§ 13-113. Vested rights.

(a)

No person who has obtained a vested right to conduct surface mining operations prior to January 1, 1976, shall be required to secure a permit pursuant to this article and the Act as long as the vested right continues and as long as no substantial changes are made in the operation except in accordance with this article. A person shall be deemed to have vested rights if, prior to January 1, 1976, he or she has, in good faith and in reliance upon a permit or other authorization, if the permit or other authorization was required, diligently commenced surface mining operations and incurred substantial liabilities for work and materials necessary for the surface mining operations. Expenses incurred in obtaining the enactment of an ordinance in relation to a particular operation or in obtaining the issuance of a permit shall not be deemed liabilities for work or materials.

(b)

A "vested right" is the right to conduct a legal use of real property if that right existed lawfully before a zoning or other land use restriction became effective and the use is not in conformity with that restriction when it continues thereafter. A vested mining right, in the surface mining context, may include, but shall not be limited to: the area of mine operations, the depth of mine operations, the nature of mining activity, the nature of material extracted, and the quantity of material available for extraction.

(c)

Where a person with vested rights continues surface mining operations in the same area pursuant to such vested rights established subsequent to January 1, 1976, a reclamation plan is required under subdivision (b) of Section 2770 of the Public Resources Code and Section 13-105 of this article for those operations conducted after January 1, 1976, or to be conducted. Expansion of surface mining operations after January 1, 1976 may be recognized as a vested nonconforming use under the doctrine of "diminishing assets" as set forth in Hansen Brothers Enterprises, Inc. v. Board of Supervisors (1996) 12 Cal. 4th 533.

(d)

Nothing in this article shall be construed as requiring the filing of a reclamation plan for, or the reclamation of, mined lands on which surface mining operations were conducted and completed prior to January 1, 1976.

(Ord. No. 4035, § 2, 10-11-2011)