Fairfield Municipal Code Div. 15 Merger of Contiguous Parcels

This Division sets forth the procedures for owner-initiated mergers of contiguous parcels under common ownership without reverting to acreage, pursuant to Government Code 66499.20.3. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent an applicant from filing a tentative map, a final parcel map, or subdivision map for any merger.

(Ord. No. 2019-02, § 1)

“Contiguous”

means touching or adjoining at more than one point. Parcels shall be considered contiguous even if separated by roads, streets, utility easements, or railroad rights-of-way.

“Director”

means the Director of Community Development of the City of Fairfield.

“Merger”

means the joining of two (2) or more contiguous parcels of land under one ownership into one parcel.

(Ord. No. 2019-02, § 1)

The owner of contiguous parcels may initiate the voluntary merger of the parcels. The Director, City Engineer, Planning Commission or City Council may require the owner of any contiguous parcel to request the merger of any or all contiguous parcels within the city in conjunction with the giving of any variance, conditional use permit, or any other development approval under this article or the Zoning Ordinance.

(Ord. No. 2019-02, § 1)

An owner of two or more contiguous parcels may initiate a merger by submitting an application, any fees established by resolution of the City Council, and any other such information as may be requested to the Director.

(Ord. No. 2019-02, § 1)

(a) In consultation with the City Engineer, the Director shall review and may approve or conditionally approve each proposed merger. The Director shall approve a merger if all of the following findings can be made:

(1) The merger does not affect any fees, grants, easements, agreements, conditions, dedications, offers to dedicate or security provided in connection with any approvals of divisions of real property or lot line adjustments;

(2) The boundaries of the parcels to be merged are well defined in existing recorded documents or filed maps and were legally created or have certificates of compliance issued on them;

(3) The merger will not alter the exterior boundary of the parcels to be merged;

(4) The document used to effect the merger contains an accurate description of the exterior boundaries of the resulting parcel;

(5) The merger complies with the building and zoning requirements for the zoning district in which the property is located;

(6) All parties having any record title interest in the real property affected have consented to the merger upon a form and in a manner set forth in the application and approved by the city engineer. Consent is not required from the interests that are accepted from the requirement to consent to the preparation and recordation of final maps under Government Code section 66436;

(7) All necessary fees and requirements have been provided.

(b) The Director may impose conditions of approval on a lot merger application as necessary to ensure compliance with the General Plan, any applicable specific plan, the zoning ordinance, or any other applicable provisions of the City Code; or to facilitate the relocation of existing utilities, infrastructure, or easements.

(c) No public hearing is required unless requested by the applicant. If a hearing is requested, notice of the public hearing shall be given in accordance with Section 25.43 (Public Hearings).

(Ord. No. 2019-02, § 1)

Any person dissatisfied with the decision of the Director may appeal such action to the Planning Commission, in accordance with the procedures specified in Section 25.44 (Appeals and Calls for Review).

(Ord. No. 2019-02, § 1)

Upon approval, the Director shall issue documentation verifying approval of the voluntary parcel merger to the property owner. The property owner shall be responsible for filing with the County Recorder an instrument of merger reflecting the voluntary parcel merger. The merger shall be effective when the instrument is filed with the County Recorder. The property owner shall submit a copy of the recorded instrument to the Director.

(Ord. No. 2019-02, § 1)

A. Purpose. The purpose of this article is to encourage the redevelopment of smaller sites through allowing incentives for qualifying housing projects that include the merging or consolidation of parcels.

B. Eligibility for Incentives.

1. Qualifying Projects: Housing developments that consist of lot consolidation pursuant to Division 15 Merger of Contiguous Parcels and meet either of the following location and affordability criteria:

a. Housing Inventory Sites that construct at a minimum, the number of residential units at the level of affordability identified in the Housing Element Appendix C: Sites Inventory.

b. Residential Zoning Districts RM, RH, and RVH; Heart of Fairfield Zoning Districts HD/HDC, HO, HWT, HTD, and HR; and Commercial Zoning District CM sites not identified in the Housing Element Sites Inventory associated with a rental development proposal consisting of twenty (20%) percent of the units affordable to lower income households and ownership development proposal consisting of twenty (20%) percent of the units affordable to moderate income households.

2. Development Standards:

a. Consolidated sites must meet a minimum site area of 7,500 square feet and not exceed a maximum of 5 acres after consolidation.

b. All projects shall comply with the respective development standards, objective design standards, and allowable uses as specified in the underlying Base Zoning District.

C. Incentives. Projects meeting criteria defined in B above are eligible for the following incentives:

1. Application processing shall be prioritized throughout the planning entitlement phase to the maximum extent feasible.

2. All subdivisions, regardless of the number of parcels created, shall be subject to the administrative Parcel Map subdivision process; however, maps requiring exceptions as specified in Division 5, Section 25.158 shall follow the standard review process.

3. Parking requirements for residential units less than 500 sq. ft. shall be reduced by 50%, regardless of bedroom count.

4. Waiver of planning entitlement fees: Waive all planning application fees except for direct costs for consultant fees associated with project review. This waiver shall not include applicable parking in lieu or development impact fees.

(Ord. No. 2026-01, § 13)