Mountain View Municipal Code Art. I General Subdivision Provisions

Pursuant to Chapters 1 through 7 of Division 2, Title 7, of the California Government Code, commencing with Section 66410, referred to herein as the Subdivision Map Act, and in addition to any other provisions of law, the provisions of this chapter shall apply to all divisions of land or parts thereof or air space hereafter made of land wholly or partially within the city limits of the city, and to the preparation of subdivision maps or parcel maps, and to other maps provided for by the Subdivision Map Act, or herein, for approval; and each such division of land and each part thereof lying within the city limits of said city shall be made, and each map shall be prepared and presented for approval, as hereinafter provided for and required.

(Ord. No. 3.22, § 1, 4/12/22.)

Whenever reference is made to any portion of this chapter or any other ordinance or statute, such reference applies to and includes all amendments and additions now or hereafter made.

(Ord. No. 3.22, § 1, 4/12/22.)

a. No person shall offer to sell or lease, to contract to sell or lease, to sell or lease, to finance any parcel or parcels of real property or to commence construction of any building for sale, lease or financing thereon, except for model homes, or to allow occupancy thereof, until a final map or parcel map, in full compliance with the provisions of this chapter, has been duly filed in the office of the county recorder.

b. Neither this section nor any other portion of this chapter shall apply to the leasing of apartments, offices, stores or similar spaces within an apartment building, industrial buildings or commercial buildings, or mobile home parks, or trailer parks, or to mineral, oil or gas leases.

(Ord. No. 3.22, § 1, 4/12/22.)

Any deed or conveyance, mortgage, deed of trust or other lien or lease or sale or contract to sell, mortgage, lien or lease real property made contrary to the provisions of this Chapter is voidable at the sole option of the grantee, buyer, tenant, mortgagee, beneficiary or person contracting to purchase, or to accept a lien or mortgage, or to lease as a tenant, their heirs, personal representatives or trustees in insolvency or bankruptcy, within one (1) year after the date of discovery of the violation of the provisions of this Chapter or the Subdivision Map Act, but such deed of conveyance, sale, mortgage, deed of trust, lien, lease or contract is binding upon any assignee or transferee of the grantee, mortgagee, beneficiary, tenant, buyer or person contracting therefor, other than those above enumerated, and upon the grantor, vendor, mortgagor, trustor, landlord or person so contracting, their assignee, heir or devisee.

The provisions of this Section shall not limit or affect in any way the rights of a grantee or successor-in-interest under any other provision of law.

(Ord. No. 3.22, § 1, 4/12/22; Ord. No. 11.2026, § 1, 6/9/26.)

No building, grading, plumbing or electrical permit shall be issued for the construction, reconstruction, alteration or modification of any building or structure situated on land which has been divided or conveyed in a manner contrary to the provisions of this Chapter and/or the Subdivision Map Act. Any permit issued prior to such a division or conveyance shall be subject to revocation after notice and hearing.

(Ord. No. 3.22, § 1, 4/12/22; Ord. No. 11.2026, § 1, 6/9/26.)

If any lot or parcel of land upon which there is an unpaid assessment represented by bonds issued under the Improvement Procedure Code and Division 10 of the Streets and Highways Code is subdivided, including a division into condominium interests as defined in Section 783 of the California Civil Code, or the ownership of a portion of such lot or parcel of land is transferred to another person, the owner of any interest in any of the lots or parcels into which the original lot or parcel has been divided shall file an application in writing with the public works director. The application shall indicate how the original lot or parcel has been divided or transferred, request the public works director to apportion the amount remaining unpaid on the assessment in accordance with the California Improvement Procedure Code and the Streets and Highways Code and be accompanied by a fee in an amount to be fixed from time to time by resolution or ordinance of the city council for each separate part or parcel of land into which the original lot or parcel has been divided or transferred. The public works director shall deposit all such fees in the city treasury.

(Ord. No. 3.22, § 1, 4/12/22.)

This chapter may be cited as the "Subdivision Ordinance of the City of Mountain View."

(Ord. No. 3.22, § 1, 4/12/22.)

As used in this Chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the following meaning:

"Approval body or official" shall mean the body or official specified by this Chapter as having authority to approve, conditionally approve or disapprove a proposed subdivision.

"Advisory agency" means a designated official or an official body charged with the duty of making investigations and reports on the design and improvement of proposed divisions of real property, the imposing of requirements or conditions thereon or having the authority under this Chapter to approve, conditionally approve or disapprove maps.

"City engineer" shall mean the city engineer for the city or their designee.

"Common green subdivision" shall mean a division of land in which there are both separately held parcels of land and commonly held parcels of land within the proposed development, the latter held undivided and in common by owners of the separately held parcels, all pursuant to a planned unit development approved in accordance with the provisions of the zoning ordinance of the city.

"Community apartment project" shall mean a development as defined in California Civil Code Section 4105.

