Santa Clara County Municipal Code Part 2 Definitions

The definitions in this article apply to the provisions in this chapter and, when applicable, throughout this division.

(Ord. No. NS-1203.35, § 4, 3-13-78)

The "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 to recommend approval, conditional approval or disapproval of maps.

(a) Advisory agency for tentative maps of five or more parcels where either a final map or parcel map is required shall be the Planning Commission.

(b) Advisory agency for tentative maps of four or fewer parcels where a parcel map is required shall be the Zoning Administrator.

(Ord. No. NS-1203.35, § 4, 3-13-78; Ord. No. NS-1203.45, § 17, 7-2-79; Ord. No. NS-1203.124, § 1, 12-13-16)

An "approved access" is an access approved by the County.

(Ord. No. NS-1203.35, § 4, 3-13-78)

"Board" shall mean the Board of Supervisors of the County of Santa Clara.

(Ord. No. NS-1203.35, § 4, 3-13-78)

Editor's note— Sec. 2 of Ord. No. NS-1203.124, adopted Dec. 13, 2016, deleted § C12-5.4 which pertained to central permit counter, and derived from Ord. No. NS-1203.35, adopted Mar. 13, 1978; and Ord. No. 300.357, adopted May 25, 1982.

Editor's note— Sec. 3 of Ord. No. NS-1203.124, adopted Dec. 13, 2016, deleted § C12-5.5 which pertained to central permit office, and derived from Ord. No. NS-1203.35, adopted Mar. 13, 1978; and Ord. No. 300.357, adopted May 25, 1982.

"Commission" shall mean the Planning Commission of the County of Santa Clara.

(Ord. No. NS-1203.35, § 4, 3-13-78)

"County" shall mean the County of Santa Clara.

(Ord. No. NS-1203.35, § 4, 3-13-78)

"County Health Officer" shall mean the County Health Officer of the Public Health Department.

(Ord. No. NS-1203.35, § 4, 3-13-78; Ord. No. NS-1203.124, § 4, 12-13-16)

"County street/County-maintained road" shall mean any street, road, avenue, way, land or alley for vehicular use accepted for County maintenance by the Board of Supervisors.

(a) Major street: The part of the roadway system that serves as the principal network for through-traffic flow. The routes connect areas of principal traffic generation and important rural highways entering the city.

(b) Collector: The distributor and collector roadways serving traffic between major and local roadways. These are roadways used mainly for traffic movements within residential, commercial and industrial areas.

(c) Local street: Roadways used primarily for direct access to residential, commercial, industrial, or other abutting property. They do not include roadways carrying through traffic. Long local roadways will generally be divided into short sections by collector roadway systems.

(d) Expressway: A divided major arterial highway for through traffic with full or partial control of access and generally with interchanges at major crossroads. Expressways for noncommercial traffic within parks and parklike areas are generally known as parkways.

(Ord. No. NS-1203.35, § 4, 3-13-78; Ord. No. NS-1203.124, § 5, 12-13-16)

"County Surveyor" shall mean the County Surveyor of the Department of Planning and Development.

(Ord. No. NS-1203.35, § 4, 3-13-78; Ord. No. NS-300.357, § 30, 5-25-82)

"Design" means:

(1) Street alignments, grades and widths;

(2) Drainage and sanitary facilities and utilities, including alignments and grades thereof;

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

(4) Fire roads and firebreaks;

(5) Lot size and configuration;

(6) Traffic access;

(7) Grading;

(8) Land to be dedicated for park or recreational purposes; and

(9) 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.

(Ord. No. NS-1203.35, § 4, 3-13-78)

"Director of Roads and Airports Department shall mean the Director of the Roads and Airports Department or civil engineer designated by the Director to carry out the functions of the Director set forth in this Division.

(Ord. No. NS-1203.35, § 4, 3-13-78; Ord. No. NS-1230.39, 10-16-78; Ord. No. NS-1203.124, § 6, 12-13-16)

"Final map" refers to a numbered tract subdivision map showing five or more parcels or condominiums which is prepared in accordance with this division.

(Ord. No. NS-1203.35, § 4, 3-13-78)

"Improvement" refers to such street work and utilities to be installed, or agreed 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 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 County or by a combination thereof, is necessary or convenient to insure conformity to or implementation of the General Plan.

(Ord. NS-1203.35, § 4, 3-13-78)

"Parcel map" shall mean a map showing the division of land into four or fewer parcels, or when a final map is not required by this chapter, and prepared in accordance with this division.

(Ord. No. NS-1203.35, § 4, 3-13-78; Ord. No. NS-1203.124, § 7, 12-13-16)

Editor's note— Sec. 7 of Ord. No. NS-1203.124, adopted Dec. 13, 2016, in essence deleted § C12-5.15, and renumbering C12-5.16 as C12-5.15 to read as herein set out. Former § C12-5.15 pertained to the Land Development Coordinator, and derived from Ord. No. NS-1203.35, adopted Mar. 13, 1978.

