La Quinta Municipal Code Ch. 13.44 Certificates of Compliance

Certificates of compliance provide a means for conferring legal status to parcels of land which were not created by legal means and shall be issued in accordance with Section 66499.35 of the Government Code and this chapter.

(Ord. 272 § 1, 1995)

This chapter applies to parcels of land for which there is no final map, parcel map, official map or approved certificate of exception which establishes legal status for the parcels.

(Ord. 272 § 1, 1995)

Requests for certificates of compliance shall be filed with the planning department on an approved city application form.

(Ord. 272 § 1, 1995)

An application for a certificate of compliance shall be accompanied by the following:

A. One (1) copy of grant deeds and/or other conveyance documents establishing the ownership of the parcel on the date of its creation;

B. One (1) copy of the grant deed(s) and/or other conveyance documents showing the current owner of the parcel;

C. An identification of the assessor's parcel number(s) for the parcel;

D. A legal description of the parcels;

E. One (1) copy of a plat map(s) and one (1) reproducible reduction, not exceeding eight and one-half (8½) inches by eleven (11) inches in size, which depict the parcel or parcels involved in the request; and

F. Processing fees.

(Ord. 272 § 1, 1995)

The city shall review the application and shall issue a certificate of compliance or a conditional certificate of compliance. The determination shall be based on the following criteria:

A. A certificate of compliance shall be issued for any parcel created prior to March 4, 1972, which meets the following criteria:

1. The parcels resulted from a division of land in which fewer than five (5) parcels were created; and

2. At the time of creation of parcels, there was no local ordinance regulating the division of land.

B. A certificate of compliance shall be issued for any real property which has been approved for development pursuant to Section 66499.34 of the Government Code.

C. A certificate of compliance or a conditional certificate of compliance shall be issued for any parcel which does not, or at the time of creation did not, comply with the provisions of state or local ordinances regulating the division of land. A conditional certificate of compliance may include conditions as follows:

1. If the subdivider was not the owner of record at the time of the initial land division, the conditional certificate of compliance may impose conditions which would have been applicable to a division of land on the date the subdivider acquired the property; and

2. If the subdivider was the owner of record at the time of the initial land division and currently owns one (1) or more of the parcels involved in the land division, the conditional certificate of compliance may impose conditions which would be applicable to a current division of land.

(Ord. 272 § 1, 1995)

The certificate of compliance or conditional certificate of compliance shall include the following notices:

A. "This certificate relates only to issues of compliance or noncompliance with the Subdivision Map Act and legal ordinances enacted pursuant thereto. The parcel described herein may be sold, leased, or financed without further compliance with the Subdivision Map Act or any local ordinance enacted pursuant thereto. Development of the parcel may require issuance of a permit or permits, or other grant or grants of approval"; and

B. A listing of any conditions to be fulfilled and implemented prior to subsequent issuance of a permit or other grant of approval for development of the property, as specified in the conditional certificate of parcel compliance.

The city shall file the completed certificate of compliance or conditional certificate of compliance with the Riverside County recorder's office.

(Ord. 272 § 1, 1995)