La Habra Heights Municipal Code Ch. 9.6 Final Maps

The purpose of this Chapter is to establish the procedures for the preparation, review, and approval of Final Maps.

The form, contents, accompanying data and filing of the final map shall conform to the provisions of this section.

A. Survey Required. An accurate and complete survey of the land to be subdivided shall be
made by a Registered Civil Engineer or licensed land surveyor. All monuments, property
lines, centerlines of streets, alleys and easements adjoining or within the subdivision shall
be tied into the survey. The allowable error of closure on any portion of the Final Map shall
not exceed 1/10,000 for field closures and 1/20,000 for calculated closures. At the time of
making the survey for the Final Map, the engineer or surveyor shall set sufficient durable
monuments to conform to the standards described in Section 8771 of the Business and
Professions code so that another engineer or surveyor may readily retrace the survey. At
least one exterior boundary line shall have monuments set prior to recording the Final Map.
Other monuments shall be set as required by the City Engineer.

B. Form. The form of the Final Map shall conform to the requirements of the Subdivision
Map Act which includes the following:

1. The Final Map shall be legibly drawn, printed or reproduced by a process
guaranteeing a permanent record in black on tracing cloth or polyester-base film.

2. 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.

3. The size of each sheet shall be eighteen (18) inches by twenty-six (26)] inches. A
marginal line shall be drawn completely around each sheet, leaving an entirely blank
margin of one inch.

4. The scale of the map shall be not less than 1" = 100’ or as may be necessary to show
all details clearly, and enough sheets shall be used to accomplish this end.

5. The particular number of the sheet and the total number of sheets comprising the Final
Map shall be stated on each of the sheets and its relation to each adjoining sheet shall
be clearly shown.

6. When four (4) or more sheets including the statement sheet are used, a key sheet shall
be included. All printing or lettering on the map shall be of a height and of such shape
and weight as to be readily legible on prints and other reproductions made from the
original drawings.

7. The final form of the Final Map shall be as approved by the City Engineer.

C. Contents. The contents of the Final Map shall conform to the requirements of the

Subdivision Map Act and to the following:

1. The boundary of the subdivision shall be designated by a heavy black line in such a
manner as not to obliterate figures or other data.

2. Each sheet shall have a title showing the subdivision number and name and the
location of the property being subdivided with reference to maps that have been
previously recorded, or by reference to the plat of a United States Survey. The
following words shall appear in the title, "City of La Habra Heights, Los Angeles
County."

3. The following statements shall appear only once on the cover sheet.

a. A statement, signed and acknowledged by all parties having record title interest
in the land subdivided, consenting to the preparation and recordation of the map
and offering for dedication to the public certain specific parcels of land or
easements. Exceptions are those parties having rights of way, easements or
interests that cannot ripen into a fee, or as provided in the Subdivision Map Act.

b. A statement, signed and acknowledged by any trustee of record at the time of
City Council approval of the Final Map, consenting to the recording of the map
and any offers of dedications.

c. The notary acknowledgment for the owner’s and trustee’s statements shall be
deemed complete for filing 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.

d. A statement by the engineer or surveyor responsible for the survey and Final
Map shall appear on the map. The statement shall give the date of the survey,
state that the survey and Final Map were made by or under the direction of the
engineer or surveyor, 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 such 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. The statement shall state
that the Final Map complies with the Subdivision Map Act and the provisions of
this Chapter and that the map substantially conforms to the conditionally
approved map.

e. When a soils report, a geologic report, or soils and geologic reports have been
prepared specifically for the subdivision, such fact shall be noted on the Final
Map, together with the date of such report or reports, and the name of the
engineer making the soils report and geologist making the geologic report.

f. A statement by the City Engineer stating the map has been examined and that it
is in accord with the Tentative Map and any approved alterations thereof,
complies with the Subdivision Map Act and the provisions of this Chapter and
is technically correct.

g. A statement by the Secretary of the Planning Commission stating that the

Tentative Map was approved by resolution of the Planning Commission. The
date and number of the resolution shall appear in the statement.

h. A statement for execution by the City Clerk stating the date and number of the
resolution adopted by the City Council approving the Final Map and stating that
the City Council 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.

i. A statement to be executed by the County Clerk stating that all taxes due have
been paid or that a tax bond assuring the payment of all taxes which are a lien
but not yet payable has been filed with the County.

j. A statement to be executed by the County Recorder stating that the map has
been accepted for recording, that the map has been examined and that it
complies with the provisions of State laws and local ordinances governing the
recording of Final Maps. The statement shall show who requested the recording
of the map, the time and date the map was recorded and the book and page where
the map was recorded.

