Article II — Definitions and Responsibilities

§ 31-8. Definitions. [Ord. No. 1034, § 1.]

For the purposes of this chapter, unless otherwise apparent from the context, certain words and phrases used in this chapter are defined in this article as set forth below. All definitions provided in Chapter 1 (General Provisions) of this Code and all definitions provided in the Subdivision Map Act shall also be applicable to this chapter and said definitions are hereby incorporated by this reference as though fully set forth herein.

• (a) ACREAGE — Means any parcel of land which is not a lot, as defined in this article, and those areas where a legal subdivision has not been made previously, or where a legal subdivision has declared such parcel as acreage.

• (b) ALLEY — Means a public thoroughfare through the middle of a block giving access to the rear of lots or buildings.

• (c) ARTERIAL STREET — Means a street designed to carry high volumes of local traffic and to interconnect the neighborhoods of the city.

• (d) BLOCK — Means the area of land within a subdivision, which area is entirely bounded by streets, highways or ways, except alleys, or the exterior boundary or boundaries of a subdivision.

• (e) BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE — Means the Business and Professions Code of the State of California.

• (f) CITY STREET — Means any duly dedicated street, avenue, or the like which the City has accepted and regularly maintains, or which the county duly accepted and regularly maintained prior to the incorporation of the city, or upon which public funds have been expended for improvements or rightsof-way used by the public generally.

• (g) CODE — Means the adopted City of Oakdale Municipal Code.

• (h) COLLECTOR STREET — Means a street, intermediate in importance between a local street and an arterial street, which has the purpose of collecting local traffic and carrying it to arterial streets.

• (i) COMMUNITY APARTMENT PROJECT — Shall be defined as provided in Section 11004 of the Business and Professions Code.

• (j) CONDOMINIUM — means 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, such as an apartment, office or store. A condominium may include, in addition, a separate interest in other portions of the real property.

• (k) CONSTRUCTION STAR — Means any lot grading as defined within the Uniform Building Code, the issuance of the appropriate permits, or approval of improvement plans. "Completion" shall mean the improvements are accepted.

• (l) CONDOMINIUM CONVERSION — Means the creation of separate ownership of existing real property together with a separate interest in space of residential, industrial or commercial buildings.

• (m) CUL-DE-SAC — Means a local street terminating in a circular turnaround.

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City of Oakdale, CA § 31-8

OAKDALE CITY CODE

§ 31-8

• (n) DAY — Means a calendar day unless otherwise specified.

• (o) DEPARTMENT — Means the community development department, or public works department.

• (p) DESIGN — Means:

  • (1) Street alignments, grades and widths;

  • (2) Drainage, water, sewer and sanitary facilities and utilities, including alignments and grades;

  • (3) Location and size of all required easements and rights-of-way;

  • (4) Fire roads and fire breaks;

  • (5) Lot size and configuration;

  • (6) Vehicular and bicycle traffic access;

  • (7) Grading;

  • (8) Land to be dedicated for public use; and,

  • (9) Such other specific physical requirements in the plan and configuration of the entire subdivision as may be necessary to ensure consistency with, or implementation of, the General Plan or any applicable specific plan.

• (q) DEVELOPMENT — Means the uses to which the land which is the subject of a map shall be put, the buildings to be constructed on it, and all alterations of the land and construction incident thereto.

• (r) DIRECTOR — Means the public works director or his designee.

• (s) EASEMENT — Means an easement dedicated to the city, which shall be continuing and irrevocable unless formally abandoned by the city, and any other easement whether owned by a public entity, public utility, or private party.

• (t) ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT (EIR) — Means a detailed statement prepared pursuant to the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), State Public Resources Code Sections 21000 et seq., and state and city CEQA Guidelines promulgated pursuant thereto, describing and analyzing the significant environmental effects of a project and discussing ways to mitigate or avoid the effects.

• (u) EXPRESSWAYS — Means a street designed to handle regional traffic demands, and thereby having a limited number of connections to the local street network.

• (v) FINAL MAP — Means a map showing a subdivision of five or more parcels for which a tentative and final map are required by the Subdivision Map Act and this chapter, prepared in accordance with the provisions of the Subdivision Map Act and this chapter and designed to be filed for recordation in the office of the county recorder.

• (w) GENERAL PLAN — Means the General Plan of the City of Oakdale, adopted January 17, 1994, and all amendments thereto.

• (x) GOVERNMENT CODE — Means the Government Code of the State of California.

