This chapter is adopted under the authority of California Government Code Section 65864 et seq.

Any person who has a legal or equitable interest in real property which is the subject of the development agreement, including an authorized agent, may initiate a development agreement. The Director shall require an applicant to submit proof, adequate to the Director, of the interest in the real property and of the authority of the agent to act for the applicant.

An application for a development which qualifies as a project under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) shall be subject to environmental review in accordance with CEQA and the procedures as adopted by the City for implementation of CEQA.

No action, inaction or recommendation regarding the proposed development agreement shall be held void or invalid or be set aside by a court because of any procedural error in conducting the public hearing, unless after an examination of the entire case, the court is of the opinion that the error complained of was prejudicial, that the complaining party suffered substantial injury, and that a different result would have been probable if the error had not occurred.

Unless otherwise provided by the development agreement, rules, regulations and official policies governing permitted land use, density, design, improvement and construction standards and specifications, applicable to development of the property subject to the agreement, shall be those rules, regulations, and official policies in force at the time of the execution of the agreement. A development agreement shall not prevent the City in subsequent actions applicable to the property from applying new rules which do not conflict with those contained within the agreement, nor shall a development agreement prevent the City from denying or conditionally approving any subsequent development application on the basis of such existing or new rules, regulations and policies.

The Director shall review development agreements at least once a year, at which time the applicant or successor in interest thereto shall be required to demonstrate good faith compliance with the terms of the agreement. If as a result of the review, the Director finds and determines, on the basis of substantial evidence, that the applicant has not complied in good faith with the terms of the agreement, the Director shall recommend to the City Council that the agreement be modified or terminated. If the City Council concurs with the Director's recommendation, the agreement shall be modified or terminated. Proceedings before the City Council shall be noticed public hearings pursuant to Section 13.09.080.

In addition to the provisions of Sections 13.09.110 and 13.09.120, a development agreement may be amended or canceled in whole or in part by mutual consent of the parties to the agreement or their successors in accordance with the procedure described in Sections 13.09.080 and 13.09.090.

No later than 10 days after the City enters into, amends or terminates a development agreement, the City Clerk shall record with the County Recorder a copy of the agreement, which shall describe the land subject thereto. From and after the time of such recordation, the agreement shall impart such notice thereof to all persons as is afforded by the recording laws of this State. The burdens of the agreement shall be binding upon, and the benefits of the agreement shall inure to, all successors in interest to the parties to the agreement.

In the event that State or Federal laws or regulations, enacted after a development agreement has been entered into, prevent or preclude compliance with one or more provisions of the development agreement, such provisions of the agreement shall be modified or suspended as may be necessary to comply with such State or Federal laws or regulations.