Lancaster Municipal Code Art. I General Provisions

This title shall be known as, and may be cited as, the subdivision ordinance of the city of Lancaster.

(Ord. 661 § 1 (100.010), 1994)

This title is adopted to regulate the division of land within the city and to supplement the provisions of the Subdivision Map Act concerning design, improvement and survey of subdivisions, the form and content of all required maps, and the procedure to be followed in securing the official approval of the city regarding such maps. No land shall be subdivided and developed in a manner which is inconsistent with the general plan, any specific plan, any other ordinance or this title. The regulations set forth are determined to be necessary in order to achieve the following purposes:

A. To implement the general plan of the city, hereinafter referred to as the general plan, which has been adopted by the city council as the long-range, comprehensive guide to the physical and environmental development of the city;

B. To provide lots of sufficient size and appropriate design for the purposes for which they are to be used;

C. To ensure that streets are designed in accordance with the provisions of the city general plan and the adopted master plan of complete streets.

D. To preserve the natural assets of the city and to create new beauty through superior subdivision design, to provide a means for encouraging orderly development of hillside areas of the city by relating the number and distribution of dwelling units to the topographical, geological, and hydrological conditions so that the terrain will suffer minimum disfigurement by scarring and that any danger to life and property will be minimized;

E. To provide for water supply and distribution, sewage disposal, storm drainage, and other utilities, whether publicly or privately owned, in the manner necessary to protect the public health, safety, and welfare, and convenience;

F. To ensure that the cost of providing rights-of-way and improvements for vehicular and pedestrian movement, utilities, and public areas needed to serve new developments are borne by the subdivider rather than by the property owners in the city at large;

G. To promote the public health, safety and general welfare.

(Ord. 661 § 1 (100.020), 1994; Ord. No. 1036, § 1, 10-24-2017)

The ordinance codified in this title is adopted to supplement and implement the Subdivision Map Act, Section 66410 et seq. of the Government Code of the state of California.

(Ord. 661 § 1 (100.030), 1994)

If any provision of this title or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is held or declared to be invalid by competent authority, only those portions so held or declared are suspended, and the remainder of this title and the application of such provision or provisions to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby.

(Ord. 661 § 1 (100.040), 1994)

Violation of this title which is not also prohibited by the Subdivision Map Act or by any other state statute shall be a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine, or by both fine and imprisonment, as specified by Sections 1.08.010, 1.08.020, 1.12.010 and 1.12.020 of this code.

(Ord. 661 § 1 (100.050), 1994)

The definitions established in this section shall supplement the definitions set forth in the Subdivision Map Act and shall apply wherever such terms are used in this title, whether or not such terms are capitalized.

"Acreage" means a parcel of land which is not a lot, as defined in this title, and those areas where a legal subdivision has not been previously approved or where a legal subdivision has declared such parcel as acreage.

"Alley" means a public or private right-of-way less than forty (40) feet wide which affords a means of vehicular access to the side or rear of properties abutting a street or highway.

"Arterial street" means a public street which carries the major flow of traffic passing through or adjoining a subdivision and to which the access of traffic entering or crossing from adjoining property, intersecting roads, and streets may be controlled.

"City" means the city of Lancaster.

"City council" means city council of the city.

"City engineer" means the city engineer of the city. The functions of the city engineer may be performed by the director of public works.

"Collector street" means a public street which connects local streets with arterial streets with intersections normally spaced at a minimum of three hundred (300) feet. Access may be regulated or controlled for safety. The required right-of-way widths are fifty-one (51) feet mid-block and some additional widening may be provided at high-volume driveways.

"Condominium conversion" means the creation of separate ownership interests in an existing building.

"County recorder" means the Los Angeles County recorder.

"Cul-de-sac" means a local street which connects to another public street only at one end and is not planned for later extension.

"Dedication" means the transfer by a subdivider to a public entity of title to real property or an interest therein, or of an easement or right in real property, the transfer of facilities, the installation of improvements, or any combination of these.

"Department" means the department of community development of the city.

"Development review committee" or "DRC" means the committee established by this title, and composed of representatives from city departments and contract agencies appointed by the respective department head, that review projects including, but not limited to, tentative tract maps and parcel maps. The DRC shall review such projects for consistency with the general plan, this title, Title 17, and any other applicable city ordinances, standards, guidelines or policies.

"Director" means the director of community development of the city.

"Director of public works" means the director of public works of the city of Lancaster.

"Environmental impact report" or "EIR" means a report complying with the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), Public Resource Code Section 21000 et seq. and its implementing guidelines.

