(a) Not later than 30 calendar days after any public agency has received an application for a development project, the agency shall determine in writing whether the application is complete and shall immediately transmit the determination to the applicant for the development project. If the application is determined to be incomplete, the lead agency shall provide the applicant with an exhaustive list of items that were not complete. That list shall be limited to those items actually required on the lead agency’s submittal requirement checklist. In any subsequent review of the application determined to be incomplete, the local agency shall not request the applicant to provide any new information that was not stated in the initial list of items that were not complete. If the written determination is not made within 30 days after receipt of the application, and the application includes a statement that it is an application for a development permit, the application shall be deemed complete for purposes of this chapter. Upon receipt of any resubmittal of the application, a new 30-day period shall begin, during which the public agency shall determine the completeness of the application. If the application is determined not to be complete, the agency’s determination shall specify those parts of the application which are incomplete and shall indicate the manner in which they can be made complete, including a list and thorough description of the specific information needed to complete the application. The applicant shall submit materials to the public agency in response to the list and description.
(b) Not later than 30 calendar days after receipt of the submitted materials described in subdivision (a), the public agency shall determine in writing whether the application as supplemented or amended by the submitted materials is complete and shall immediately transmit that determination to the applicant. In making this determination, the public agency is limited to determining whether the application as supplemented or amended includes the information required by the list and a thorough description of the specific information needed to complete the application required by subdivision (a). If the written determination is not made within that 30-day period, the application together with the submitted materials shall be deemed complete for purposes of this chapter.
(c) If the application together with the submitted materials are determined not to be complete pursuant to subdivision (b), the public agency shall provide a process for the applicant to appeal that decision in writing to the governing body of the agency or, if there is no governing body, to the director of the agency, as provided by that agency. A city or county shall provide that the right of appeal is to the governing body or, at their option, the planning commission, or both.
There shall be a final written determination by the agency on the appeal not later than 60 calendar days after receipt of the applicant’s written appeal. The fact that an appeal is permitted to both the planning commission and to the governing body does not extend the 60-day period. Notwithstanding a decision pursuant to subdivision (b) that the application and submitted materials are not complete, if the final written determination on the appeal is not made within that 60-day period, the application with the submitted materials shall be deemed complete for the purposes of this chapter.
(d) Nothing in this section precludes an applicant and a public agency from mutually agreeing to an extension of any time limit provided by this section.
(e) A public agency may charge applicants a fee not to exceed the amount reasonably necessary to provide the service required by this section. If a fee is charged pursuant to this section, the fee shall be collected as part of the application fee charged for the development permit.
(f) Each city and each county shall make copies of any list compiled pursuant to Section 65940 with respect to information required from an applicant for a housing development project, as that term is defined in paragraph (2) of subdivision (h) of Section 65589.5, available both (1) in writing to those persons to whom the agency is required to make information available under subdivision (a) of that section, and (2) publicly available on the internet website of the city or county.
(g) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2025, and as of that date is repealed.
(Amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 654, Sec. 9. (SB 330) Effective January 1, 2020. Repealed as of January 1, 2025, by its own provisions. See later operative version added by Sec. 10 of Stats. 2019, Ch. 654.)