Opinion ID: 664140
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Specific Plan Requirement

Text: 27 The Kawaokas argue that the specific plan requirement is arbitrary and is merely a tool used by the City to prevent development of their land. They argue that the City's reasons for requiring a specific plan are pretextual. 28 The record supports the City's requirement of a specific plan as a rational planning device. Specific plans are authorized by state law as a mechanism to achieve logical development patterns and to coordinate the provision of infrastructure. Cal.Gov't Code Secs. 65450-51. In this case the City has imposed the specific plan requirement on fifty-five acres of land, most of which has been used for strawberry farming for several decades. It is reasonable for a municipality to delay development of this size and type of agricultural property until it planned the development of roads, sewage, disposal, water distribution, drainage, traffic, and utility services. The Kawaokas argue that a specific plan is unnecessary because they do not need to build more roads and because sufficient drainage, sewage, and other resources already exist. Whether or not they are right as to the adequacy of current facilities, requiring a plan to ensure coordinated development of a significant parcel of land and to ensure that adequate resources exist is not irrational. The properties also face the common problem of accumulated pesticide residue in the soil from the history of agricultural use--an environmental problem that the City clearly will need to address prior to permitting residential development. 29 The Kawaokas argue that the specific plan requirement is unconstitutional because it obligates them to act jointly with the owners of the other twenty acres prior to developing their own land. While it is true that the specific plan cannot be promulgated in piecemeal fashion, nothing in the California Code requires joint action by parties subject to a specific plan requirement. Moreover, because the specific plan is enacted legislatively, no party can impose his plan on other landowners simply because they are subject to the same plan requirement. Instead, under the City's ordinance an affected individual may submit to the City Council a specific plan for the City's review and adoption, and City regulations specifically state that parties whose property is covered by a specific plan requirement need not act jointly. 7 Thus, landowners subject to a specific plan requirement may submit their proposals either jointly or individually to the City Council, which will enact a specific plan with the features it determines to be most appropriate. 30 The Kawaokas next argue that the specific plan requirement is unconstitutional because (1) the City imposes a fee on property owners for developing the specific plan, and (2) the City, which is the only party authorized to prepare a specific plan, refuses to do so and instead requires the Kawaokas to do it, thus holding their land hostage. With respect to the first claim, the fact that the City imposes a fee for the development of specific plans is not a constitutional deprivation. See Cal.Gov't Code Secs. 65456(a) & (b) (West. Supp.1994). Cities often impose permit requirements and assess processing costs on individuals, particularly on those who seek to develop their land. The rationale behind this fee is clear: a party receives significant economic benefits from developing her land; the taxpayers should not bear all of the costs of planning such a development. See Cal.Gov't Code Sec. 65456(a) (West. Supp.1994) (stating that it is the legislature's intent that people who benefit from a specific plan pay some of the costs of developing these plans). 8 31 The record does not support the Kawaokas' second claim. We have already noted that the City ordinance does not state that only the City may prepare a specific plan, but instead provides that property owners may submit their own. The Kawaokas' argument actually reflects the fact that they are unwilling to pay any of the costs of developing a specific plan, and not that the City refuses to prepare a plan at all or to consider one prepared by the Kawaokas. 32 Throughout their brief, the Kawaokas argue that their land has been deprived of all economic value. The record does not support this claim. Instead, it reveals that the Kawaokas are unwilling to sell their land for less than $6 million. Furthermore, an appraisal performed in February 1991 of thirty-six acres of their property estimated its value at $2,400,000. This is certainly much less than $6 million, but it is nonetheless substantial value.