Neighbors in Support of Appropriate Land Use v. County of Tuolumne

We begin by stating the question presented in this case. That is, can a county approve an application to devote a parcel of real property to a use disallowed by the applicable ordinance even though the county does not rezone the property to a district allowing the use, does not amend the text of the zoning ordinance to allow the use in the existing district, does not issue a conditional use permit consistent with the zoning ordinance, and does not grant a variance? We conclude that it cannot. Tuolumne County’s decision in this case to grant a parcel an ad hoc exception allowing a commercial use in an agricultural zoning district—an exception which was unavailable to other parcels in the same district— violated the uniformity requirement of Government Code section 65852. Contrary to the county’s contention, it does not help that the exception was contained in a development agreement approved pursuant to the development agreement law (§ 65864 et seq.). We affirm the trial court’s judgment directing the county to reverse its action.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORIES

Ronald and Lynda Peterson owned 37 acres in an unincorporated area of Tuolumne County. On it were a house,…