California Subdivision Map Act (Part 2)
66436. (a) A statement, signed and acknowledged by all parties having any record title interest in the subdivided real property, consenting to the preparation and recordation of the final map is required, except in the following circumstances: (1) A lien for state, county, municipal, or local taxes or special assessments, a trust interest under bond indentures, or mechanics’ liens do not constitute a record title interest in land for the purpose of this chapter or any local ordinance. (2) The signature of either the holder of beneficial interests under trust deeds or the trustee under the trust deeds, but not both, may be omitted. The signature of either shall constitute a full and complete subordination of the lien of the deed of trust to the map and any interest created by the map. (3) Signatures of parties owning the following types of interests may be omitted if their names and the nature of their respective interests are stated on the final map: (A) (i) Rights-of-way, easements or other interests which cannot ripen into a fee, except those owned by a public entity, public utility, or subsidiary of a public utility for conveyance to the public utility for rights-of-way. If, however, the legislative body or advisory agency determines that division and development of the property in the manner set forth on the approved or conditionally approved tentative map will not unreasonably interfere with the free and complete exercise of the public entity or public utility right-of-way or easement, the signature of the public entity or public utility may be omitted. Where that determination is made, the subdivider shall send, by certified mail, a sketch of the proposed final map, together with a copy of this section, to any public entity or public utility which has previously acquired a right-of-way or easement. (ii) If the public entity or utility objects to either recording the final map without its signature or the determination of the legislative body or advisory agency that the division and development of the property will not unreasonably interfere with the full and complete exercise of its right-of-way or easement, it shall so notify the subdivider and the legislative body or advisory agency within 30 days after receipt of the materials from the subdivider. (iii) If the public entity or utility objects to recording the final map without its signature, the public entity or utility so objecting may affix its signature to the final map within 30 days of filing its objection with the legislative body or advisory agency. (iv) If the public entity or utility either does not file an objection with the legislative body or advisory agency or fails to affix its signature within 30 days of filing its objection to recording the map without its signature, the local agency may record the final map without the signature. (v) If the public entity or utility files an objection to the determination of the legislative body or advisory agency that the division and development of the property will not unreasonably interfere with the exercise of its right-of-way or easement, the legislative body or advisory agency shall set the matter for public hearing to be held not less than 10 nor more than 30 days of receipt of the objection. At the hearing, the public entity or public utility shall present evidence in support of its position that the division and development of the property will unreasonably interfere with the free and complete exercise of the objector’s right-of-way or easement. (vi) If the legislative body or advisory agency finds, following the hearing, that the development and division will in fact unreasonably interfere with the free and complete exercise of the objector’s right-of-way or easement, it shall set forth those conditions whereby the unreasonable interference will be eliminated and upon compliance with those conditions by the subdivider, the final map may be recorded with or without the signature of the objector. If the legislative body or advisory agency finds that the development and division will in fact not unreasonably interfere with the free and complete exercise of the objector’s right-of-way or easement, the final map may be recorded without the signature of the objector, notwithstanding the objections. (vii) Failure of the public entity or public utility to file an objection pursuant to this section shall in no way affect its rights under a right-of-way or easement. (viii) No fee shall be charged by a public entity, public utility, subsidiary of a public utility, or objector for signing, omitting a signature, or objecting pursuant to this section. (B) Rights-of-way, easements, or reversions, which by reason of changed conditions, long disuse, or laches appear to be no longer of practical use or value and signatures are impossible or impractical to obtain. A statement of the circumstances preventing the procurement of the signatures shall also be stated on the map. (C) Interests in, or rights to, minerals, including but not limited to, oil, gas, or other hydrocarbon substances. (4) Real property originally patented by the United States or by the State of California, which original patent reserved interest to either or both of those entities, may be included in the final map without the consent of the United States or the State of California to the map or to dedications made by it. (b) No monetary liability shall be incurred by, and no cause of action shall arise against, a local agency, a party, the subdivider, the subdivider’s agent, or the engineer or land surveyor who prepared the map, on account of the omission of any signature, which omission is authorized by this section. (c) A notary acknowledgment shall be deemed complete for recording without the official seal of the notary, so long as the name of the notary, the county of the notary’s principal place of business, and the notary’s commission expiration date are typed or printed below or immediately adjacent to the notary’s signature in the acknowledgment.
66439. (a) Dedications of, or offers to dedicate interests in, real property for specified public purposes shall be made by a statement on the final map, signed and acknowledged by those parties having any record title interest in the real property being subdivided, subject to the provisions of Section 66436. (b) In the event any street shown on a final map is not offered for dedication, the statement may contain a declaration to this effect. If the statement appears on the final map and if the map is approved by the legislative body, the use of the street or streets by the public shall be permissive only. (c) An offer of dedication of real property for street or public utility easement purposes shall be deemed not to include any public utility facilities located on or under the real property unless, and only to the extent that, an intent to dedicate the facilities is expressly declared in the statement.
66440. The final map shall contain a certificate or statement for execution by the clerk of each approving legislative body stating that the body approved the map and accepted, accepted subject to improvement, or rejected, on behalf of the public, any real property offered for dedication for public use in conformity with the terms of the offer of dedication.
66441. A statement by the engineer or surveyor responsible for the survey and final map is required. His or her statement shall give the date of the survey, state that the survey and final map were made by him or her or under his or her direction, and that the survey is true and complete as shown. The statement shall also state that all the monuments are of the character and occupy the positions indicated, or that they will be set in those positions on or before a specified later date. The statement shall also state that the monuments are, or will be, sufficient to enable the survey to be retraced.