"Planning Office" shall mean the Planning Office within the Department of Planning and Development of the County of Santa Clara.

(Ord. No. NS-1203.124, § 8, 12-13-16)

"Right-of-way" shall mean all or any part of the entire width of a road, street, highway, flood control or drainage easement or fee title.

(Ord. No. NS-1203.35, § 4, 3-13-78)

"Standard" shall mean the adopted County standards of the County of Santa Clara, including the standards for public or private roads adopted by the Board of Supervisors, copies of which are on file in the office of the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors of the County of Santa Clara.

(Ord. No. NS-1203.35, § 4, 3-13-78; Ord. No. NS-1203.124, § 9, 12-13-16)

"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 himself or for others, except that employees and consultants of such persons or entities, acting in such capacity, are not subdividers.

(Ord. No. NS-1203.35, § 4, 3-13-78)

(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 except for leases of agricultural land for agricultural purposes. 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 Civil Code § 1351 or a community apartment project, as defined in Business and Professions Code § 11004. Any conveyance of land to a governmental agency, public entity or public utility shall not be considered a division of land for purposes of computing the number of parcels. As used in this section, "agricultural purposes" means the cultivation of food or fiber, or the grazing or pasturing of livestock.

(b) Subdivision does not include:

(1) The financing or leasing of apartments, offices, stores or similar space within apartment buildings, industrial buildings, commercial buildings, mobile home parks or trailer parks.

(2) Mineral, oil or gas leases.

(3) Land dedicated for cemetery purposes under the Health and Safety Code of the State of California.

(4) Lot line adjustments in accordance with Chapter 5.55 of the Zoning Ordinance.

(5) Boundary line or exchange agreements to which the State Land Commission or a local agency holding a trust grant of tide and submerged lands is a party.

(6) Acquisition of less than a whole parcel by a public agency or public utility having the power of eminent domain. When any public agency or public utility having the power of eminent domain acquires less than a whole parcel, the residue of that acquisition shall be considered a separate parcel, legally conforming for purposes of the Zoning Ordinance, but subject to review and approval prior to development under applicable County land development regulations and ordinances.

(7) Sale by a public agency or public utility having the power of eminent domain of the residue of a parcel no longer needed for public purposes, so long as such residue is not further divided. Such residue shall be considered a separate parcel legally conforming for purposes of the Zoning Ordinance, but subject to review and approval prior to development under applicable County land development regulations and ordinances.

(c) Exclusion. All whole parcels described in recorded deeds as of June 25, 1969, shall be considered as separate parcels subject to regulation as existing individual parcels as single building sites, provided such parcels were not divided or created in violation of County ordinance which existed at the time of such creation or division. Such individual parcels may be assembled and re-divided at the option of the property owner.

(d) Major subdivision shall mean any subdivision containing five or more parcels or condominiums.

(e) Minor subdivision shall mean any subdivision containing four or fewer parcels or lots.

(f) Cluster subdivision means a subdivision using flexibility and variety in the location of dwelling units on a lot and diversity of lot sizes. This type of subdivision is subject to a cluster development plan as outlined in Chapter 5.45 of the Zoning Ordinance, which should be consulted for types of clusters, processing and review.

(g) Hillside subdivision is a subdivision where the percent slope of the land is the primary factor in determining the minimum lot size and the number of parcels that may be created by means of subdivision. The term "percent slope" shall mean the vertical drop divided by the horizontal distance multiplied by 100. Percent slope "S" shall be computed by the formula:

S=0.00229IL

A

Where

(Ord. No. NS-1203.35, § 4, 3-13-78; Ord. No. NS-1203.43, § 1, 3-26-79; Ord. No. NS-1203.79, § 1, 6-17-86; Ord. No. NS-1200.318, § 25, 3-28-06; Ord. No. NS-1203.124, § 10, 12-13-16)

"Tentative map" refers to a map made for the purpose of showing the design and improvement of a proposed subdivision and the existing conditions in and around it and need not be based upon an accurate or detailed final survey of the property.

(Ord. No. NS-1203.35, § 4, 3-13-78)

"Vesting tentative map" shall mean a tentative map for a residential subdivision that shall have printed conspicuously on its face the words "Vesting Tentative Map" at the time it is filed and is thereafter processed in accordance with the provisions of Part 4 (commencing with Section C12-60) of Article 3 of this chapter.

(Ord. No. NS-1203.78, § 1, 5-13-86)

"Urban Lot Split" shall mean an urban lot split subject to ministerial approval pursuant to Government Code § 66411.7.

(Ord. No. NS-1203.128, § 1, 2-7-23)