Madera County Municipal Code Ch. 17.04 General Provisions

Footnotes:

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Editor's note— Ord. No. 278U, § 1 (Exh. A), adopted February 7, 2012, amended Chapter 17.04 in its entirety to read as herein set out. Former Chapter 17.04, §§ 17.04.010—17.04.060, pertained to similar material, and derived from Ord. No. 278, 1963.

For statutory provisions vesting control over subdivision design and improvement in the governing bodies of counties, see Government Code Section 66411.

This title shall be known as the "Subdivision Ordinance of the County of Madera."

(Ord. No. 278U, § 1 (Exh. A), 2-7-12).

A preliminary, tentative and final map shall be required for all subdivisions creating five or more parcels, five or more condominiums as defined in Section 783 of the Civil Code, a community apartment project containing five or more parcels, or for the conversion of a dwelling to a stock cooperative containing five or more dwelling units, except where any one of the following occurs:

A. The land before division contains less than five acres, each parcel created by the division abuts upon a maintained public street or highway, and no dedications or improvements are required by the board of supervisors.

B. Each parcel created by the division has a gross area of twenty acres or more and has an approved access to a maintained public street or highway.

C. The land consists of a parcel or parcels of land having approved access to a public street or highway, improved or unimproved, which comprises part of a tract of land zoned for industrial or commercial development, and which has the approval of the board of supervisors as to street alignments and widths.

D. Each parcel created by the division has a gross area of not less than forty acres or is not less than a quarter of a quarter section.

E. The land being subdivided is solely for the creation of an environmental subdivision pursuant to Section 66418.2 of the Government Code.

F. A parcel map shall be required for those subdivisions described in subdivisions (a), (b), (c), (d), and (e).

(Ord. No. 278U, § 1 (Exh. A), 2-7-12).

This title is adopted under authority of the Constitution and laws of the state, including without being restricted to, the Government Code, the Business and Professions Code, the Streets and Highways Code, and the Health and Safety Code.

(Ord. No. 278U, § 1 (Exh. A), 2-7-12).

The Subdivision Ordinance of Madera County is adopted to promote and protect the public health, safety and welfare through the orderly regulation of land division throughout the unincorporated area of Madera County.

A. Provide the economic and social advantages resulting from orderly land division.

B. Encourage and guide development consistent with the Madera County general plan and adopted specific plans.

C. Provide lots of sufficient size and appropriate design so as to be usable for their intended purposes.

D. Provide for the preservation of environmental assets and natural resources, including land, water, air, minerals, vegetation, wildlife, silence, historic or aesthetic sites, and open space.

E. Ensure provision of adequate traffic circulation, utilities and services.

F. General Plan. This title shall implement the objective established for the development of the county in its general plan, and a proposed subdivision, street plan, or land division shall be consistent with and considered in relation to said plan.

G. Lot Standards. It shall establish minimum standards for lot areas and dimensions, and the creation of reasonable building sites.

H. Improvement Standards. It shall provide standards for the construction and installation of streets, roads, alleys, highways, public utilities, and other improvements.

I. Access Standards. It shall provide for adequate street widths, alignment, and means of ingress and egress to property.

J. Suitability. It shall control the division of land which is subject to inundation or other impediments affecting use of the land.

K. Regulation. It shall provide rules and regulations governing the contents of preliminary map, tentative parcel maps, parcel maps, tentative, and final subdivision maps, land division, records of survey, street dedication maps, the filing thereof, and other related matters.

(Ord. No. 278U, § 1 (Exh. A), 2-7-12).

A. This title shall apply, to the extent permitted by law, to all property in unincorporated Madera County whether owned by private persons, firms, corporations or organizations; by the United States or any of its agencies; by the state of California or any of its agencies or political subdivisions or by any authority or public entity organized under the laws of the state of California excluding Madera County.