4. There must appear on each map sheet the scale, the north point, the basis of bearings
based on Zone III of the California Coordinates and the equation of the bearing to true
north. The basis of bearings shall be approved by the City Engineer.

5. Sufficient linear, angular and radial data shall be shown to determine the bearings and
lengths of monument lines, street centerlines, the boundary lines of the subdivision,
the boundary lines on every lot and parcel which is a part of the subdivision, and ties
to existing monuments used to establish the boundary. Arc length, radius and total
central angle and radial bearings of all curves shall be shown. Ditto marks shall not
be used in the dimensions and data shown on the map.

6. The location and description of all existing and proposed monuments shall be shown.
Standard City monuments shall be set at or on City Engineer approved offsets from
the following locations:

a. The intersection of street centerlines.

b. Beginning and end of curves or intersection of tangents on centerlines.

c. Boundary, lot line and easement monuments shall be set at locations determined
by the City Engineer.

D. Lot Numbers. Lot numbers shall begin with the number one (1) in each subdivision and
shall continue consecutively with no omissions or duplications except where contiguous
lands under the same ownership are being subdivided in successive units, in which event
lot numbers may begin with the next consecutive number following the last number in the
preceding unit. Each lot shall be shown entirely on one sheet of the Final Map, unless
approved by the City Engineer.

E. Adjoining Properties. The adjoining corners of all adjoining subdivisions shall be
identified by subdivision number, or name when not identified by official number, and
reference to the book and page of the filed map showing such subdivision, and if no such
subdivision is adjacent, then by the name of the owner, and reference to the recorded deed by book page number for the last recorded owner of such adjacent property.

F. City Boundaries. City boundaries that cross or join the subdivision shall be clearly designated.

G. Street Names. The names of all streets, or highways within or adjoining the subdivision
shall be shown.

H. Easements. Easements for roads or streets, equestrian trails, storm water drainage, sanitary
waste systems, or other public use as may be required, shall be dedicated to the public for
acceptance by the City or other public agency, and the use shall be specified on the map.
All easements of record shall be shown on the map, together with the name of the grantee
and sufficient recording data to identify the conveyance, e.g., recorder’s serial number and
date, or book and page of official records. Easements not disclosed by the records in the
office of the County Recorder but found by the surveyor or engineer, shall be specifically
designated on the map, identifying the apparent dominant tenements for which the
easement was created. The sidelines of all easements of record shall be shown by dashed
lines on the Final Map with the widths, lengths and bearings of record. The width and
location of all easements shall be approved by the City Engineer.

I. Additional Information. The City may require additional information to be recorded
simultaneously with the Final Map. The additional information shall be in the form of a
separate document or an additional map sheet which shall indicate its relationship to the
final map, and shall contain a statement that the additional information is for informational
purposes, describing conditions as of the date of the recording, and is not intended to affect
record title interest. The document or additional map sheet may also contain a notation that
the additional information is derived from public records, or reports, and does not imply
the correctness or sufficiency of those records or reports by the preparer of the document
or additional map sheet. Whenever additional information is made by separate document,
there shall appear on the Final Map a reference to the separately recorded document
completed by the Los Angeles County recorder according to the Subdivision Map Act.

The subdivider shall submit prints of the Final Map to the City Engineer for checking. The preliminary prints shall be accompanied by the following data, plans, reports and documents in a form as approved by the City Engineer.

A. Improvement Plans. Improvement plans as required by Chapter 9.7;

B. Geotechnical Hazards Report. A Geotechnical Hazards report prepared in accordance
with the La Habra Heights Municipal Code;

C. Title Report. A title report showing the legal owners at the time of submittal of the Final
Map;

D. Improvement Agreement. In the event sewer, water, drainage, grading, paving, or other
improvements required pursuant to Section 9.7 have not been completed prior to the
presentation of the Final Map, an agreement in accordance with the requirements of
Chapter 9.7 shall be filed for the improvement thereof. The subdivider shall secure the
performance of the agreement in accordance with the requirements of Chapter 9.7.

E. Deeds for Easements or Rights-of-Way. Deeds for easements or rights-of-way required
for road or drainage purposes that have not been dedicated on the Final Map must be
provided.

F. Rights of Entry. Written evidence acceptable to the City in the form of rights of entry or
permanent easements across private property outside of the subdivision permitting or
granting access to perform necessary construction work and permitting the maintenance of
any improvements to be constructed.