66442. (a) If a subdivision for which a final map is required lies within an unincorporated area, a certificate or statement by the county surveyor is required. If a subdivision lies within a city, a certificate or statement by the city engineer or city surveyor is required. The appropriate official shall sign, date, and, below or immediately adjacent to the signature, indicate his or her registration or license number with expiration date and state that: (1) He or she has examined the map. (2) The subdivision as shown is substantially the same as it appeared on the tentative map, and any approved alterations thereof. (3) All provisions of this chapter and of any local ordinances applicable at the time of approval of the tentative map have been complied with. (4) He or she is satisfied that the map is technically correct. (b) City or county engineers registered as civil engineers after January 1, 1982, shall only be qualified to certify the statements of paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of subdivision (a). The statement specified in paragraph (4) shall only be certified by a person authorized to practice land surveying pursuant to the Professional Land Surveyors’ Act (Chapter 15 (commencing with Section 8700) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code) or a person registered as a civil engineer prior to January 1, 1982, pursuant to the Professional Engineers’ Act (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 6700) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code). The county surveyor, the city surveyor, or the city engineer, as the case may be, or other public official or employee qualified and authorized to perform the functions of one of those officials, shall complete and file with his or her legislative body his or her certificate or statement, as required by this section, within 20 days from the time the final map is submitted to him or her by the subdivider for approval.
66442.5. The following statements shall appear on a final map: (a) Engineer’s (surveyor’s) statement: This map was prepared by me or under my direction and is based upon a field survey in conformance with the requirements of the Subdivision Map Act and local ordinance at the request of (name of person authorizing map) on (date). I hereby state that this final map substantially conforms to the conditionally approved tentative map.
(Signed) ____________________________ R.C.E. (or L.S.) No. ____________________________ (b) Recorder’s certificate or statement. Filed this ___ day of ____, 20__, at ____m. in Book ____ of ____, at page ____, at the request of ________.
Signed _________________________________ County Recorder
66443. In addition to the certificates, statements, and acknowledgments required herein for final maps, the maps shall contain other certificates and acknowledgments as are required by local ordinance.
66444. The content and form of parcel maps shall be governed by the provisions of this article.
66445. The parcel map shall be prepared by, or under the direction of, a registered civil engineer or licensed land surveyor, shall show the location of streets and property lines bounding the property, and shall conform to all of the following provisions: (a) It shall be legibly drawn, printed, or reproduced by a process guaranteeing a permanent record in black on tracing cloth or polyester base film. Certificates or statements, affidavits, and acknowledgments may be legibly stamped or printed upon the map with opaque ink. If ink is used on polyester base film, the ink surface shall be coated with a suitable substance to assure permanent legibility. (b) The size of each sheet shall be 18 by 26 inches or 460 by 660 millimeters. A marginal line shall be drawn completely around each sheet, leaving an entirely blank margin of one inch or 025 millimeters. The scale of the map shall be large enough to show all details clearly and enough sheets shall be used to accomplish this end. The particular number of the sheet and the total number of sheets comprising the map shall be stated on each of the sheets, and its relation to each adjoining sheet shall be clearly shown. (c) Each parcel shall be numbered or lettered and each block may be numbered or lettered. Each street shall be named or otherwise designated. The subdivision number shall be shown together with the description of the real property being subdivided. (d) (1) The exterior boundary of the land included within the subdivision shall be indicated by distinctive symbols and clearly so designated. (2) The map shall show the location of each parcel and its relation to surrounding surveys. If the map includes a “designated remainder” parcel or similar parcel, and the gross area of the “designated remainder” parcel or similar parcel is five acres or more, that remainder parcel need not be shown on the map and its location need not be indicated as a matter of survey, but only by deed reference to the existing boundaries of the remainder parcel. (3) A parcel designated as “not a part” shall be deemed to be a “designated remainder” for purposes of this section. (e) Subject to the provisions of Section 66436, a statement, signed and acknowledged by all parties having any record title interest in the real property subdivided, consenting to the preparation and recordation of the parcel map is required, except that less inclusive requirements may be provided by local ordinance. With respect to a division of land into four or fewer parcels, where dedications or offers of dedications are not required, the statement shall be signed and acknowledged by the subdivider only. If the subdivider does not have a record title ownership interest in the property to be divided, the local agency may require that the subdivider provide the local agency with satisfactory evidence that the persons with record title ownership have consented to the proposed division. For purposes of this paragraph, “record title ownership” means fee title of record unless a leasehold interest is to be divided, in which case “record title ownership” means ownership of record of the leasehold interest. Record title ownership does not include ownership of mineral rights or other subsurface interests that have been severed from ownership of the surface. (f) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, local agencies may require that those statements and acknowledgments required pursuant to subdivision (e) be made by separate instrument to be recorded concurrently with the parcel map being filed for record. (g) On and after January 1, 1987, no additional survey and map requirements shall be included on a parcel map that do not affect record title interests. However, the map shall contain a notation of reference to survey and map information required by a local ordinance adopted pursuant to Section 66434.2. (h) Whenever a certificate or acknowledgment is made by separate instrument, there shall appear on the parcel map a reference to the separately recorded document. This reference shall be completed by the county recorder pursuant to Section 66468.1. (i) If a field survey was performed, the parcel map shall contain a statement by the engineer or surveyor responsible for the preparation of the map that states that all monuments are of the character and occupy the positions indicated, or that they will be set in those positions on or before a specified date, and that the monuments are, or will be, sufficient to enable the survey to be retraced. (j) Any public streets or public easements to be left in effect after the subdivision shall be adequately delineated on the map. The filing of the parcel map shall constitute abandonment of all public streets and public easements not shown on the map, provided that a written notation of each abandonment is listed by reference to the recording data or other official record creating these public streets or public easements and certified to on the map by the clerk of the legislative body or the designee of the legislative body approving the map. Before a public easement vested in another public entity may be abandoned pursuant to this section, that public entity shall receive notice of the proposed abandonment. No public easement vested in another public entity shall be abandoned pursuant to this section if that public entity objects to the proposed abandonment.