B. This title, and as may be subsequently amended, shall not apply to any land division that was submitted prior to the effective date of this title; provided that, the submitted application and tentative map for such land division was complete prior to such effective date of this title. With respect to those tentative maps to which this title does not apply, the affected provisions of the title prior to its amendment shall continue to apply, including, but not limited to, those cases where an extension of time for recordation of such land division map was granted.

(Ord. No. 278U, § 1 (Exh. A), 2-7-12).

This title does not apply to, and no map shall be required for, any of the following:

A. Sale, lease, financing, conveyance, or other transfer of a whole lot, parcel or unit of land or two or more whole lots, parcels or units of land, lawfully created under the provisions of the Subdivision Map Act or any prior law of the state of California regulating the division of land or created under the provisions of any ordinance of the county of Madera regulating subdivisions or other divisions of land, or the creation of which was not subject to any such provisions at the time of its or their creation;

B. Conveyances or leases relating solely to oil, gas or mineral rights;

C. Financing or leasing of apartments, offices, stores, or similar space within an apartment building, industrial building, commercial building, mobilehome park or trailer park;

D. Creation, sale, lease, financing, conveyance, or other transfer of a lot, plot, space, crypt or vault within a cemetery or burial park designed and used or intended to be used for the interment of human remains or animal remains;

E. Any division of land resulting solely from a judgment in an action of eminent domain in favor of the state, county, or any other political subdivision, governmental agency or public entity;

F. Any division of land resulting solely from a judgment in an action of eminent domain in favor of a public utility or other corporation having power of eminent domain, where the land is required for the purposes of providing a public utility service or other public service;

G. Any conveyance, deed, dedication, or offer of dedication of land, right-of-way or easement running to the state, county, or any other political subdivision, governmental agency or public entity which has agreed to accept the same;

H. Any conveyance to or from the state, county, or any other political subdivision, governmental agency or public entity;

I. Any conveyance to or from a public utility, conveyance of land used or intended to be used for public utility right-of-way purposes, or conveyance to or from a mutual water company;

J. Any conveyance to a subsidiary of a public utility for conveyance to such public utility for rights-of-way;

K. Short-term leases (terminable by either party on not more than thirty days notice in writing) of a portion of the operating right-of-way of a railroad corporation defined as such by Section 230 of the California Public Utilities Code;

L. Any lease of agricultural land for agricultural purposes. For the purposes of this subsection, "agricultural land" means land that is permitted to be used for agricultural uses under the zoning ordinance, and "agricultural purposes" means the cultivation of food or fiber or the grazing or pasturing of livestock;

M. A boundary line agreement or exchange agreement to which the State Lands Commission is a party;

N. Subdivision of four parcels or less for construction of removable commercial buildings having a floor area of less than one hundred square feet;

O. Easements or rights-of-way for pipes, ditches, canals, drainage lines and surface drainage;

P. The leasing of or the granting of an easement to a parcel of land, or any portion or portions thereof, in conjunction with the financing, erection and sale or lease of a wind-powered electrical generation device on the land, if the project is subject to discretionary action by the planning director, planning commission or the board of supervisors;

Q. Any separate assessment under Section 2188.7 of the California Revenue and Taxation Code;

R. Subject to the requirements of Sections 66412(g) and 66412(h) of the California Government Code, the conversion of a community apartment project or a stock cooperative to a condominium;

S. The construction, financing or leasing of dwelling units pursuant to Section 65852.1 or second units pursuant to Section 65852.2 of the California Government Code; but this title shall apply to the sale or transfer, but not leasing of those units;

T. The leasing or licensing of a portion of a parcel, or the granting of an easement, use permit, or similar right on a portion of a parcel, to a telephone corporation as defined in Section 234 of the Public Utilities Code, exclusively for the placement and operation of cellular radio transmission facilities, including, but not limited to, antenna support structures, microwave dishes, structures to house cellular communications transmission equipment, power sources, and other equipment incidental to the transmission of cellular communications, if the project is subject to discretionary action by the planning director, planning commission or the board of supervisors;

U. The financing or leasing of any parcel of land, or any portion thereof, in conjunction with the construction of commercial or industrial buildings on a single parcel, unless the project is not subject to review under Chapters 19.54 and 19.80 of the Madera County zoning ordinance;

V. The financing or leasing of existing separate commercial or industrial buildings on a single parcel;

W. Any other mandatory exceptions to the applicability of the California Subdivision Map Act as provided in the California Subdivision Map Act.

