Whenever the provisions of this chapter, or Section 5-14.05 or Section 7-3.07 of this Code, require or authorize a person to obtain a permit, administrative action, or other approval for use or improvement of land, or a variance from the standards set forth in this chapter, applications shall be made and fees paid as follows:
(a) Filing applications. The Council shall prescribe the form and scope of applications for permits, variances, and administrative actions. Such applications shall be filed with the Community Development Department and shall contain such information as may be required to evaluate the application and provide notice of any hearings on it. No application shall be accepted as complete for filing or processing unless it conforms to the requirements of this chapter and contains the information, data, documents and exhibits prescribed for said applications.
(b) Standing to file. An application for a permit, variance or administrative action, or modification thereof, may be only filed by any of the following:
(1) The owner of the property subject to the application;
(2) A person with a power of attorney from the owner of the property; or
(3) A lessee who holds a written lease, the terms of which authorize the use for which the permit is sought.
An application for a modification of any permit, variance, or administrative action may also be filed by a member of the Commission or an authorized person in the Community Development Department.
(c) Fees. An application for a permit or variance, or modification thereof, shall be accompanied by the applicable fee as set forth by resolution of the City Council. No part of said fee shall be refundable. No application for a permit or variance, or modification thereof, shall be accepted for filing or processing unless the fee is paid; provided, however, there shall be no fee charged for an application for an administrative action necessary to correct zoning violations discovered through reports of residential building records.
(d) Unless otherwise authorized in advance by the City Council, no application for a permit or variance shall be deemed filed and accepted for filing unless the use of land requested in said application is permitted by the regulations of the underlying zone, Specific Plan (if any) and General Plan designation in which the property is located. When the Council deems it to be in the public’s interest or appropriate for the proper planning of the subject property, the Council may allow an entitlement application authorized by this article to be filed and processed concurrently with a proposed change of the zone classification, Specific Plan, and/or General Plan or amendment thereto, where such change is necessary to accommodate the proposed use. Where concurrent processing is permitted, the required public hearings for the entitlements and associated land use legislative actions shall be combined, and the Council shall make the final decision on the entitlement application(s).
(§ 8163.3, T.O.O.C., renumbered by § XIV, Ord. 173-NS, eff. November 5, 1970 as amended by § 31, Ord. 1178-NS, eff. April 27, 1993, and § 3, Ord. 1331-NS, eff. March 10, 1999)