G. Traverse Closures. Traverse closures for the boundary blocks, lots, easements, street
centerlines and monument lines.

H. Hydrology and Hydraulic Calculations. Complete hydrologic and hydraulic calculations
of all storm drains;

I. Governing Documents. If required by the City, the submittal of the Final Map or Parcel
Map for a common interest development within the meaning of Section 1350 et seq. of the
California Civil Code shall include the proposed Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and
Restrictions containing the provisions described in Section 1353 of the Civil Code and all
other governing documents for the subdivision. The submittal of the Final Map or Parcel
Map for all subdivisions other than a common interest development shall include any
Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions proposed in connection therewith.
All documents shall be subject to review and approval by the City Engineer and approval
as to form by the City Attorney.

J. Guarantee of Title. A guarantee of title, in a form acceptable to the City Engineer and City
Attorney, shall be issued by a competent title company to and for the benefit and protection
of the City and shall be continued complete up to the instant of recording of the Final Map,
guaranteeing that the names of all persons whose consent is necessary to pass a clear title
to the land being subdivided, and all public easements being offered for dedication, and all
acknowledgments thereto, appear on the proper certificates and are correctly shown on the
map, both as to consents to the making thereof and affidavits of dedication where
necessary.

K. Other Information. Any additional data, reports or information as required by the City
Engineer.

The following requirements shall be applicable in the review and approval of Final Maps.

A. Review by City Engineer. The City Engineer shall review the Final Map and the
subdivider’s engineer or surveyor shall make corrections and/or additions until the map is
acceptable to the City Engineer.

B. Acceptance by City. The subdivider’s engineer or surveyor shall submit the original
tracing of the map, corrected to its final form and signed by all parties required to execute
the statements on the map, to the City Engineer. The City Engineer and Community
Development Director shall sign the appropriate statements and transmit the original to the
City Clerk. The City Clerk shall transmit the Final Map to the City Council at its next
meeting.

C. Approval by City Council. The following requirements apply to the approval of a Final
Map by the City Council.

1. The City Council shall approve or disapprove the Final Map at the meeting at which
it receives the map or at its next regular meeting after the meeting at which it receives
the map.

2. The City Council shall approve or disapprove the Subdivision Improvement
Agreement prior to approving or disapproving the Final Map.

3. The City Council shall approve the Subdivision Improvement Agreement and the
Final Map if they conform to the approved or conditionally approved Tentative Map,
the provisions of this code which were applicable at the time of approval or
conditional approval of the Tentative Map and the provisions of the Subdivision Map
Act.

4. If the City Council approves the Final Map, it shall at the same time accept, accept
subject to improvement, or reject any offer of dedication. The City Clerk shall certify
on the final map the action by the City Council. If at the time the Final Map is
approved, any offer of dedication, including but not limited to streets, paths, alleys,
public utility easements, rights-of-way for local transit facilities, or storm drainage
easements are not accepted by the City Council, the offer of dedication shall remain
open and the City Council may, by resolution at any later date, and without further
action by the subdivider, rescind its action and accept and open or use the streets,
equestrian trails, storm drainage easements, or other dedications, which acceptance
shall be recorded in the office of the County Recorder.

5. The City Council may accept any dedications lying outside the subdivision boundary
that require a separate grant deed. The acceptance shall be recorded in the office of
the county Recorder. If the Subdivision Improvement Agreement and Final Map are
approved by the City Council, it shall instruct the Mayor to execute the agreement on
behalf of the City. If the Subdivision Improvement Agreement and/or Final Map are
unacceptable, the Council shall make its recommended corrections, instruct the City
Engineer to draft a new agreement and/or revise the Final Map and defer approval
until an acceptable agreement and/or Final Map have been resubmitted.

6. The City Council shall not postpone or refuse approval of a Final Map because the
subdivider has failed to meet a Tentative Map condition requiring construction of off-
site improvements on land which neither the subdivider or the City has sufficient title
or interest to permit the improvements to be made. In this case the City shall follow
procedure set forth in Chapter 9.7.

D. Denial by City Council. The City Council shall deny the Final Map if it finds that the final
map is not in substantial compliance with the previously approved Tentative Map.

E. Filing with the County Recorder. Upon approval of the Final Map by the City Council,
the City Clerk shall execute the appropriate statement on the map and forward the map, or
have an authorized agent forward the map, to the County Recorder. If the subdivider
dedicates property in fee for public purposes to the City, the City Clerk shall also prepare
and forward for recording a certificate concerning the dedication as provided in the
Subdivision Map Act.