66447. If dedications or offers of dedication are required, they may be made either by a statement on the parcel map or by separate instrument, as provided by local ordinance. If dedications or offers of dedication are made by separate instrument, the dedications or offers of dedication shall be recorded concurrently with, or prior to, the parcel map being filed for record. The dedication or offers of dedication, whether by statement or separate instrument, shall be signed by the same parties and in the same manner as set forth in Section 66439 for dedications by a final map.
66448. In all cases where a parcel map is required, such map shall be based upon a field survey made in conformity with the Land Surveyors Act when required by local ordinance, or, in absence of such requirement, shall be based either upon a field survey made in conformity with the Land Surveyors Act or be compiled from recorded or filed data when sufficient survey information exists on filed maps to locate and retrace the exterior boundary lines of the parcel map if the location of at least one of these boundary lines can be established from an existing monumented line.
66449. The following statements shall appear on a parcel map: (a) Engineer’s (surveyor’s) statement: This map was prepared by me or under my direction (and was compiled from record data) (and is based upon a field survey) in conformance with the requirements of the Subdivision Map Act and local ordinance at the request of (name of person authorizing map) on (date). I hereby state that this parcel map substantially conforms to the approved or conditionally approved tentative map, if any.
(Signed) ____________________________ R.C.E. (or L.S.) No. ____________________________ (b) Recorder’s certificate or statement. Filed this ___ day of ____, 20__, at ____m. in Book ____ of ____, at page ____, at the request of ________.
Signed _________________________________ County Recorder
66450. (a) If a subdivision for which a parcel map is required lies within an unincorporated area, a certificate or statement by the county surveyor is required. If a subdivision lies within a city, a certificate or statement by the city engineer or city surveyor is required. The appropriate official shall sign, date, and, below or immediately adjacent to the signature, indicate his or her registration or license number with expiration date and the stamp of his or her seal and state that: (1) He or she examined the map. (2) The subdivision as shown is substantially the same as it appeared on the tentative map, if required, and any approved alterations thereof. (3) All provisions of this chapter and of any local ordinances applicable at the time of approval of the tentative map, if required, have been complied with. (4) He or she is satisfied that the map is technically correct. (b) City or county engineers registered as civil engineers after January 1, 1982, shall only be qualified to certify the statements of paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of subdivision (a). The statement specified in paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) shall only be certified by a person authorized to practice land surveying pursuant to the Professional Land Surveyors’ Act (Chapter 15 (commencing with Section 8700) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code) or a person registered as a civil engineer prior to January 1, 1982, pursuant to the Professional Engineers’ Act (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 6700) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code). (c) The county surveyor, city engineer, or city surveyor, as the case may be, or other public official or employee qualified and authorized to perform the functions of one of those officials, shall complete his or her certificate or statement, as required by this section, within 20 days from the time the parcel map is submitted to him or her by the subdivider for approval. The completed parcel map shall be delivered to the county recorder or, if required by local ordinance, filed with the legislative body prior to delivery to the county recorder, within the same 20-day period.
66451. The procedures set forth in this chapter shall govern the processing, approval, conditional approval or disapproval and filing of tentative, final and parcel maps and the modification thereof. Local ordinances may modify such procedures to the extent authorized by this chapter.
66451.1. (a) The time limits specified in this chapter for reporting and acting on maps may be extended by mutual consent of the subdivider and the advisory agency or legislative body required to report or act. However, no advisory agency or legislative body, may require a routine waiver of time limits as a condition of accepting the application for, or processing of tentative, final, or parcel maps, unless the routine waiver is obtained for the purpose of permitting concurrent processing of related approvals or an environmental review on the same development project. (b) At the time that the subdivider makes an application pursuant to this division, a local agency shall determine whether or not it is able to meet the time limits specified in this chapter for reporting and acting on maps. If the local agency determines that it will be unable to meet such time limits, such agency shall, upon request of a subdivider and for the purpose of meeting such time limits, contract or employ a private entity or persons on a temporary basis to perform such services as necessary to permit the agency to meet such time limits. However, a local agency need not enter into such a contract or employ such persons if it determines either that (1) no such entities or persons are available or qualified to perform such services or (2) the local agency would be able to perform services in a more rapid fashion than would any available and qualified persons or entities. Such entities or persons employed by a local agency may, pursuant to an agreement with the local agency, perform all functions necessary to process tentative, final, and parcel maps and to comply with other requirements imposed pursuant to this division or by local ordinances adopted pursuant to this division, except those functions reserved by this division or local ordinance to the legislative body. A local agency may charge the subdivider fees in an amount necessary to defray costs directly attributable to employing or contracting with entities or persons performing services pursuant to this section.
66451.2. The local agency may establish reasonable fees for the processing of tentative, final and parcel maps and for other procedures required or authorized by this division or local ordinance, but the fees shall not exceed the amount reasonably required by such agency to administer the provisions of this division. The fees shall be imposed pursuant to the Mitigation Fee Act, consisting of Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 66000), Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 66010), Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 66012), Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 66016), and Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 66020) of Division 1.
66451.3. (a) Unless otherwise provided by this division, notice of a hearing held pursuant to this division shall be given pursuant to Sections 65090 and 65091. (b) If the proposed subdivision is a conversion of residential real property to a condominium project, community apartment project, or stock cooperative project, the notice shall also be given by the local agency by United States mail to each tenant of the subject property, and shall also include notification of the tenant’s right to appear and be heard. The requirements of this subdivision may be satisfied by service of the notice in compliance with the requirements for service of legal process by mail. (c) Pursuant to Section 66451.2, fees may be collected from the subdivider for expenses incurred under this section. (d) Any interested person may appear at the hearing and shall be heard.
66451.4. No advisory agency or legislative body shall disapprove an application for a tentative, final, or parcel map in order to comply with the time limits specified in this chapter unless there are reasons for disapproval other than the failure to timely act in accordance with the time limits specified in this chapter.
