Chapter 12.24 — DEFINITIONS

For the purpose of this article, the words and phrases set forth in this chapter shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them herein. Whenever any words or phrases in this chapter are not defined herein but are defined in the Subdivision Map Act, in the zoning ordinance, or elsewhere in this code, such definitions are incorporated herein and shall apply to such words and phrases, unless the context clearly indicates a contrary intention. (Prior code § 21-2.1; Ord. 1352 § 1, 1980)

"Advisory agency" means the designated advisory agency with respect to subdivisions as provided by the Subdivision Map Act, and shall have all the powers and duties with respect to subdivisions and other divisions of land specific in the Act and in this title. The planning commission is designated the advisory agency for tract maps. The community development director is designated the advisory agency for parcel maps, lot line adjustments, mergers and certificates of compliance. (Ord. 1947, 4/9/2024)

"Board of supervisors" means the board of supervisors of San Mateo County. (Prior code § 21-2.2; Ord. 1352 § 1, 1980)

"Chief of police" means the police chief of the city, or designee. Prior code § 21-2.4; Ord. 1352 § 1, 1980; Ord. 1947, 4/9/2024)

"City attorney" means the city attorney of the city, or designee. (Prior code § 21-2.5; Ord. 1352 § 1, 1980; Ord. 1947, 4/9/2024)

"City clerk" means the city clerk of the city, or designee. (Prior code § 21-2.6; Ord. 1352 § 1, 1980; Ord. 1947, 4/9/2024)

"City council" means the city council of the city. (Prior code § 21-2.7; Ord. 1352 § 1, 1980)

"City engineer" means the deputy public works director—administration and engineering of the city, or designee.

(Prior code § 21-2.8; Ord. 1352 § 1, 1980; Ord. 1947, 4/9/2024)

"County recorder" means the county recorder of San Mateo County. (Prior code § 21-2.9; Ord. 1352 § 1, 1980)

"Design" means the following:

• A. Street alignments, grades and widths;

• B. Drainage and sanitary facilities and utilities, including alignments and grades thereof;

• C. Location and size of all required easements and rights-of-way;

• D. Fire roads and firebreaks;

• E. Lot size and configuration;

• F. Traffic access;

• G. Grading;

• H. Land to be dedicated for park or recreational purposes;

• I. Such other specific requirements in the plan and configuration of the entire subdivision as may be necessary or convenient to insure conformity to or implementation of the general plan or any specific plan.

(Prior code § 21-2.10; Ord. 1352 § 1, 1980)

"Designated remainder parcel" means a portion of a unit or units of improved or unimproved land which a subdivider has designated as not being divided for the purpose of sale, lease or financing. (Prior code § 21-2.11; Ord. 1352 § 1, 1980)

"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. (Ord. 1461 § 1, 1986)

"Director of community development" means the community development director of the city, or designee.

(Ord. 1947, 4/9/2024)

"Director of community services" means the community services director of the city, or designee. (Prior code § 21-2.12; Ord. 1352 § 1, 1980; Ord. 1947, 4/9/2024)

"Final parcel map" means the officially approved map made for the purpose of showing the design and improvement of a proposed subdivision described in subsection A of Section 12.28.020 and the existing conditions in and around it. (Prior code § 21-2.13; Ord. 1352 § 1, 1980)

"Final tract map" means the officially approved map made for the purpose of showing the design and improvement of a proposed subdivision described in subsection A of Section 12.28.010 and the existing conditions in and around it.

(Prior code § 21-2.14; Ord. 1352 § 1, 1980)

"Fire marshal" means the fire marshal of the city, or designee. (Prior code § 21-2.15; Ord. 1352 § 1, 1980; Ord. 1947, 4/9/2024)

"General plan" means the general plan of the city. (Prior code § 21-2.16; Ord. 1352 § 1, 1980)

"Improvement" means:

• A. Such street work and utilities to be installed, by the subdivider on the land to be used 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 drainage needs as a condition precedent to the approval and acceptance of the final map thereof; and

• B. Such other specific improvements or types of improvements, the installation of which, either by the subdivider, by public agencies, by private utilities, by any other entity approved by the city or by a combination thereof, is necessary or convenient to insure conformity to or implementation of the general plan or any specific plan.

(Prior code § 21-2.17; Ord. 1352 § 1, 1980)

"Interested party" means any person owning property or residing within the city. (Prior code § 21-2.18; Ord. 1352 § 1, 1980)

"Lot line adjustment" means the transfer of land between two or more adjacent parcels, where the land taken from one parcel is added to an adjacent parcel and where a greater number of parcels than originally existed is not created. (Prior code § 21-2.18.5; Ord. 1352 § 1, 1980)

"Open space" means an area of land which is essentially unimproved and devoted to the preservation of natural resources, the managed production of resources, outdoor recreation, and public health and safety. Examples of open space uses are set forth in subsection (b) of Section 65560 of the Government Code.

