Napa County Municipal Code Ch. 17.51 Voluntary Merger of Contiguous Parcels Under Common Ownership Without…

This chapter is enacted pursuant to Government Code Section 66499.20 3/4.

(Ord. No. 1331, § 4, 12-8-2009)

A. The voluntary merger by the owner or owners of contiguous parcels into a single parcel without reverting to acreage shall be initiated by application to the director of planning and processed and approved by the county surveyor if all of the standards set forth in Section 17.51.030 are met.

B. Each application for a merger without reverting to acreage shall be accompanied by all of the following:

1. One copy of a preliminary title report, not more than thirty days old, that describes the nature and ownership of all current fee title interests, liens, easements and other encumbrances of record affecting each of the parcels involved in the lot line adjustment;

2. Two copies of a tentative map accurately drawn to scale. Measurements shall be identified by feet, square feet, or in acres to the nearest tenth. The map shall be eight and one-half by eleven inches in size and shall be in the format and contain the information generally shown on the sample map approved by the director of public works and available from the department of public works. The tentative map shall specifically conform to all of the following:

a. All exterior and interior lines of the involved parcels shall be shown and shall be identified by course and bearing description, based on survey data, calculated data or information of record;

b. All existing structures shall be accurately located on the original parcels;

c. The locations, purpose and width of all existing and proposed easements, streets and utilities shall be noted;

d. The recording information for any existing Williamson Act agreement affecting any of the parcels involved in the merger shall be noted, and a copy of the agreement shall be provided with the application; and

e. All assessor's parcel numbers currently assigned to each existing parcel involved in the application shall be noted.

3. One copy of the legal description of the merged parcel(s).

(Ord. No. 1331, § 4, 12-8-2009; Ord. No. 1379, § 138, 1-29-2013; Ord. No. 1401, § 6, 5-12-2015)

A. Upon receipt of an application and that fee prescribed by resolution of the board of supervisors, the county surveyor shall determine whether the proposed merger meets all of the following standards:

1. All involved parcels are either undeveloped or are already developed in such a manner that the merger will not result in any existing conforming structures or existing conforming uses on any of the involved parcels becoming non-conforming under any provisions of this code;

2. None of the involved parcels is subject to a Conditional Certificate of Compliance unless such Conditional Certificate contains no conditions of development other than conditions which will be fully satisfied by the merger, except that if the only condition of development not satisfied relates to minimum parcel size, the merger shall be approved as long as the deed or deeds recorded to consummate the merger contain an express statement that the resulting parcel remains subject to the Conditional Certificate, whose recording information shall be noted on the deed or deeds; and

3. The deed or deeds submitted to the county surveyor to consummate the merger shall contain an express statement of the grantor(s), pursuant to Section 1093 of the California Civil Code, that the intent of the grantor(s) and the purpose of the deed(s) is to merge all of the property described in the deed(s) into a single parcel.

B. Approval under this Chapter shall be indicated by a certificate issued by the county surveyor which shall be recorded with the deed or deeds consummating the merger.

C. The actions of the county surveyor under this section are ministerial acts for purposes of the California Environmental Quality Act.

(Ord. No. 1331, § 4, 12-8-2009; Ord. No. 1379, § 139, 1-29-2013)

Failure of the applicant to record the deeds and certificate consummating the merger within ninety days from the date indicated on the certificate referenced in subsection (B) of Section 17.51.030 shall void all such approvals and be deemed a withdrawal of the application for the merger.

(Ord. No. 1331, § 4, 12-8-2009)

The approval of a voluntary merger by the county surveyor is not a representation that the resulting merged parcel may be developed under applicable laws and regulations of the county and development or use of the parcel may require issuance of a permit or permits or other grant or grants of approval.

(Ord. No. 1331, § 4, 12-8-2009; Ord. No. 1379, § 140, 1-29-2013)