Azusa Municipal Code Art. VII Merger of Parcels

The purpose of this article is to provide a procedure by which two or more contiguous parcels or units of land held by the same owner may be merged. This procedure is adopted pursuant to Government Code § 66451.10.

(Code 1971, § 18.42.010)

(a) This article shall be applicable to two or more contiguous parcels of land held by the same owner where:

(1) The parcels were created under this chapter or any prior ordinance or state law regulating the division of land or which were not subject to any prior law regulating the division of land; and

(2) At least one of the contiguous parcels or units of land held by the same owner does not conform to standards for minimum parcel size to permit use or development under chapter 86 pertaining to zoning.

(b) Nothing in this article shall be construed or interpreted to prohibit the sale, lease or financing of such contiguous parcels of land or any of them where the parcels have not been merged pursuant to the procedure set forth in this article.

(Code 1971, § 18.42.020)

Any two or more contiguous parcels or units of land held by the same owner which are subject to the merger procedures set forth in this article as provided in section 66-432 may be merged if all of the following requirements are satisfied:

(1) 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 is developed with a single structure, other than an accessory structure, that is also partially sited on a contiguous parcel or unit.

(2) With respect to any affected parcel, one or more of the following conditions exists:

a. Comprises less than 5,000 square feet in area at the time of the determination of merger.

b. Was not created in compliance with applicable laws and ordinances in effect at the time of its creation.

c. Does not meet current standards for sewage disposal and domestic water supply.

d. Does not meet slope stability standards.

e. Has no legal access which is adequate for vehicular and safety equipment access and maneuverability.

f. Its development would create health or safety hazards.

g. Is inconsistent with the applicable general plan and any applicable specific plan, other than minimum lot size or density standards.

(3) Subsection (b) of this section shall not be applicable if any of the conditions set forth in Government Code § 66451.11(b)(A)—(E) exist.

(Code 1971, § 18.42.030)

Under this article, for purposes of determining whether contiguous parcels or units are held by the same owner, ownership shall be determined as of the date that notice of intention to determine status is recorded pursuant to section 66-435.

(Code 1971, § 18.42.040)

Whenever the director of community development has knowledge that real property may be merged pursuant to this article, he may:

(1) Mail by certified mail to the then current record owner of the property a notice of intention to determine status. Such notice shall state that:

a. The affected parcels may be merged pursuant to this article;

b. The owner may file a request with the community development department any time within 30 days after the date the notice of intention to determine status is recorded for a hearing before the planning commission and may present evidence at the hearing that the property does not meet the requirements for merger;

c. The notice of intention to determine status was filed for recording with the county recorder's office on the same date such notice was mailed to the property owner; and

d. If a hearing is not requested, the commission will proceed to determine whether the parcels should be merged.

(2) File for record with the county recorder's office, on the same date that the notice is mailed to the property owner, the notice of intention to determine status.

(Code 1971, § 18.42.050)

(a) Upon receipt of a request for a hearing on determination of status as provided in this article, the director of community development shall fix a time, date and place for a hearing to be conducted by the planning commission and shall so notify the property owner by certified mail. The hearing shall be conducted not more than 60 days following the receipt of the property owner's request therefor, but may be postponed or continued with the mutual consent of the planning commission and the property owner.

(b) At the hearing, the property owner shall be given the opportunity to present any evidence that the affected property does not meet the requirements for merger as set forth in sections 66-432 and 66-433.

(c) At the conclusion of the hearing, the planning commission shall make a determination as to whether the affected parcels are to be merged and shall notify the owner of its determination as soon thereafter as practicable, but no later than five working days after the determination has been reached.

(d) The planning commission may, at the close of the hearing, determine that the parcels are not to be merged, notwithstanding the fact that the affected parcels have met all the requirements set forth in sections 66-432 and 66-433 for a merger.

(Code 1971, § 18.42.060)

(a) If the planning commission under this article determines that the affected parcels are merged, the director of community development shall file for record with the county recorder's office a notice of merger specifying the names of the record owners and particularly describing the real property to be merged.

(b) The notice of merger shall be filed no later than 30 days after the conclusion of the hearing on determination of status, unless a timely appeal from the commission's determination is filed pursuant to section 66-440.