X. Any division of land creating any parcel as a result of exempt public agency action described in this section.

(Ord. No. 278U, § 1 (Exh. A), 2-7-12).

The planning commission of the county shall perform all duties under Chapter 2.42 of this code, by authority of Section 65301 of the Government Code.

(Ord. No. 278U, § 1 (Exh. A), 2-7-12).

All land divisions for which a tentative and final map are required, other than those covered in Chapter 17.72, shall be processed in accordance with this section and the State Subdivision Map Act (Title 7 commencing with Section 66410 and following, of the Government Code).

(Ord. No. 278U, § 1 (Exh. A), 2-7-12).

A. It is unlawful to subdivide or develop any parcel of land in a manner that does not strictly conform to the provisions of this title, the Madera County Ordinance, the Madera County General Plan, and any applicable specific plan.

B. No department, official or employee of the county of Madera vested with the duty or authority to issue permits subject to the requirements of this title shall issue a permit in conflict with the provisions of this title; any permit issued in conflict with any provision of this title shall be null and void unless subdivider enters into an agreement to comply with conditions of map approval. Further, no permit shall be issued by any department, official or employee of the county of Madera for any lot or use subject to the requirements of this title on a parcel of land where the department, official or employee is aware that a violation of this title exists.

(Ord. No. 278U, § 1 (Exh. A), 2-7-12).

The regulations of this title and requirements or conditions imposed pursuant to this title shall not supersede any other regulations or requirements adopted or imposed by the Madera County board of supervisors, the Madera County fire department, the Madera County environmental health department, the Regional Water Quality Control Board, the Air Pollution Control District, the Madera County engineering and general services department, the road department, the Madera County assessor's office or any other local, state, or federal agency that has jurisdiction by law over uses and development authorized by this title. All uses and development authorized by this title shall comply with all other such regulations and requirements. Where two or more ordinances regulate the same use or activity, the more restrictive ordinance shall apply unless a variation has been specifically granted. No application authorized under this title shall be processed if the property for which the application is submitted contains any violations of the Madera County Zoning Ordinance (Title 18—Madera County Code) until such time as all such violations are fully abated, unless processing the application is necessary to abate the applicable zoning ordinance violation.

(Ord. No. 278U, § 1 (Exh. A), 2-7-12).

If any section, subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase of this title is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by the decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this title. The board of supervisors declares that it would have passed this title, and each section, subsection, sentence, clause and phrase thereof, irrespective of the fact that any of one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses or phrases be declared invalid or unconstitutional.

(Ord. No. 278U, § 1 (Exh. A), 2-7-12).

A. Minor revisions to the tentative tract map may be approved by the planning director as being in substantial conformity with the originally approved map, upon application by the subdivider or his/her authorized agent, provided that:

1. Such changes are consistent with the intent of the original tentative tract map approval.

2. The original conditions need not be modified.

3. There are no resulting violations of the Madera County Code.

4. There are no changes in the proposed location of perimeter roads or the proposed point of access from internal local roads to adjacent arterials or collectors.

5. There are no changes to the original project boundaries.

6. Reserved.

7. Reserved.

8. Such changes are consistent with all mitigation measures and design features required by the environmental document adopted in conjunction with tentative map approval.

B. Approved revisions shall be denoted on the approved tentative tract map and/or in writing to the subdivider, whichever is appropriate.

C. No revision shall affect the expiration date of the approved tentative tract map.

D. The planning director may require a new tentative tract map application in lieu of the above procedure when, in his/her determination, requested changes are substantial enough to warrant refiling and reprocessing.

(Ord. No. 278V, § 1, 10-28-14; Ord. No. 278U, § 1 (Exh. A), 2-7-12).