future growth-control laws to the Porter Ranch project, a huge development planned for the hills north of Chatsworth. “I think we should have tougher regulations,” said Councilwoman Jan Heidt, who proposed the restrictions. “Even 10 years is just too far down the road to tell what will happen.”

However, the proposal would allow the city to enter agreements of any duration with developers who are seeking to annex their property to the city. That exemption was included in the proposal to encourage unincorporated areas to become part of the city.

The proposal appeared Thursday to have the backing of the majority of council members.

If the limit is approved, Santa Clarita would join a handful of cities in California with such restrictions, said William W. Abbott, a Sacramento land-use attorney who specializes in development agreements.

A 1979 state law that legalized such agreements does not establish any time limitations, and most cities consider the duration of each contract on a case-by-case basis, he said. Such agreements protect projects not only from growth-control measures, but also from possible changes in zoning or design laws enacted by future city governments.

Builders generally seek the agreements to gain immunity from future growth-control laws or to obtain more time to complete their projects, Abbott said. Typically, developers are required to complete a project within five years from the date of approval or forfeit the approval. Development agreements may make it easier for builders to secure financing for their projects, he said.

In exchange, state law requires that cities obtain extra concessions from builders who are granted such contracts.

Developers, who have balked at a series of Santa Clarita initiatives recently, including a stringent hillside preservation ordinance, reacted negatively Thursday to the city’s proposal.

“They’re sending a message to the development community that they’re not interested in economic development,” said Dick Wirth, a spokesman for the Building Industry Assn.’s Government Affairs Council. “If they pass any limitations, there should be escape clauses for economic times like these. There are things beyond a developer’s control, like labor strikes that can delay a project’s completion.”

The current proposal does not contain any provisions for extending the agreements if developers do not complete projects within the seven-year limit.

But Lynn Harris, Santa Clarita’s deputy city manager in charge of planning, said builders could seek additional agreements with the city for the same project after the first agreement expires. However, developers would have to grant more concessions to the city at that time.

Since it was incorporated four years ago, Santa Clarita has approved seven development agreements, said Rich Henderson, a principal planner. Four more are pending, including a proposal that would grant a 15-year exemption from a proposed slow-growth measure to the developer of a 1,000-acre parcel. If voters approve the initiative April 14, the city would allow permits for only 475 new housing units to be issued each year through the year 2002.

BACKGROUND

The Santa Clarita City Council on Jan. 28 will consider the proposal to limit the duration of development agreements. The council meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall, 23920 Valencia Blvd.