(Prior code § 21-2.19; Ord. 1352 § 1, 1980)

"Planning commission" means the planning commission of the city.

(Prior code § 21-2.20; Ord. 1352 § 1, 1980)

"Standard specifications" means the most recently adopted or approved edition of the Standard Specifications of the city of San Bruno department of engineering. (Prior code § 21-2.22; Ord. 1352 § 1, 1980)

"Subdivider" means a person, firm, corporation, partnership or association who or which proposes to divide, divides or causes to be divided real property into a subdivision for himself or herself or for others; provided, however, that employees and consultants of such persons or entities, acting in such capacity, are not subdividers.

(Prior code § 21-2.23; Ord. 1352 § 1, 1980)

• A. "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 easement or railroad rights-of-way.

• B. "Subdivision" includes the following:

  1. A condominium project, as defined in Section 4125 or 6542 of the Civil Code;

  2. A community apartment project, as defined in Section 4105 of the Civil Code;

  3. The conversion of five or more existing dwelling units to a stock cooperative, as defined in Section 4190 or 6566 of the Civil Code.

• C. "Subdivision" does not include:

  1. Leases of agricultural land for agricultural purposes. As used herein, the term "agricultural purposes" means the cultivation of food or fiber or the grazing or pasturing of livestock;

  2. 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 Public Utilities Code unless a showing is made in individual cases, under substantial evidence, before the city council, that public policy necessitates the application of such regulations to such short-term leases in such individual cases;

  3. The financing or leasing of apartments, offices, stores, or similar space within apartment buildings, industrial buildings, commercial buildings, mobile-home parks or trailer parks;

  4. 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 other city ordinances regulating design and improvement;

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

  6. Mineral, oil, or gas leases;

  7. Land dedicated for cemetery purposes under the Health and Safety Code of the state of California;

  8. Boundary line or exchange agreements to which the State Lands Commission or a local agency holding a trust grant of tide and submerged lands is a party;

  9. 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 advisory agency or legislative body.

10. 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, antennae 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 advisory agency or legislative body.

11. 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 solar electrical generation device on the land, if the project is subject to review under other local agency ordinances regulating design and improvement or, if the project is subject to other discretionary action by the advisory agency or legislative body.

12. The leasing of, or the granting of an easement to, a parcel of land or any portion or portions of the land in conjunction with a biogas project that uses, as part of its operation, agricultural waste or byproducts from the land where the project is located and reduces overall emissions of greenhouse gases from agricultural operations on the land if the project is subject to review under other local agency ordinances regulating design and improvement or if the project is subject to discretionary action by the advisory agency or legislative body.

13. 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 an electrical energy storage system on the land, if the project is subject to discretionary action by the advisory agency or legislative body. For the purposes of this subdivision, "energy storage system" has the same meaning as defined in Section 2835 of the Public Utilities Code.

• D. Any conveyance of land to a governmental agency, public entity, public utility or subsidiary of a public utility for conveyance to such public utility for rights-of-way shall not be considered a division of land for purposes of computing the number of parcels.

• (Prior code § 21-2.24; Ord. 1352 § 1, 1980; Ord. 1418 §§ 1 and 2, 1983; Ord. 1947, 4/9/2024)

"Subdivision Map Act" means the current provisions of Title 7, Division 2 , of the Government Code of the state of California.

(Prior code § 21-2.25; Ord. 1352 § 1, 1980)

"Tentative parcel map" means the preliminarily approved map made for the purpose of showing the design and improvement of a proposed subdivision described in subsection A of Section 12.28.020 and the existing conditions in and around it. Such map need not be based upon an accurate or detailed final survey of the property.

(Prior code § 21-2.26; Ord. 1352 § 1, 1980)

"Tentative tract map" means the preliminarily approved map made for the purpose of showing the design and improvement of a proposed subdivision described in subsection A of Section 12.28.010 and the existing conditions in and around it. Such map need not be based upon an accurate or detailed final survey of the property. (Prior code § 21-2.27; Ord. 1352 § 1, 1980)

"Vesting tentative map" means the preliminarily approved map made for the purpose of showing the design and improvement of a proposed subdivision described in either subsection A of Section 12.28.010 or subsection A of Section 12.28.020 and the existing conditions in and around it. Such map need not be based upon an accurate or detailed final survey of the property. Such map shall meet the requirements of Chapter 12.38 .

(Ord. 1461 § 2, 1986)

"Zoning ordinance" means the zoning ordinance of the city. (Prior code § 21-2.28; Ord. 1352 § 1, 1980)