66451.6. No fee shall be charged by a local agency as a condition to the approval of a tentative, final, or parcel map for a subdivision, or a division of land which is not a subdivision, which consists of the conversion of a mobilehome park to condominium or stock cooperative ownership interests, except regulatory fees charged for the issuance of a permit and those fees authorized by Section 66451.2.
66451.7. Applications for an exception from the Subdivision Map Act pursuant to Section 66412, and applications for parcel map waivers pursuant to Section 66428, shall be acted upon by a local agency within 60 days of the application being deemed complete pursuant to Section 65943.
66451.10. (a) Notwithstanding Section 66424, except as is otherwise provided for in this article, two or more contiguous parcels or units of land which have been created under the provisions of this division, or any prior law regulating the division of land, or a local ordinance enacted pursuant thereto, or which were not subject to those provisions at the time of their creation, shall not be deemed merged by virtue of the fact that the contiguous parcels or units are held by the same owner, and no further proceeding under the provisions of this division or a local ordinance enacted pursuant thereto shall be required for the purpose of sale, lease, or financing of the contiguous parcels or units, or any of them. (b) This article shall provide the sole and exclusive authority for local agency initiated merger of contiguous parcels. On and after January 1, 1984, parcels may be merged by local agencies only in accordance with the authority and procedures prescribed by this article. This exclusive authority does not, however, abrogate or limit the authority of a local agency or a subdivider with respect to the following procedures within this division: (1) Lot line adjustments. (2) Amendment or correction of a final or parcel map. (3) Reversions to acreage. (4) Exclusions. (5) Tentative, parcel, or final maps which create fewer parcels.
66451.11. A local agency may, by ordinance which conforms to and implements the procedures prescribed by this article, provide for the merger of a parcel or unit with a contiguous parcel or unit held by the same owner if any one of the contiguous parcels or units held by the same owner does not conform to standards for minimum parcel size, under the zoning ordinance of the local agency applicable to the parcels or units of land and if all of the following requirements are satisfied: (a) At least one of the affected parcels is undeveloped by any structure for which a building permit was issued or for which a building permit was not required at the time of construction, or is developed only with an accessory structure or accessory structures, or is developed with a single structure, other than an accessory structure, that is also partially sited on a contiguous parcel or unit. (b) With respect to any affected parcel, one or more of the following conditions exists: (1) Comprises less than 5,000 square feet in area at the time of the determination of merger. (2) Was not created in compliance with applicable laws and ordinances in effect at the time of its creation. (3) Does not meet current standards for sewage disposal and domestic water supply. (4) Does not meet slope stability standards. (5) Has no legal access which is adequate for vehicular and safety equipment access and maneuverability. (6) Its development would create health or safety hazards. (7) Is inconsistent with the applicable general plan and any applicable specific plan, other than minimum lot size or density standards. The ordinance may establish the standards specified in paragraphs (3) to (7), inclusive, which shall be applicable to parcels to be merged. This subdivision shall not apply if one of the following conditions exist: (A) On or before July 1, 1981, one or more of the contiguous parcels or units of land is enforceably restricted open-space land pursuant to a contract, agreement, scenic restriction, or open-space easement, as defined and set forth in Section 421 of the Revenue and Taxation Code. (B) On July 1, 1981, one or more of the contiguous parcels or units of land is timberland as defined in subdivision (f) of Section 51104, or is land devoted to an agricultural use as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 51201. (C) On July 1, 1981, one or more of the contiguous parcels or units of land is located within 2,000 feet of the site on which an existing commercial mineral resource extraction use is being made, whether or not the extraction is being made pursuant to a use permit issued by the local agency. (D) On July 1, 1981, one or more of the contiguous parcels or units of land is located within 2,000 feet of a future commercial mineral extraction site as shown on a plan for which a use permit or other permit authorizing commercial mineral resource extraction has been issued by the local agency. (E) Within the coastal zone, as defined in Section 30103 of the Public Resources Code, one or more of the contiguous parcels or units of land has, prior to July 1, 1981, been identified or designated as being of insufficient size to support residential development and where the identification or designation has either (i) been included in the land use plan portion of a local coastal program prepared and adopted pursuant to the California Coastal Act of 1976 (Division 20 of the Public Resources Code), or (ii) prior to the adoption of a land use plan, been made by formal action of the California Coastal Commission pursuant to the provisions of the California Coastal Act of 1976 in a coastal development permit decision or in an approved land use plan work program or an approved issue identification on which the preparation of a land use plan pursuant to the provisions of the California Coastal Act is based. For purposes of paragraphs (C) and (D) of this subdivision, “mineral resource extraction” means gas, oil, hydrocarbon, gravel, or sand extraction, geothermal wells, or other similar commercial mining activity. (c) The owner of the affected parcels has been notified of the merger proposal pursuant to Section 66451.13, and is afforded the opportunity for a hearing pursuant to Section 66451.14. For purposes of this section, when determining whether contiguous parcels are held by the same owner, ownership shall be determined as of the date that notice of intention to determine status is recorded.
66451.12. A merger of parcels becomes effective when the local agency causes to be filed for record with the recorder of the county in which the real property is located, a notice of merger specifying the names of the record owners and particularly describing the real property.
66451.13. Prior to recording a notice of merger, the local agency shall cause to be mailed by certified mail to the then current record owner of the property a notice of intention to determine status, notifying the owner that the affected parcels may be merged pursuant to standards specified in the merger ordinance, and advising the owner of the opportunity to request a hearing on determination of status and to present evidence at the hearing that the property does not meet the criteria for merger. The notice of intention to determine status shall be filed for record with the recorder of the county in which the real property is located on the date that notice is mailed to the property owner.
66451.14. At any time within 30 days after recording of the notice of intention to determine status, the owner of the affected property may file with the local agency a request for a hearing on determination of status.
