§ 21.09.004 SENDING AREAS.
   (A)   AP, R and AR zoned land. Except for the designated receiving areas, all AP, R and AR zoned areas outside of the City of Hollisters General Plan planning area for non-agricultural land uses, and San Juan Bautista's adopted Sphere of Influence are hereby eligible to be designated "Sending Areas".
   (B)   Determine the number of on site buildable units. The owner(s) of a parcel proposing development on their parcel must first provide sufficient topographic and geologic evidence to the County Planning Department to allow it to "certify" the number of homes the owner may build on their parcel. The number of buildable units shall become that parcel's "Certified Buildable Rights". In order to encourage applicants to transfer their TDCs to a receiving area, an applicant in a sending area may request this determination prior to submitting a full development application. This determination by staff may be appealed to the County Planning Commission and then to the Board of Supervisors.
   (C)   Transferable development credits. "Transferable Development Credits (TDC's)" shall be determined as follows:
      (1)   Applicants desiring to establish their TDC rights shall be required to submit to the County Planning Department an assessors parcel map showing the acreage of their parcel, or a record of survey prepared by a registered civil engineer, and a map of the parcel prepared by a registered civil engineer displaying the topographic features of the property and a preliminary title report showing all easements. The source of the topographic information may be either the highest resolution USGS topographic map available or an aerial survey with more detailed topographic information.
      (2)   The applicant's registered civil engineer shall note on said map:
         (a)   The zoning of the parcel;
         (b)   The acreage within FEMA adopted 100 year flood plains;
         (c)   The acreage with slopes greater than 30%;
         (d)   The acreage not within the Alquist Priolo fault hazard zone;
         (e)   The acreage of the parcel not within a 100 year flood plain and not within a slope
greater than 30% and not within the Alquist Priolo zone;
         (f)   The number of existing homes on the property;
         (g)   All existing acres with open space, agricultural, or other easements.
      (3)   The number of TDCs assigned each parcel shall be determined as follows:
         (a)   One full TDC shall be allocated for each five acres in an AP or R zone and one TDC shall be assigned for each 40 acres in an AR zone which are outside of an adopted 100 year flood plain outside areas with a slope greater than 30% and outside the Alquist Priolo zone. One TDC shall be deducted for each existing residence within these areas.
         (b)   Three additional bonus TDCs shall be assigned to each five acres in an AP or R zone and each 40 acres in an AP zone which has been designated by the Board of Supervisors as "Open Space and Agricultural Lands of Special Significance to the Community".
         (c)   Bonus TDCs on lands designated "Open Space and Agricultural Lands of Special Significance to the Community" may be sold only in return for an easement in perpetuity.
      (4)   No TDCs shall be allocated to the acres with an existing open space and/or agricultural easement.
      (5)   Round up to the next whole number if the result is 0.50 or more, otherwise round down.
      (6)   The county shall record a document certifying the parcel's total assigned transferable development credits. When TDC's are sold or added to the parcel, a document shall be prepared by the county and recorded to that effect. A form prepared by the Planning Department used to certify a parcel's total assigned transferable development credits, and a form used to document the deletion or addition of TDC credits associated with a specific parcel shall be documents subject to recordation by the County Clerk Recorder as authorized by the County of San Benito, a general law county. An owner of real property shall be ultimately responsible for ensuring that the TDC's recorded against their parcel are correct and accurate and shall notify the County Planning Director, in writing, within 30 days if the recorded TDC's of the owner's property are incorrect or need amendment.
      (7)   The number of TDC's assigned to a parcel at any given time shall be that parcel's "Certified TDC Rights".
      (8)   TDCs may be purchased by any individual, partnership, corporation or organization and held for resale.
      (9)   Not less than 50% of TDCs shall be purchased or otherwise obtained from lands designed "Open Space and Agricultural Lands of Special Significance to the Community".
(Ord. 865, § 1 (part), 2010)