Morgan Miller Blair

Governor Schwarzenegger signed urgency legislation on July 15 to add two years of life to existing and unexpired tentative subdivision maps, vesting tentative maps and parcel maps that would otherwise expire before January 1, 2012.  This extension allows developers with approved projects to avoid going through the entitlement process again for projects delayed as a result of the economic downturn.  As an urgency measure, the law took effect immediately as of the July 15, 2009 signing date.

The bill, AB 333, sponsored by the California Building Industry Association (CBIA), was unanimously approved in recent weeks by both the Assembly and Senate.  The CBIA estimates that there are approximately 1,800 tentative tract maps representing 250,000 housing units that would be affected by the provisions of AB 333.

AB 333 amends Government Code section 65961 and adds section 66452.22.  The two-year extension is in addition to any other statutory extensions.  Gov’t Code § 66452.22(a-b).  In determining whether the map expires before January 1, 2012, only discretionary extensions and extensions granted by filing phased final maps are counted.  Gov’t Code § 66452.22(d).

For any legislative, administrative or other approval by a state agency relating to a development project in a subdivision affected by AB 333 that has not expired when the bill take effect, AB 333 also extends the expiration date by 24 months.  Note, however, that other approvals by local governments are not automatically extended (e.g. permits).  AB 333 also reduces, from five years to three years, the period of time after the approval of a tentative map or recordation of a parcel map during which a city or county is prohibited (with some exceptions) from imposing specified conditions on a building permit.

On July 15, 2008, the Governor signed SB 1185 which extended the life of unexpired tentative and parcel maps by one year and gave local governments the discretion to grant an additional year to the life of a map.  During past market downturns, the Legislature adopted similar measures to extend the life of approved maps.