• (y) IMPROVEMENT — Means streets, sidewalks, storm drainage facilities, water and sewer facilities, utilities, landscaping to be installed, or agreed to be installed, by the subdivider on the land to be used

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City of Oakdale, CA § 31-8

SUBDIVISIONS

§ 31-8

for public or private streets, highways, ways, and easements, as are necessary for the general use of the lot-owners in the subdivision and local neighborhood traffic and acceptance of the final map thereof. "Improvement" shall also mean other specific improvements or types of improvements, the installation of which, either by or by a combination of, the subdivider, public agencies, private utilities, or any other entity approved by the city, is necessary to ensure consistency with, or implementation of, the General Plan, or any applicable specific plan. Improvements shall be constructed in accordance with standard engineering specifications, where applicable.

• (z) INDUSTRIAL STREET — Means a street abutting or adjoining industrial uses anticipated to carry heavy truck traffic.

• (aa) LOCAL STREET — Means a street designed to carry traffic from collector streets into residential neighborhoods.

• (bb) LOT OR PARCEL — Means a unit or portion of land separate from other units or portions by description, as on a final map or parcel map, or by such other map approved by the county or by the city under the provisions of the Subdivision Map Act and of city ordinances in effect at the time of such approval, for the purpose of sale, lease, or financing.

• (cc) LOT LINE ADJUSTMENT — Means a minor shift or rotation of an existing lot line or other adjustment where a greater number of parcels that originally existed is not created, as approved by the subdivision committee.

• (dd) MAJOR THOROUGHFARE — Means expressways, arterials, and collector streets.

• (ee) MERGER — Means the joining of two (or more) contiguous parcels of land under one ownership into one parcel.

• (ff) PARCEL MAP — Means a map showing a subdivision of four or less parcels or as otherwise defined by the Subdivision Map Act and this chapter, prepared in accordance with the provisions of the Subdivision Map Act and this chapter and designed to be filed for recordation in the office of the county recorder.

• (gg) PERIPHERAL STREET —Means an existing street whose right-of-way is contiguous to the exterior boundary of a subdivision.

• (hh) PRIVATE STREET — Means any street, access way, or the like, lying in whole or in part within a subdivision for which dedication and ownership is privately held and is utilized as access to a development. Private streets shall be constructed in accordance with standard engineering specifications.

• (ii) REMAINDER — Means that portion of an existing parcel which is not designated on the required map as part of the subdivision.

• (jj) SPECIFIC PLAN — Means a planning document adopted by the city council, in conformance with the specific plan enabling ordinance, and utilized to implement the General Plan on an area specific basis.

• (kk) STANDARD ENGINEERING SPECIFICATIONS — Means those standard subdivision improvement plans and specifications as prepared and/or approved by the public works director.

• (ll) STOCK COOPERATIVE — Shall be defined as provided in Section11003.2 of the Business and Professions Code.

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City of Oakdale, CA § 31-8

OAKDALE CITY CODE

§ 31-9

• (mm) SUBDIVIDER — Means a person, firm, corporation, partnership, or association who proposes to divide, divides, or causes to be divided real property into a subdivision for oneself or for others. Employees and consultants of such persons or entities, acting in such capacity, are not "subdividers."

• (nn) SUBDIVISION — Means the division, by any subdivider, of any unit or units of improved or unimproved land, or any portion thereof, 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. 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 in Section 1350 of the State Civil Code, a community apartment project, as defined in Section 11004 of the Business and Professions Code, and the conversion of five or more existing dwelling units to a stock cooperative, as defined in Section 11003.2 of the Business and Professions Code. "Subdivision" includes any division for probate homestead. Any conveyance of land to a governmental agency, public entity, public utility, or subsidiary of a public utility for rights-of-way shall not be considered a division of land for purposes of computing the number of parcels.

• (oo) SUBDIVISION COMMITTEE — Means a committee comprised of the community development director, and the public works director, or their designees.

• (pp) SUBDIVISION MAP ACT — Means Government Code Sections 66410 et seq., inclusive.

• (qq) TENTATIVE MAP — Means a map made for the purpose of showing the design and improvements of a proposed subdivision and the existing conditions in and around it. "Tentative map" shall include a tentative map prepared in connection with a parcel map pursuant to the provisions of Article VI of this chapter.

• (rr) VESTING TENTATIVE MAP — Means a subdivision as defined by this chapter, that shall have printed conspicuously on its face the words "vesting tentative map" at the time it is filed and processed, pursuant to the provisions of Article VII.

§ 31-9. Responsibilities. [Ord. No. 1034, § 1.]

