A person required to follow the requirements of this section before filing an application for a development agreement shall submit a request for a threshold decision to the Director on a form provided by the Director and comply with the following procedure:
(a) The request for a threshold decision shall include explanatory text, plans, maps, photographs and other documents sufficient to describe the proposed development agreement, the rights that would accrue to the developer if the proposal is approved and the benefits to the public from the approval. The Director may request additional material the Director deems necessary to evaluate the request.
(b) After the Director determines that the applicant has provided sufficient information to allow the Director to evaluate the proposed development agreement the Director shall review the submittal and prepare a preliminary written report and recommendation. The report shall include all of the following:
(1) A description of the project.
(2) Whether or not clear potential benefits would be likely to accrue to the public.
(3) The Director's preliminary recommendation whether or not the County should proceed to enter into the development agreement negotiation process and the reasons for the Director's recommendation.
(c) The Director shall submit the preliminary report to the applicable community sponsor group or community planning group, to any public agency that may be affected by the proposal and to the initiator of the proposal. A recipient of the report may comment in writing to the Director within 30 days of receipt of the report.
(d) At the end of the comment period, the Director shall make a recommendation to Planning Commission on whether the proposal should be accepted for the purpose of filing an application for a development agreement. The Director shall also provide a copy of the recommendation to the applicable sponsor group or planning group, to any public agency that may be affected by the proposal and to the initiator of the proposal.
(e) The Planning Commission, after considering the merits of the request and the Director's recommendation, shall submit its recommendation to the Board of Supervisors (Board).
(f) The Board, after considering the merits of the request, may authorize the initiator to file an application for a development agreement for the proposal or direct staff to terminate proceedings.
(g) By authorizing the initiator to file an application for a development agreement the Board is not making a commitment to approve a development agreement.
(Amended by Ord. No. 10037 (N.S.), effective 3-26-10)