"Community development director" shall mean the community development director for the city. The community development director shall constitute the advisory agency having the authority to approve, conditionally approve or disapprove preliminary parcel maps and tentative maps for housing development projects that qualify for the new statutory CEQA exemption under Public Resources Code Section 21080.66 as described in Article XV (Administrative Review of Preliminary Parcel Maps and Tentative Maps).

"Condominium" shall mean an estate in real property consisting of an undivided interest in common in a portion of a parcel of real property together with a separate interest in space in a residential, industrial or commercial building on the real property as defined in California Civil Code Section 783.

"Condominium conversion" shall mean the conversion or division of a single-ownership parcel with a building or buildings into a common-interest development as defined in California Civil Code Section 4100 (including a residential condominium, planned development, community apartment project or stock cooperative) or any other ownership type in which an undivided interest in common in a portion of a parcel is held together with a separate interest in space. Condominium conversion also means the conversion of commercial, industrial or any nonresidential spaces in an existing building to condominium as defined herein.

"Condominium conversion project" shall mean a development in which the entire parcel of real property, and any structure or structures thereon or appurtenant thereto, is subject to condominium conversion.

"Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act" shall mean the act set forth in the California Civil Code, Division 4, Part 5, commencing with Section 4000.

"Final map" shall mean a map prepared in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter and the Subdivision Map Act and designed to be recorded in the office of the Santa Clara County recorder.

"Environmental planning commission" shall mean the environmental planning commission of the city, established pursuant to Section 906 of the city charter. The environmental planning commission shall constitute the advisory agency, as that term is used in the Subdivision Map Act, for any subdivision map being processed concurrently with a general plan amendment, amendment to the text of the zoning ordinance, amendment to the zoning map or new or amended precise plan or other development application requiring a recommendation by the environmental planning commission.

"Good-faith effort" shall mean the actions and fair intentions by a party to perform substantial work in accordance with an approved map, such as, but not limited to, progress on recording the final map, executing required agreements and payment of fees.

"Parcel map" shall mean a map showing a subdivision of four (4) or fewer parcels, prepared in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter and the Subdivision Map Act and designed to be recorded in the office of the Santa Clara County recorder. A parcel map also means a map showing a subdivision of five (5) or more parcels under the tentative and final map exceptions in Government Code Section 66426(a) through (e) and as otherwise provided by this Chapter and the Subdivision Map Act.

"Preliminary parcel map" shall mean a map for the purpose of showing the design of a proposed parcel map and the existing conditions in and around it and need not be based upon an accurate or detailed final survey of the property.

"Public works director" shall mean the public works director for the city or their designee.

"Subdivision" shall mean the division, by any subdivider, of any unit or units of improved or unimproved land, or any portion thereof, as shown on the latest equalized county assessment roll as a unit or as contiguous units, for the purpose of sale, lease or financing, whether immediate or future, and as further defined in Section 66424 of the Subdivision Map Act. Property shall be considered as contiguous units even if it is separated by roads, streets, utility easements or railroad rights-of-way. "Subdivision" includes a condominium project, as defined herein or in Section 4125 or 6542 of the Civil Code; a community apartment project, as defined in Section 4105 of the Civil Code; or the conversion of five (5) or more existing dwelling units to a stock cooperative, as defined in Section 4190 or 6566 of the Civil Code. "Subdivision" includes any division of land by gift, inheritance or court-ordered partitioning.

"Stock cooperative project" shall mean the same as defined in California Civil Code Section 4190.

"Subdivision committee" shall mean a committee consisting of the community development director, the public works director and the community services director, or their designees, and shall constitute the advisory agency as that term is used in the Subdivision Map Act for actions as prescribed by this Chapter, including, but not limited to, approval, conditional approval, or disapproval of preliminary parcel maps and recommendation to the city council of tentative maps, except in circumstances where the environmental planning commission and community development director are the advisory agency.

"Subdivision Map Act" shall mean Chapters 1 through 8 of Division 2, Title 7, of the California Government Code, commencing with Section 66410 thereof.

"Tentative map" shall mean a map showing a subdivision of five (5) or more lots or units, prepared in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter and the Subdivision Map Act and for the purpose of showing the design and improvement of a proposed subdivision and the existing conditions in and around it.

"Urban lot split" shall mean the division of one (1) R1 (single-family residential) zoned lot into two (2) single-family zoned lots, which shall only be used for residential uses.

Other definitions. Except as otherwise provided in this Chapter, all terms used in this Chapter which are defined in the Subdivision Map Act or the Davis-Stirling Common-Interest Development Act are used in this Chapter as so defined, unless from the context thereof it clearly appears that a different meaning is intended.

(Ord. No. 3.22, § 1, 4/12/22; Ord. No. 02.2024, § 6, 1/23/24; Ord. No. 11.2026, § 2, 6/9/261.)