Mendocino County Municipal Code Art. I Purpose and Effect

This Chapter is enacted for the purpose of promoting the public health, safety, convenience, and general welfare in accordance with the general plan of the County of Mendocino, including but not limited to the elimination of:

(A) The creation of lots of inadequate size and poor design;

(B) The creation of building sites in areas where topography, flooding, or other factors will prevent safe, orderly, and beneficial land development;

(C) The creation of roads of improper width, alignment, grade, and improvements;

(D) Hazards to life or property from sewage effluent or inadequate drainage;

(E) The lowering of property values and the loss of opportunity for satisfactory overall development of neighborhoods caused by successive, uncontrolled and haphazard land divisions;

(F) The excessive cost to taxpayers of Mendocino County for providing services within the Subdivision.

Additionally this Chapter is enacted for the purpose of adopting standards, regulations, and procedures for the division of land in the unincorporated area of Mendocino County as authorized by applicable provisions of State Law.

This chapter shall apply to the following types of divisions of land:

(a) This chapter provides for the division of land in accordance with three primary classifications, which are: MINOR SUBDIVISIONS, PARCEL SUBDIVISIONS, and MAJOR SUBDIVISIONS. It also provides for the REVERSION TO ACREAGE of lands previously divided.

(b) Wherever reference is made in this chapter to MINOR DIVISIONS, PARCEL DIVISIONS, or SUBDIVISIONS, such provisions shall apply respectively to those divisions of land defined herein as MINOR SUBDIVISIONS, PARCEL SUBDIVISIONS, and MAJOR SUBDIVISIONS.

(Ord. No. 1433, adopted 1975.)

The Mendocino County Planning Commission, and the Mendocino County Subdivision Committee are each hereby designated to be the advisory agencies of Mendocino County and are hereby charged with the duties of making investigations and reports and doing such other acts as are more fully set forth in this Chapter and by law.

(Ord. No. 1433, adopted 1975; Ord. No. 4001 (part), adopted 1998.)

The Mendocino County Planning Commission is hereby designated to be the APPEAL BOARD to hear and make determinations upon appeals from actions of the Subdivision Committee with respect to tentative maps and other matters or of the kinds, nature, and extent of improvements required as a condition of committee approval thereof.

(Ord. No. 1433, adopted 1975; Ord. No. 4001 (part), adopted 1998.)

At the call of the Director of Planning and Building Services, a committee, to be known as the Subdivision Committee, shall meet to review any proposed subdivision. The Committee shall have three (3) regular voting members who shall be the following officials or their duly authorized representatives: Director of Planning and Building Services, Director of Public Works, and the County Health Officer.

(Ord. No. 1720, adopted 1976; Ord. No. 4001 (part), adopted 1998.)

The Director of Planning shall be responsible for processing Tentative Maps for all types of land division; for notifying and furnishing information to interested persons and agencies; for coordination, accumulation and presentation of data to the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors; for making recommendations relating to the overall design of land divisions including land for recreational purposes and for assuring compliance of the provisions of this Chapter as pertaining to Tentative Maps.

The County Road Commissioner shall be responsible for making recommendations pertaining to streets, improvements within street rights of way, and drainage affecting streets.

The County Health Officer shall be responsible for making recommendations pertaining to water supply, sewage disposal, and other matters affecting the general health of the public.

The County Building Inspector or his authorized representative shall be responsible for making recommendations pertaining to grading, stability, and erosion control of soil as such shall pertain to lot access and building sites.

The County Engineer shall be responsible for making recommendations pertaining to geological, drainage, or flooding conditions which affect the general welfare of the public.

The Qualified Fire Officer shall be responsible for making recommendations pertaining to fire prevention and protection.

The County Sheriff shall be responsible for making recommendations pertaining to crime prevention and public safety.

The County School Superintendent, or the Superintendent within which District the proposed division of land is located, shall be responsible for making recommendations pertaining to school needs and school site locations.

Each of the above mentioned officials (17-04 thru 17-13) shall submit their recommendations to the Director of Planning and Building Services for submission to the Planning Commission.

Each of said officers shall be responsible for making necessary inspections, with regards to the matters for which they are responsible, to assure compliance with the requirements of this Chapter and the conditions of approval of a Tentative Map.

(Ord. No. 4001 (part), adopted 1998.)

The County Surveyor shall be responsible for processing Final Subdivision and Parcel Maps, for coordinating approval of the various officials involved, and for presentation of the Final Map to the Board of Supervisors.

It shall be unlawful for any individual, firm, association, syndicate, co-partnership, trust, or any other legal entity, as a principal, agent, or otherwise, knowingly to offer to sell, to contract to sell, or to sell, or lease, or transfer, or otherwise assign for financing or other purposes, any proposed subdivision or other division of land or any part thereof in the County of Mendocino unless and until all the requirements hereinafter provided have been complied with.