Santa Clara County Municipal Code Part 1 General

The procedure set forth in this article shall govern the processing, approval, conditional approval or disapproval and filing of tentative, final and parcel maps and the modification thereof.

(Ord. No. NS-1203.35, § 4, 3-13-78)

The time limits specified in this chapter for reporting and action on maps may be extended by mutual consent of the subdivider and the advisory agency or by the Board.

(Ord. No. NS-1203.35, § 4, 3-13-78)

Application and processing fees shall be established by the Board of Supervisors for lot line adjustments, certificates of compliance, reversions to acreage, lot mergers, extensions of time, tentative maps, final maps, and parcel maps. The prescribed fees, plus recording fees when applicable, must be paid when the application or document is filed with the appropriate agency, department, or office.

(Ord. No. NS-1203.35, § 4, 3-13-78; Ord. No. NS-300.791, § 5, 4-22-08; Ord. No. NS-1203.124, § 17, 12-13-16)

Whenever a public hearing is held pursuant to this chapter, notice of the time and place thereof, including a general description and the location of the proposed subdivision shall be given as follows:

(a) Publication. Notice of said hearing shall be given by publication in a newspaper of general circulation printed and published within the County at least ten days prior to the date set for hearing.

(b) Mailed notices. Postal card or mailed notices shall be mailed not less than ten days prior to the hearing to the owners of property within 300 feet of the exterior boundaries of the property involved in the application. Such notice shall be mailed to the last known name and address of such owners as shown upon the records of the County Assessor.

(Ord. No. NS-1203.35, § 4, 3-13-78;Ord. No. NS-1203.124, § 18, 12-13-16)

(a) Intent. The purpose of this section is to implement the urban lot split provisions of Government Code § 66411.7 and to provide property owners with an expedited process to split parcels within the urbanized areas of the County, so that the resulting two lots may be developed for residential uses and add to the housing stock. It is intended to regulate such land divisions to ensure that they do not significantly impact adjacent properties and do not diminish neighborhood character. This section and all other provisions of this Code are intended to be consistent with, and shall be interpreted in a manner consistent with, state law including, but not limited to, Government Code §§ 65852.21 and 66411.7, as those laws may be amended from time to time. If any provision of this Code is in conflict with state law, then those provisions shall be void to the limited extent necessary to avoid the conflict, and state law shall apply.

(b) General Provisions. All urban lot splits shall comply with all of the following provisions:

(1) A parcel may only be subdivided through an urban lot split one time to create two new parcels; the resulting parcels may not be further subdivided. Future property owners shall be informed of this restriction through a recorded deed notice approved by the County.

(2) The parcel for which an urban lot split is proposed shall meet all of the following criteria:

a. The parcel is an existing legal lot.

b. The parcel was not established through a prior urban lot split.

c. The parcel is in a single-family residential zone.

d. The parcel is a legal parcel wholly within the boundaries of an urbanized area or urban cluster, as designated by the United State Census Bureau when the lot split is approved.

e. The parcel does not contain prime farmland or farmland of statewide importance as designated on maps prepared by the California Department of Conservation, and is not zoned or designated for agricultural protection or preservation by a local ballot measure.

f. The parcel does not contain wetlands, as defined in the United States Fish and Wildlife Service Manual, Part 660 FW 2 (June 21, 1993).

g. The parcel is not located within a historic district, nor is the parcel or any resources thereon listed or designated as historic by the County, state, or federal government. Parcels located in a -h combining district are not eligible.

h. The parcel is not in a high or very high fire hazard severity zone as determined by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection unless the parcel will comply with fire hazard mitigation measures adopted pursuant to existing building standards or state fire mitigation measures applicable to the development.

i. The parcel is not part of a hazardous waste site listed pursuant to Government Code § 65962.5 or designated by the Department of Toxic Substances Control pursuant to Health & Safety Code § 25356, unless the State Department of Public Health, State Water Resources Control Board, or Department of Toxic Substances Control has cleared the site for residential use or residential mixed uses.

j. The parcel is not within a special flood hazard area or regulatory floodway on any official maps published by the Federal Emergency Management Agency unless the parcel satisfies all applicable federal criteria in Government Code § 65913.4(a)(6)(G) and (H).

k. The parcel is not identified for conservation in an adopted natural community conservation plan pursuant to the Natural Community Conservation Planning Act (Fish and Game Code § 2800 et seq.), habitat conservation plan pursuant to the federal Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. § 1531 et seq.), or other adopted natural resource protection plan; does not contain habitat for protected species identified as candidate, sensitive, or species of special status by state or federal agencies, fully protected species, or species protected by the federal Endangered Species Act of 1973, the California Endangered Species Act (Fish and Game Code § 2050 et seq.), or the Native Plant Protection Act (Fish and Game Code § 1900 et seq.); and is not subject to a conservation easement.