• (a) City attorney. The city attorney's responsibilities shall include approving as to the form of all subdivision improvement agreements and security, and all governing documents for a common interest development.

• (b) City council. The city council shall have final jurisdiction in the approval, conditional approval or denial of final subdivision and final parcel maps, and reversions to acreage. The city council shall also have final jurisdiction in the approval, conditional approval or denial of improvement agreements, deferred improvement agreements, benefit districts, and determinations relating to parkland in-lieu fees and land dedications.

The city council shall act as the appeal board for hearing appeals of any planning commission action.

• (c) Planning commission. The planning commission's responsibilities shall include approving, conditionally approving, or denying the applications for tentative subdivision maps, vesting subdivision maps, as well as tentative subdivision map extensions and amendments.

The planning commission shall act as the appeal board for hearing appeals of any subdivision committee action.

• (d) Subdivision committee. There is hereby established a subdivision committee comprised of the community development director, and the public works director. The community development

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City of Oakdale, CA § 31-9

SUBDIVISIONS

§ 31-9

director shall act as the chairman of the subdivision committee. A member of the subdivision committee may designate and authorize a representative to act upon his or her behalf. The subdivision committee's responsibilities shall include:

• (1) The approval, conditional approval, or denial of tentative parcel maps, as well as tentative parcel map extensions and amendments.

• (2) The approval of lot line adjustments, mergers, and certificates of compliance.

• (3) Granting authorization to the city clerk for the acceptance of: (A) parcel map dedications; and (B) off-site dedications lying outside a subdivision boundary which require a separate grant deed.

• (4) Determinations of violations of the provisions of the Subdivision Map Act or this chapter.

• (e) Public works department. The public works department's responsibilities shall include:

  • (1) Establishing design and construction details, standards and specifications.

  • (2) Determining if proposed subdivision improvements comply with the provisions of the Subdivision Map Act and this chapter.

  • (3) The processing and certification of final maps, and amended maps, as well as the processing and approval of subdivision improvement plans.

  • (4) Examining and certifying that final maps and parcel maps are in substantial compliance with the approved tentative map.

  • (5) Determine the necessity for local benefit districts and apportionment of costs relating thereto.

  • (6) The approval of proposed street names.

  • (7) The approval as to form of subdivision improvement agreements and deferred improvement agreements.

  • (8) The inspection, approval, and acceptance of subdivision improvements.

• (f) Community development department. The community development department's responsibilities shall include the processing of tentative maps, parcel maps, and reversions to acreage maps and the report of any subdivision committee action to the planning commission.

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City of Oakdale, CA § 31-10

SUBDIVISIONS

§ 31-13

ARTICLE III Maps Required

§ 31-10. General. [Ord. No. 1034, § 1.]

For the purpose of this chapter, the specific requirements for tentative, final, and parcel maps shall be governed by the provisions of this article.

§ 31-11. Division of land - Five or more parcels. [Ord. No. 1034, § 1.]

A tentative and final subdivision map shall be required for all divisions of land when determined by the community development department that such land is divided into five or more parcels, five or more condominiums, 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:

• (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 legislative body; or

• (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; or

• (c) The land consists of a parcel or parcels of land having approved access to a public street or highway which comprises part of a tract of land zoned for industrial or commercial development, and which has the approval of the governing body as to street alignments and widths; or

• (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.

A parcel map shall be required for those subdivisions described in subdivisions (a), (b), (c) and (d), unless waived by the subdivision committee in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.

§ 31-12. Division of land - Four or less parcels. [Ord. No. 1034, § 1.]

A tentative and final parcel map shall be required for all divisions of land into four or less parcels or as described within (a), (b), (c), and (d) above.

§ 31-13. Map exclusions. [Ord. No. 1034, § 1.]

The following subdivisions are exempt from the requirement of undergoing the subdivision or parcel map process.

• (a) Subdivisions of a portion of the operating right-of-way of a railroad corporation, defined by Section 230 of the State Public Utilities Code, which are created by short-term leases terminable by either party on not more than thirty days notice in writing.

• (b) Land conveyed to or from a governmental agency, public entity or public utility, or for land conveyed to a subsidiary of a public utility for conveyance to such public utility for rights-of-way, unless a showing is made by the department in individual cases, upon substantial evidence, that public policy necessitates a parcel map.

• (c) Lot line adjustments, pursuant to the provisions contained within this chapter.

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City of Oakdale, CA § 31-14

SUBDIVISIONS

§ 31-15