§ 13-114. Determination of vested rights.

(a)

Any person who claims to have a vested right to conduct surface mining operations pursuant to Section 13-113 of this article shall file a Claim of Vested Rights with the Department of Development Services, Planning Division. The burden of proving the existence and extent of the vested right shall be on the claimant.

(b)

Any person who has received a final determination from the County prior to the effective date of this section confirming a vested right to conduct surface mining operations pursuant to Section 13-113 of this article shall not be required to file a Claim of Vested Rights provided the scope of said operation has not expanded beyond that for which there was objective evidence of an intent to mine at the time of said final determination. Evidence of an intent to mine at the time of said final determination may include, but is not limited to, approval of a Reclamation Plan for the surface mining operation or a conditional use permit for a use accessory to the surface mining operation.

(c)

The Claim of Vested Rights shall be on a form furnished by the County and shall be responded to fully and completely, containing all information required by the Planning Division to facilitate an evaluation of the claim, including, but not limited to:

(1)

Name, address, and telephone number of the following persons:

a.

The claimant, and of any agent for contact or service of notice, if different;

b.

The property owner(s), if different than the claimant;

c.

Any lessee, lien holder, or other potential claimant to the vested right(s) asserted;

d.

The owners of all properties adjacent to the property upon which vested rights are being claimed; and

e.

Any governmental agency or entity having jurisdiction over the property or the surface mining operations on the property that may be affected by a determination of vested rights.

(2)

A map depicting the exact location of the property and the area on the property upon which vested rights are claimed;

(3)

A legal description of such property;

(4)

Copies of all documents which the claimant asserts establish title to such property;

(5)

A written statement, accompanied by a declaration or affidavit attesting to its truth and accuracy, indicating the basis for and the scope or scale of the Claim of Vested Rights, including a description or depiction of the full extent of the area intended to be mined. The claimant may submit with this statement any documentation manifesting that intent and supporting the claim, including, but not limited to:

a.

Evidence of the period of time, the scope or the scale of the mining operations previously conducted, including, but not limited to, aerial photographs;

b.

Proof of substantial liabilities necessarily incurred for work and materials to conduct surface mining operations of the scope or scale claimed; and

c.

Proof of compliance with all local land use or mining ordinances, regulations, permits, authorizations and entitlements, both existing and prior, that govern or have governed the conduct of surface mining operations upon such property.

(d)

The filing of a Claim of Vested Right shall be accompanied by a filing fee in the same amount as specified in Section 13-105(c) of this article.

(e)

Within thirty (30) days of accepting the Claim of Vested Right as complete, the Planning Division shall send copies of it to the Director of the Department of Conservation, the County Public Works Department, the Committee and other responsible agencies, and shall set a Committee meeting to be held within sixty (60) days of the distribution of the Claim. Whenever any of the claimed vested rights are in the 100-year floodplain for any stream and within one (1) mile, upstream or downstream, of any State highway bridge, the Planning Division shall, pursuant to Public Resources Code Section 2770.5, notify the State Department of Transportation that the Claim has been received.

(f)

The Committee shall meet to evaluate the Claim and to make a recommendation whether or not the Claim should be honored. Review by the Planning Division shall not be delayed by an inability to schedule a meeting with the Committee.

(g)

Upon receiving an evaluation of the Claim and a recommendation from the Committee, the Planning Division shall schedule the Claim for public hearing before the Planning Commission in the same manner as provided in Section 13-110 of this article.

(h)

The Planning Commission, on the basis of evidence submitted at the hearing, and upon findings made based upon such evidence, shall determine whether and to what extent vested rights exist.

(i)

The determination of the Planning Commission shall be final unless a written appeal is filed in the same manner as provided for appeals of use permits in Chapter 24 of this Code.

(j)

A final determination recognizing that vested rights exist shall constitute acknowledgment that the specific surface mining operation identified upon the specific property or properties does not require 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. If any recognized vested rights are waived or abandoned, the surface mining operations identified shall become subject to the permit requirements of this article and the Act.

(Ord. No. 4035, § 2, 10-11-2011)