l. The proposed urban lot split would not require the demolition or alteration of any of the following types of housing as substantiated by an affidavit from the property owner(s):

i. Housing that is subject to a recorded covenant, ordinance, or law that restricts rents to levels affordable to persons or families of moderate, low, or very low income.

ii. Housing that is subject to any form of rent or price control through a public entity's valid exercise of its police power.

iii. Housing that has been occupied by a tenant in the last three years before the application to subdivide is submitted.

iv. The parcel subject to the proposed housing development is not a parcel on which an owner of residential real property has exercised the owner's rights under Government Code § 7060 et seq. (eviction) to withdraw accommodations from rent or lease within 15 years before the date that the development proponent submits an application.

m. Neither the owner of the parcel being subdivided nor any person acting in concert with the owner has previously subdivided an adjacent parcel using an urban lot split. Future property owners shall be informed of this restriction through a recorded deed notice approved by the County.

(3) Ministerial parcel map applications to establish an urban lot split shall be reviewed by all applicable County departments and other public agencies for conformance with applicable standards, including but not limited to the Subdivision Map Act, Government Code § 66410 et seq., without public hearing or discretionary review.

(4) No off-site improvements or right-of-way dedications shall be required for an urban lot split. Easements granting access to the public right-of-way or for public utilities and services may be required.

(5) Parcels created using an urban lot split shall be restricted to residential uses. Future property owners shall be informed of this restriction through a recorded deed notice approved by the County.

(6) At least one owner of the property that is the subject of an application for an urban lot split shall sign an affidavit stating that the owner shall occupy one of the housing units as their principal residence for a minimum of three years from the date the urban lot split is approved. This requirement does not apply to property owned by a "community land trust" as defined in Revenue and Taxation Code § 402.1(a)(11)(C)(ii) or a "qualified nonprofit corporation" as described in Revenue & Taxation Code § 214.15.

(7) Each resulting parcel shall demonstrate adequate access to a potable water supply and connection to sanitary sewer or determination of septic feasibility meeting all requirements of Sections B11-60 through B11-95 of this Code. Shared wells between dwelling units on different parcels are allowed. Shared onsite wastewater treatment systems (OWTS) serving multiple dwelling units on the same parcel are allowed, but OWTS are not allowed to serve multiple parcels. Pursuant to Section B11-60 of this Code, alternative OWTS are not allowed for subdivisions, including urban lot splits.

(8) Notwithstanding any other provision in this Code, a proposed urban lot split may be denied if the Building Official makes a written finding, based upon a preponderance of the evidence, that the proposed housing development project would have a specific, adverse impact, on public health and safety or the physical environment and there is no feasible method to satisfactorily mitigate or avoid the specific, adverse impact. A "specific, adverse impact" means a significant, quantifiable, direct, and unavoidable impact, based on objective, identified written public health or safety standards, policies, or conditions as they existed on the date the application was deemed complete.

(9) No residential unit on a parcel created using an urban lot split shall be rented for a term shorter than 180 days. Future property owners shall be informed of this restriction through a recorded deed notice approved by the County.

(10) Any parcel subdivided through an urban lot split, or any residential unit constructed on a parcel created using an urban lot split, shall be exempt from all of the inclusionary housing requirements in Section 4.20.130 of the Zoning Ordinance.

(11) Whenever a Tentative Map application for an Urban Lot Split is received by the County, notice of the project including a general description and the location of the development shall be provided to the owners of property within 300 feet of the exterior boundaries of the property involved in the application. Such notice shall be mailed to the last known name and address of such owners as shown upon the records of the County Assessor.

(c) Development Standards. All urban lot splits are required to comply with all of the following provisions:

(1) The two resulting parcels shall be of approximately equal lot area and the smaller of the two shall be at least 40 percent of the lot area of the original parcel.

(2) Each newly created parcel shall be no smaller than 1,200 square feet.

(3) Each parcel shall abut a County maintained road or have legal access from private road(s) or easements.

(4) Each parcel shall have a minimum road frontage of 50 feet except as allowed in Section C12-44(C)(5). If that much frontage is not available, one lot shall be configured as a flag lot with a minimum 15-foot-wide access lane from the road. The access lane shall be part of the rear lot and shall be adjacent to an interior property line.

(5) If either of the resulting parcels would have a depth-to-width ratio greater than 3-to-1, a flag lot orientation is allowed regardless of available road frontage.

(6) Existing flag lots shall be divided so that the resulting lots do not exceed a 3-to-1 depth-to-width ratio, and each lot shall demonstrate access to a public road.

(7) Driveway access to all new dwelling units shall be compliant with County standard details and specifications for driveways and turnarounds.

(Ord. No. NS-1203.128, § 2, 2-7-23)