(c) A merger of parcels becomes effective on the date the notice of merger is duly filed with the county recorder's office.

(Code 1971, § 18.42.070)

(a) If the planning commission under this article determines that the affected parcels are not to be merged, the director of community development shall:

(1) File for record with the county recorder's office a release of notice of intention to determine status, recorded pursuant to section 66-435, specifying the names of the record owners and particularly describing the real property; and

(2) Mail a copy of the release to the then current owner of record.

(b) The release and clearance letter shall be filed and mailed, respectively, within five working days of the date of the planning commission's determination.

(Code 1971, § 18.42.080)

(a) If the property owner fails to file a request for hearing within the 30-day period as provided in section 66-435, the planning commission may, at any time thereafter, make a determination as to whether the affected parcels are to be merged.

(b) If the planning commission makes a determination of merger, the director of community development shall file a notice of merger no later than 90 days after the mailing of the notice of intention to determine status as provided in section 66-435, and shall notify the property owner of such determination by certified mail.

(c) If the planning commission makes a determination not to merge the parcels, the director of community development shall follow the procedure set forth in section 66-438.

(Code 1971, § 18.42.090)

(a) If the property owner requested a hearing pursuant to section 66-435 and received a determination by the planning commission that the affected parcels are to be merged at the conclusion thereof, he may appeal the determination to the city council by filing a written notice of such appeal with the city clerk no later than 15 days after the date of the notice to the property owner of the planning commission's determination. Such appeal shall set forth specifically the facts upon which the property owner bases his claim that the planning commission's findings were in error and that the decision of the planning commission is not supported by the evidence and that the public necessity, convenience and welfare require the planning commission's decision to be reversed.

(b) All decisions of the planning commission regarding the merger or nonmerger of parcels shall be final, unless appealed from as prescribed in this section, or until any condition precedent to its effectiveness has been fulfilled, whichever is later in time.

(c) The city clerk shall not accept for filing a notice of appeal unless and until the appellant has submitted to the city clerk a filing fee as determined by resolution of the city council. The city clerk shall forthwith transmit a copy of such notice of appeal to the commission's secretary and place such appeal on the city council's agenda for a regularly scheduled meeting not more than 30 days thereafter. The commission's secretary, not less than ten calendar days after the date of receipt of the notice of appeal, shall transmit to the city clerk for presentation to the city council all papers constituting the record upon which the commission's determination was made, including but not limited to the minutes of the hearing thereon, and shall submit to the city council a written report, prepared from the record upon which the determination was made, stating the factual and legal basis on which the commission determined that the affected parcels are to be merged. A hearing before the city council on appeal shall be set and notice thereof given by the city clerk in the same manner as provided in section 66-436. The city council may not approve or reverse the commission's final determination until it has held a hearing thereon.

(d) The city council, after the completion of such hearing, which it may continue from time to time, may reverse or approve the determination of the commission; provided, however, that before reversing the determination of the commission, the matter may be referred to the commission for a report and recommendation and a copy of the report and recommendation shall be filed with the council before any reversal is effected. The failure of the commission to report within 40 calendar days or such period as may be designated by the council after the reference by the council shall be deemed to be a recommendation of denial of the proposed reversal. No further hearing shall be required by the commission.

(e) On the date a notice of appeal is filed pursuant to this section, all proceedings in furtherance of the determination appealed from, including the effective date of any merger, shall be stayed until the final determination of the appeal or review by the city council.

(f) The council shall announce its findings and decision in an appeal proceeding by formal action not more than 40 calendar days following the termination of the proceedings of the hearing or following the receipt of a report from the commission when a matter has been referred back to the commission. Such action shall recite, among other things, the reasons which, in the opinion of the council, make the council's determination of the matter necessary to carry out the general purpose of this article and shall order that the commission's decision be affirmed or reversed. The council shall effect such determination by the affirmative vote of not less than a majority of the total membership of the council. Otherwise the appeal shall be deemed denied and the action of the commission shall become final. The action of the council shall be final and conclusive.

(Code 1971, § 18.42.100)