REPORT TO PLANNING COMMISSION
SUBJECT
Title
Recommend that the City Council Introduce an Uncodified Ordinance to Authorize One-Year Extensions of Land Use Entitlements and Legal Non-Conforming Uses Due to the COVID-19 Emergency, and Find that the Action is Exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act
Report
BACKGROUND
Permits issued under Title 19 of the Sunnyvale Municipal Code (SMC), and comparable provisions of the Moffett Park Specific Plan and the Peery Park Specific Plan, expire if the entitlements granted by the permit are not exercised within two years from the date of decision (except that miscellaneous plan permits and tree removal permits expire after one year). To "exercise" a permit is defined in SMC Section 19.12.060(9) as completion of a building foundation or walls, dedication of land or easements to a public entity, actual commencement of the authorized use, or completion of significant improvements to the property. SMC Section 19.98.120 allows the Director of Community Development to extend this period of time for a maximum of one year.
Additionally, SMC Section 19.98.110 provides that permits authorizing a use of property will expire if the use is discontinued for more than one year and SMC Section 19.50.100 provides that the right to continue a legal non-conforming use is extinguished if the non-conforming use is abandoned for either six months (in the case of unenclosed uses) or one year (in the case of a use of a building).
On March 16, 2020, in response to the spread of COVID-19, the Health Officer of the County of Santa Clara released an order directing all individuals living in the County to shelter at their place of residence except to provide or receive certain essential services or engage in certain essential activities and work for essential businesses and government services. Further, the order directed all businesses and governmental agencies to cease non-essential operations at physical locations in the County, includ...
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