66451.15. Upon receiving a request for a hearing on determination of status from the owner of the affected property pursuant to Section 66451.14, the local agency shall fix a time, date, and place for a hearing to be conducted by the legislative body or an advisory agency, and shall notify the property owner of that time, date, and place for the hearing by certified mail. The hearing shall be conducted not more than 60 days following the local agency’s receipt of the property owner’s request for the hearing, but may be postponed or continued with the mutual consent of the local agency and the property owner.
66451.16. At the hearing, the property owner shall be given the opportunity to present any evidence that the affected property does not meet the standards for merger specified in the merger ordinance. At the conclusion of the hearing, the local agency shall make a determination that the affected parcels are to be merged or are not to be merged and shall so notify the owner of its determination. If the merger ordinance so provides, a determination of nonmerger may be made whether or not the affected property meets the standards for merger specified in Section 66451.11. A determination of merger shall be recorded within 30 days after conclusion of the hearing, as provided for in Section 66451.12.
66451.17. If, within the 30-day period specified in Section 66451.14, the owner does not file a request for a hearing in accordance with Section 66451.16, the local agency may, at any time thereafter, make a determination that the affected parcels are to be merged or are not to be merged. A determination of merger shall be recorded as provided for in Section 66451.12 no later than 90 days following the mailing of notice required by Section 66451.13.
66451.18. If, in accordance with Section 66451.16 or 66451.17, the local agency determines that the subject property shall not be merged, it shall cause to be recorded in the manner specified in Section 66451.12 a release of the notice of intention to determine status, recorded pursuant to Section 66451.13, and shall mail a clearance letter to the then current owner of record.
66451.19. (a) Except as provided in Sections 66451.195, 66451.301, and 66451.302, a city or county shall no later than January 1, 1986, record a notice of merger for any parcel merged prior to January 1, 1984. After January 1, 1986, no parcel merged prior to January 1, 1984, shall be considered merged unless a notice of merger has been recorded prior to January 1, 1986. (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of Sections 66451.12 to 66451.18, inclusive, a city or county having a merger ordinance in existence on January 1, 1984, may, until July 1, 1984, continue to effect the merger of parcels pursuant to that ordinance, unless the parcels would be deemed not to have merged pursuant to the criteria specified in Section 66451.30. The local agency shall record a notice of merger for any parcels merged pursuant to that ordinance. (c) At least 30 days prior to recording a notice of merger pursuant to subdivision (a) or (b), the local agency shall advise the owner of the affected parcels, in writing, of the intention to record the notice and specify a time, date, and place at which the owner may present evidence to the legislative body or advisory agency as to why the notice should not be recorded. (d) The failure of a local agency to comply with the requirements of this article for the merger of contiguous parcels or units of land held in common ownership shall render void and ineffective any resulting merger or recorded notice of merger and no further proceedings under the provisions of this division or a local ordinance enacted pursuant thereto shall be required for the purpose of sale, lease, or financing of those contiguous parcels or units, or any of them, until such time as the parcels or units of land have been lawfully merged by subsequent proceedings initiated by the local agency which meet the requirements of this article. (e) The failure of a local agency to comply with the requirements of any prior law establishing requirements for the merger of contiguous parcels or units of land held in common ownership, shall render voidable any resulting merger or recorded notice of merger. From and after the date the local agency determines that its actions did not comply with the prior law, or a court enters a judgment declaring that the actions of the agency did not comply with the prior law, no further proceedings under the provisions of this division or a local ordinance enacted pursuant thereto shall be required for the purpose of sale, lease, or financing of such contiguous parcels or units, or any of them, until such time as the parcels or units of land have been lawfully merged by subsequent proceedings initiated by the local agency which meet the requirements of this article.
66451.195. (a) Counties more than 20,000 square miles in size shall have until January 1, 1990, to record a notice of merger for parcels of 4,000 square feet or less prior to the time of merger, which were merged prior to January 1, 1984, and for those parcels no parcel merged prior to January 1, 1984, shall be considered merged unless the notice of merger has been recorded prior to January 1, 1990. Counties recording notices of merger pursuant to this subdivision shall comply with the notice requirements of Section 66451.19. (b) This section shall not be applicable to any parcels or units which meet the criteria of subdivision (a) but which were transferred, or for which the owner has applied for a building permit, during the period between January 1, 1986, and the effective date of this section.
66451.20. Prior to amending a merger ordinance which was in existence on January 1, 1984, in order to bring it into compliance with Section 66451.11, the legislative body of the local agency shall adopt a resolution of intention and the clerk of the legislative body shall cause notice of the adoption of the resolution to be published in the manner prescribed by Section 6061. The publication shall have been completed not less than 30 days prior to adoption of the amended ordinance.
66451.21. Prior to the adoption of a merger ordinance in conformance with Section 66451.11, by a city or county not having a merger ordinance on January 1, 1984, the legislative body shall adopt a resolution of intention to adopt a merger ordinance and fix a time and place for a public hearing on the proposed ordinance, which shall be conducted not less than 30 nor more than 60 days after adoption of the resolution. The clerk of the legislative body shall cause a notice of the hearing to be published in the manner prescribed by Section 6061. Publication shall have been completed at least seven days prior to the date of the hearing. The notice shall: (a) Contain the text of the resolution. (b) State the time and place of the hearing. (c) State that at the hearing all interested persons will be heard.
