Reso 2008-1222 - Laserfiche WebLink

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If the City Commission is willing to grant extensions based on prepayment of outstanding building permit fees, the developer must waive the right to claim vested rights and equitable estoppel. The waiver is necessary to ensure that the City has the right to terminate the development approval if the developer does not pull a building permit upon the expiration of an extension request. D. Modification of the Land Development Regulations & Length of Extension Section 265-3(B)(4) of the City Code provides that "an amendment to these LDRs shall not affect, or be enforceable against, any development for which a development order was issued prior to the effective date of said amendment." Essentially, a development order is exempt from any new amendments which are passed subsequent to the approval of the development order. As such, the City Commission must determine whether it is willing to exempt existing development orders from any code modification in addressing the issue of extension of development approvals for economic reasons. For example, the bonus payment provision was amended recently to increase the bonus payment requirement from $35,000 to $72,000. Thus, the City Commission may require compliance with the new standards as a condition for extending a development approval. Under the City Code, the City Commission has the authority to establish the length of an extension request. The City Commission has not granted an extension request for more than six (6) months under the current standards. In granting any extension for development approvals, the City Commission should evaluate the impact that an extension may have on future amendments to the City Code. III. CONCLUSION While the City Commission is seeking ways to assist the development community to address the problems caused by market conditions, the City Commission cannot require the pre- payment of building permit fees as a condition to grant an extension for a development approval under the City Code. Under the City Code, a developer must establish good cause. Economic reasons alone are not sufficient to establish good cause. If the City Commission wishes to seek ways to help provide relief to the development community, I recommend the City Commission create a voluntary program which provides developers with an opportunity to apply for an extension at the administrative level if certain requirements are satisfied. These requirements must include a waiver of the right to claim vested rights and equitable estoppel. This voluntary program should not preclude a developer from applying for a good cause extensions under the City Code. cc: Fernando Amuchastegui, Assistant City Attorney Jorge Vera, Assistant City Manager/Services Doug Haag, Assistant City Manager/Finance Robert Solera, Community Development Director 5 31