"Freeway" means a street of which the primary function is to accommodate through vehicular traffic. No land use access or parking or pedestrian use is permitted. Grade separated interchanges with expressways or arterial streets may occur at a minimum of one-mile intervals. The right-of-way for a freeway shall have a minimum width of three hundred (300) feet; however, the final determination for the right-of-way shall be as required by Caltrans.

"General plan" means the adopted general plan of the city and all subsequent amendments thereto.

"Improvement plan" means an engineering plan prepared by a registered civil engineer showing the location and construction details of the streets, alleys, drainage facilities, sanitary sewers, water mains and their pertinent structures and other on-site and off-site improvements required for a subdivision, as specified in Chapter 16.24.

"Industrial/commercial street" means a public street with a roadway section able to facilitate two to four through travel lanes. Access is provided by at-grade intersections normally spaced at one-eighth-mile intervals with number and spacing of driveways controlled. Some traffic movements may be restricted or controlled. On-street parking is generally prohibited. Right-of-way widths vary from eighty (80) feet at mid-block locations, widening up to one hundred five (105) feet for intersections and driveways.

"Industrial cul-de-sac" means a public street of which the primary function is to provide access to adjoining property. The number and spacing of driveways is generally controlled and on-street parking may be limited. Intersections are normally spaced at a minimum of three hundred eighty (380) feet and rights-of-way are normally sixty-six (66) feet wide.

"Local street" means a public street of which the primary function is to provide direct access to abutting residential property. Intersections have a minimum spacing of one hundred fifty (150) feet and right-of-way widths are normally forty-seven (47) feet for local residential streets.

"Lot" means a parcel of real property, lawfully created in accordance with the laws and ordinances in effect at the time of its creation, which is shown as a single lot in a lawfully recorded subdivision, a lawfully recorded record of survey map, or clearly described in an approved parcel map waiver.

"Lot line adjustment" means a relocation, realignment or rotation of an existing lot line between two or more parcels, where the land taken from one parcel is added to one or more adjacent parcels and where a greater number of parcels than originally existed is not created and which is approved by the director and the director of public works as specified in Chapter 16.48.

"Major arterial" means a public street with a roadway section able to accommodate four to six through travel lanes. The primary function of a major arterial is to provide traffic movement and secondarily land access. Access is provided by at-grade intersections normally spaced at one-quarter-mile intervals, with direct access limited to major traffic generators. Some traffic movements may be restricted or controlled. On-street parking is normally prohibited. Right-of-way widths vary from one hundred (100) feet at mid-block locations, widening up to one hundred thirty (130) feet for intersections and driveways. Major arterials are normally spaced at one-mile intervals.

"Merger" means the combining of two or more contiguous parcels of land under one ownership into one parcel as specified in Chapter 16.44.

"Municipal code" means the municipal code of the city.

"Planning commission" means the planning commission of the city.

"Private street" means any street which is not a public street.

"Public street" means a street for which the right-of-way is owned by the city or offered to and accepted by the city for dedication to the public.

"Regional arterial" (formally "peripheral loop") means a public street with a roadway section able to accommodate six to eight through travel lanes. The primary function of a regional arterial is for traffic movement. Access is provided by at-grade intersections normally spaced at one-quarter or one-half mile intervals with direct access limited to major traffic generators. Some traffic movements may be restricted or controlled. On-street parking is restricted or controlled. Right-of-way widths vary from one hundred twenty (120) feet at mid-block locations, widening up to one hundred fifty (150) feet for intersections and driveways.

"Roadway" means that portion of a street which is designed, improved, or ordinarily used for vehicular travel.

"Secondary arterial" means a public street with a roadway section able to accommodate two to four through travel lanes. Access is provided by at-grade intersection normally spaced at one-eighth-mile intervals with the number and spacing of driveways controlled. Some traffic movements may be restricted or controlled. On-street parking is generally prohibited. Right-of-way widths vary from eighty-four (84) feet at mid-block locations, widening up to one hundred five (105) feet for intersections and driveways. Secondary arterials are normally spaced at one-half mile intervals.

"Sloping terrain" means any ground surface having a grade of six percent or more.

"Street" means a right-of-way which is maintained and open to the public for purposes of vehicular traffic and may include bicycle and pedestrian traffic. Street includes freeways, expressways, arterials, collectors, local streets, cul-de-sacs and commercial/industrial streets.

"Subdivision Map Act" refers to Division 2, Subdivisions, of the California Government Code, beginning with Section 66410.

"Uniform Building Code" or "UBC" means the Uniform Building Code as adopted by the city.

(Ord. 754 § 1 (Attach. A § 1), 1999; Ord. 661 § 1 (100.060), 1994)