66451.22. (a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares that: (1) The agricultural area of Napa County has become extremely important over the last 25 years as a premier winegrape growing region of worldwide importance and should thereby be protected from parcelization. (2) The county has determined that because of the land’s extraordinary agricultural value as a winegrape production area and the fact that the county’s tourism industry entrusts its significant economic interests to its agricultural and open-space lands, the highest and best use for the agricultural land in the Napa Valley is for agricultural production. (3) The full potential build-out of parcels not previously recognized in Napa County’s agricultural preserve and watershed areas could devastate the wine industry of California and Napa County. (4) To adequately protect the value and productivity of the county’ s agricultural lands, Napa County needs relief from the Subdivision Map Act’s implied preemption of local ordinances that may require merger of parcels that do not meet current zoning and design and improvement standards as well as the provisions that recognize parcels created prior to, or before, the current Subdivision Map Act. (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the County of Napa may adopt ordinances to require, as a condition of the issuance of any permit or the grant of any approval necessary to develop any real property which includes in whole or in part an undeveloped substandard parcel, that the undeveloped substandard parcel be merged into any other parcel or parcels that are contiguous to it and were held in common ownership on or after the effective date of this act, whether or not the contiguous parcels are a part of the development application, except as otherwise provided in subdivisions (d) and (e). (c) For purposes of this section, “undeveloped substandard parcel” means a parcel or parcels that qualify as undeveloped pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 66451.11, are located in areas designated as Agricultural Resource (AR) or Agricultural, Watershed, and Open Space (AWOS) on the General Plan Map of Napa County and are inconsistent with the parcel size established by the general plan and any applicable specific plan. (d) Any ordinance adopted by the County of Napa pursuant to subdivision (b) shall exempt the following: (1) Undeveloped substandard parcels for which a conditional or unconditional certificate of compliance has been issued pursuant to subdivision (a) or (b) of Section 66499.35, so long as the application for the certificate of compliance, together with the documentation required by the County of Napa on or before August 1, 1997, to commence the processing of an application, is filed on or before the effective date of this act; provided that this exemption shall not be applicable to conditional certificates of compliance, whenever issued, if the parcels involved were created on or after January 1, 1997, in a manner not in compliance with this division or local ordinances enacted pursuant thereto. (2) Substandard parcels created by the recordation of a final or parcel map approved by the County of Napa on or after December 29, 1955. (3) Substandard parcels lawfully created by the recordation of a record of survey prior to February 27, 1969. (4) Notwithstanding Section 1093 of the Civil Code, property that in the most recently recorded deed, mortgage, patent, deed of trust, contract of sale, or other instrument of conveyance or security document, described by means of a consolidated legal description, whether or not such legal description is comprised of one or more previously existing legal descriptions, provided the owner of same prior to filing an application for development records a document merging any underlying parcel lines that may exist. (e) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (b), the Board of Supervisors of the County of Napa shall not require merger or condition or deny the issuance of any permit or the grant of any approval necessary to develop any real property in a manner that would constitute a taking of the landowner’s property in violation of the United States and California Constitutions. (f) Nothing contained in this section shall be construed as affecting the right of the County of Napa, pursuant to the provisions of Article 1.5 (commencing with Section 66451.10) and Article 1.7 (commencing with Section 66451.30), to merge any parcels of land in the unincorporated area of that county, including, but not limited to, any parcels eligible for the exemption as described in subdivision (d) of Section 66451.22.
66451.23. Prior to adopting any ordinance authorized by Section 66451.22, the legislative body of the County of Napa shall conduct at least one public meeting at which local officials shall allow public testimony regarding the proposed ordinance in addition to the noticed public hearing at which the legislative body proposes to enact the ordinance.
66451.30. Any parcels or units of land for which a notice of merger had not been recorded on or before January 1, 1984, shall be deemed not to have merged if on January 1, 1984: (a) The parcel meets each of the following criteria: (1) Comprises at least 5,000 square feet in area. (2) Was created in compliance with applicable laws and ordinances in effect at the time of its creation. (3) Meets current standards for sewage disposal and domestic water supply. (4) Meets slope density standards. (5) Has legal access which is adequate for vehicular and safety equipment access and maneuverability. (6) Development of the parcel would create no health or safety hazards. (7) The parcel would be consistent with the applicable general plan and any applicable specific plan, other than minimum lot size or density standards. (b) And, with respect to such parcel, none of the following conditions exist: (1) On or before July 1, 1981, one or more of the contiguous parcels or units of land is enforceably restricted open-space land pursuant to a contract, agreement, scenic restriction, or open-space easement, as defined and set forth in Section 421 of the Revenue and Taxation Code. (2) On July 1, 1981, one or more of the contiguous parcels or units of land is timberland as defined in subdivision (f) of Section 51104, or is land devoted to an agricultural use as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 51201. (3) On July 1, 1981, one or more of the contiguous parcels or units of land is located within 2,000 feet of the site on which an existing commercial mineral resource extraction use is being made, whether or not the extraction is being made pursuant to a use permit issued by the local agency. (4) On July 1, 1981, one or more of the contiguous parcels or units of land is located within 2,000 feet of a future commercial mineral extraction site as shown on a plan for which a use permit or other permit authorizing commercial mineral resource extraction has been issued by the local agency. (5) Within the coastal zone, as defined in Section 30103 of the Public Resources Code, one or more of the contiguous parcels or units of land has, prior to July 1, 1981, been identified or designated as being of insufficient size to support residential development and where the identification or designation has either (A) been included in the land use plan portion of a local coastal program prepared and adopted pursuant to the California Coastal Act of 1976 (Division 20 of the Public Resources Code), or (B) prior to the adoption of a land use plan, been made by formal action of the California Coastal Commission pursuant to the provisions of the California Coastal Act of 1976 in a coastal development permit decision or in an approved land use plan work program or an approved issue identification on which the preparation of a land use plan pursuant to the provisions of the California Coastal Act is based. For purposes of paragraphs (3) and (4), “mineral resource extraction” means gas, oil, hydrocarbon, gravel, or sand extraction, geothermal wells, or other similar commercial mining activity. Each city or county, as applicable, may establish the standards specified in paragraphs (3) to (7), inclusive, of subdivision (a), which shall be applicable to parcels deemed not to have merged pursuant to this section.
