County

Santa Margarita Area Residents Together, an association; Kenneth Haggard; and Otto Schmidt appeal the judgment denying their petition for writ of mandate to set aside a development agreement between defendant San Luis Obispo County (County) and real party in interest Santa Margarita Limited. To develop its property, Santa Margarita Limited needs to be certain that the law governing local development will not change during the development process. Relying on the development agreement statute, the landowner and County agreed to a development plan. Appellants contend that the agreement is invalid under the statute because it covers the planning stage of a real estate development before buildings or other structures have been designed or approved. Appellants also contend that, under these circumstances, the zoning “freeze” in the agreement unconstitutionally contracts away the County’s police power. We conclude that this agreement, which assigns rights and obligations to both government and developer concerning the planning of a large real estate project, complies with the statute and does not contract away the County’s police power. We affirm.

Facts and Procedural…