66451.301. If any parcels or units of land merged under a valid local merger ordinance which was in effect prior to January 1, 1984, but for which a notice of merger had not been recorded before January 1, 1988, and one or more of the merged parcels or units of land is within one of the categories specified in paragraphs (1) to (5), inclusive, of subdivision (b) of Section 66451.30, the parcels or units of land shall be deemed not to have merged unless all of the following conditions exist: (a) The parcels or units are contiguous and held by the same owner. (b) One or more of the contiguous parcels or units do not conform to minimum parcel size under the applicable general plan, specific plan, or zoning ordinance. (c) At least one of the affected parcels is undeveloped by any structure for which a building permit was issued or for which a building permit was not required at the time of construction, or is developed only with an accessory structure or accessory structures, or is developed with a single structure, other than an accessory structure, that is also partially sited on a contiguous parcel or unit. (d) The parcels or units which do not conform to minimum parcel size were not created by a recorded parcel or final map. If all the conditions described in subdivisions (a), (b), (c), and (d) above exist, only a parcel or unit of land which does not conform to minimum parcel size shall remain merged with a contiguous parcel.
66451.302. (a) By January 1, 1987, a city or county or city and county which has within its boundaries, parcels or units of land which are or may be subject to the provisions of Section 66451.301, shall send a notice to all owners of real property affected by Section 66451.301 in substantially the following form: “The city or county sending you this notice has identified one or more parcels of land which you own as potentially subject to a new state law regarding the merger of substandard parcels which are located in one or more of the following categories: (1) On or before July 1, 1981, one or more of the contiguous parcels or units of land is enforceably restricted open-space land pursuant to a contract, agreement, scenic restriction, or open-space easement, as defined and set forth in Section 421 of the Revenue and Taxation Code. (2) On July 1, 1981, one or more of the contiguous parcels or units of land is timberland as defined in subdivision (f) of Section 51104, is in a timberland production zone as defined in subdivision (g) of Section 51104, or is land devoted to an agricultural use as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 51201. (3) On July 1, 1981, one or more of the contiguous parcels or units of land is located within 2,000 feet of the site on which an existing commercial mineral resource extraction use is being made, whether or not the extraction is being made, whether or not the extraction is being made pursuant to a use permit issued by the local agency. (4) On July 1, 1981, one or more of the contiguous parcels or units of land is located within 2,000 feet of a future commercial mineral extraction site as shown on a plan for which a use permit or other permit authorizing commercial mineral resource extraction has been issued by the local agency. (5) (In coastal counties only) Within the coastal zone, as defined in Section 30103 of the Public Resources Code, one or more of the contiguous parcels or units of land has, prior to July 1, 1981, been identified or designated as being of insufficient size to support residential development and where the identification or designation has either (i) been included in the land use plan portion of a local coastal program prepared and adopted pursuant to the California Coastal Act of 1976 (Division 20 of the Public Resources Code), or (ii) prior to the adoption of a land use plan, been made by formal action of the California Coastal Commission pursuant to the provisions of the California Coastal Act of 1976 in a coastal development permit decision or in an approved land use plan work program or an approved issue identification on which the preparation of a land use plan pursuant to the provisions of the California Coastal Act is based.” “The new state law contained in Section 66451.301 of the Government Code, generally provides for parcels or units of land located in one or more of the above-described areas which were merged prior to January 1, 1984, and for which the local agency did not record a notice of merger by January 1, 1988, the parcels are deemed unmerged on January 1, 1988, unless all of the following conditions exist: (a) The parcels or units are contiguous and held by the same owner. (b) One or more of the contiguous parcels or units do not conform to minimum parcel size under the applicable general plan, specific plan, or zoning ordinance. (c) At least one of the affected parcels is undeveloped by any structure for which a building permit was issued or for which a building permit was not required at the time of construction, or is developed only with an accessory structure or necessary structures, or is developed with a single structure, other than an accessory structure, that is also partially sited on a contiguous parcel or unit. (d) The parcels or units which do not conform to minimum parcel size were not created by a recorded parcel or final map. In order to determine whether this new law applies to your property, you should immediately contact the ____ Department of (City or County) to assist you in determining the application of the new law.” “WARNING. Your failure to act may result in the loss of valuable legal rights regarding the property.”
66451.31. Upon application made by the owner and payment of any fees authorized by Section 66451.33, the local agency shall make a determination that the affected parcels have merged or, if meeting the criteria of Section 66451.30, are deemed not to have merged.
66451.32. (a) Upon a determination that the parcels meet the standards specified in Section 66451.30, the local agency shall issue to the owner and record with the county recorder a notice of the status of the parcels which shall identify each parcel and declare that the parcels are unmerged pursuant to this article. (b) Upon a determination that the parcels have merged and do not meet the criteria specified in Section 66451.30, the local agency shall issue to the owner and record with the county recorder, a notice of merger as provided in Section 66451.12.
66451.33. A city or county may impose a fee not to exceed those permitted by Chapter 13 (commencing with Section 54990) of Part 1, payable by the owner, for those costs incurred with respect to a parcel for which application for a determination that the parcels meet the criteria of Section 66451.30 is made.
66452. (a) A tentative map shall be filed with the clerk of the advisory agency or, if there is no advisory agency, with the clerk of the legislative body, or with any other officer or employee of the local agency as may be designated by local ordinance. (b) A vesting tentative map shall be filed and processed in the same manner as a tentative map except as otherwise provided by this division or by a local ordinance adopted pursuant to this division. (c) At the time a vesting tentative map is filed it shall have printed conspicuously on its face the words “Vesting Tentative Map.”
66452.1. (a) If the advisory agency is not authorized by local ordinance to approve, conditionally approve or disapprove the tentative map, it shall make its written report on the tentative map to the legislative body within 50 days after the filing thereof with its clerk. (b) If the advisory agency is authorized by local ordinance to approve, conditionally approve, or disapprove the tentative map, it shall take that action within 50 days after the filing thereof with its clerk and report its action to the subdivider. (c) The local agency shall comply with the time periods referred to in Section 21151.5 of the Public Resources Code. The time periods specified in subdivisions (a) and (b) shall commence after certification of the environmental impact report, adoption of a negative declaration, or a determination by the local agency that the project is exempt from the requirements of Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code.
66452.2. (a) If there is an advisory agency which is not authorized by local ordinance to approve, conditionally approve or disapprove the tentative map, at the next regular meeting of the legislative body following the filing of the advisory agency’s report with it, the legislative body shall fix the meeting date at which the tentative map will be considered by it, which date shall be within 30 days thereafter and the legislative body shall approve, conditionally approve, or disapprove the tentative map within that 30-day period. (b) If there is no advisory agency, the clerk of the legislative body shall submit the tentative map to the legislative body at its next regular meeting which shall approve, conditionally approve or disapprove that map within 50 days thereafter. (c) The local agency shall comply with the time periods referred to in Section 21151.5 of the Public Resources Code. The time periods specified in subdivisions (a) and (b) shall commence after certification of the environmental impact report, adoption of a negative declaration, or a determination by the local agency that the project is exempt from the requirements of Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code.
66452.3. Any report or recommendation on a tentative map by the staff of the local agency to the advisory agency or legislative body shall be in writing and a copy thereof served on the subdivider and on each tenant of the subject property, in the case of a proposed conversion of residential real property to a condominium project, community apartment project, or stock cooperative project, at least three days prior to any hearing or action on such map by such advisory agency or legislative body. Pursuant to Section 66451.2, fees may be collected from the subdivider for expenses incurred under this section.
66452.4. (a) If no action is taken upon a tentative map by an advisory agency that is authorized by local ordinance to approve, conditionally approve, or disapprove the tentative map or by the legislative body within the time limits specified in this chapter or any authorized extension thereof, the tentative map as filed, shall be deemed to be approved, insofar as it complies with other applicable requirements of this division and any local ordinances, and it shall be the duty of the clerk of the legislative body to certify or state his or her approval. (b) Once a tentative map is deemed approved pursuant to subdivision (a), a subdivider shall be entitled, upon request of the local agency or the legislative body, to receive a written certification of approval.
66452.5. (a) The subdivider, or any tenant of the subject property, in the case of a proposed conversion of residential real property to a condominium project, community apartment project, or stock cooperative project, may appeal from any action of the advisory agency with respect to a tentative map to the appeal board established by local ordinance or, if none, to the legislative body. The appeal shall be filed with the clerk of the appeal board, or if there is none, with the clerk of the legislative body within 10 days after the action of the advisory agency from which the appeal is being taken. Upon the filing of an appeal, the appeal board or legislative body shall set the matter for hearing. The hearing shall be held within 30 days after the date of filing the appeal. Within 10 days following the conclusion of the hearing, the appeal board or legislative body shall render its decision on the appeal. (b) The subdivider, any tenant of the subject property, in the case of a conversion of residential real property to a condominium project, community apartment project, or stock cooperative project, or the advisory agency may appeal from the action of the appeal board to the legislative body. The appeal shall be filed in writing with the clerk of the legislative body within 10 days after the action of the appeal board from which the appeal is being taken. After the filing of an appeal, the legislative body shall set the matter for hearing. The hearing shall be held within 30 days after the date of a request therefor filed by the subdivider or the appellant. Within 10 days following the conclusion of the hearing, the legislative body shall render its decision on the appeal. The decision shall comply with the provisions of Sections 66473, 66473.5, and 66474, and shall include any findings required by those sections. (c) If there is an appeal board and it fails to act upon an appeal within the time limit specified in this chapter, the decision from which the appeal was taken shall be deemed affirmed and an appeal therefrom may thereupon be taken to the legislative body as provided in subdivision (b) of this section. If no further appeal is taken, the tentative map, insofar as it complies with applicable requirements of this division and local ordinance, shall be deemed approved or conditionally approved as last approved or conditionally approved by the advisory agency, and it shall be the duty of the clerk of the legislative body to certify or state that approval, or if the advisory agency is one which is not authorized by local ordinance to approve, conditionally approve, or disapprove the tentative map, the advisory agency shall submit its report to the legislative body as if no appeal had been taken. If the legislative body fails to act upon an appeal within the time limit specified in this chapter, the tentative map, insofar as it complies with applicable requirements of this division and local ordinance, shall be deemed to be approved or conditionally approved as last approved or conditionally approved, and it shall be the duty of the clerk of the legislative body to certify or state that approval. (d) Any interested person adversely affected by a decision of the advisory agency or appeal board may file an appeal with the governing body concerning any decision of the advisory agency or appeal board. The appeal shall be filed with the clerk of the governing body within 10 days after the action of the advisory agency or appeal board which is the subject of the appeal. Upon the filing of the appeal, the governing body shall set the matter for hearing. The hearing shall be held within 30 days after the filing of the appeal. The hearing may be a public hearing for which notice shall be given in the time and manner provided. Upon conclusion of the hearing, the governing body shall, within 10 days, declare its findings based upon the testimony and documents produced before it or before the advisory board or the appeal board. It may sustain, modify, reject, or overrule any recommendations or rulings of the advisory board or the appeal board and may make any findings which are not inconsistent with the provisions of this chapter or local ordinance adopted pursuant to this chapter. (e) Notice of each hearing provided for in this section shall be sent by United States mail to each tenant of the subject property, in the case of a conversion of residential real property to a condominium project, community apartment project, or stock cooperative project, at least three days prior to the hearing. The notice requirement of this subdivision shall be deemed satisfied if the notice complies with the legal requirements for service by mail. Pursuant to Section 66451.2, fees may be collected from the subdivider or from persons appealing or filing an appeal for expenses incurred under this section.
