Santa Maria Municipal Code Ch. 11-2 Definitions and Responsibilities

For the purpose of this title, unless otherwise apparent from the context, certain words and phrases used in this title are defined in this chapter as set forth below. To the extent they are consistent with these definitions, the Subdivision Map Act definitions shall also be applicable to this title and said definitions are hereby incorporated by reference as though fully set forth herein.

"Advisory Agency"

shall mean a designated official or an official body charged with the duty of making investigations and reports on the design and improvement of proposed division of real property, the imposing of requirements or conditions thereon, or having the authority to approve, conditionally approve, or disapprove maps.

"Alley"

shall mean any public or private vehicular way which affords a secondary means of access to abutting property.

"Gross area"

shall mean the total land area of a parcel or parcels exclusive of existing public streets.

"Net area"

shall mean the total land area of a parcel or parcels exclusive of area within any existing or proposed public or private street, road, or easement for ingress and egress and exclusive of the area within any existing or proposed easement wherein the owner of the parcel is prohibited from using the surface of the ground. Included in the "net area" is the area lying within public utility easements, sanitary sewer easements, landscaping easements, and public service and tree maintenance easements.

"California Environmental Quality Act"

shall mean State Public Resources Code Sections 21000 et seq., and the State and City CEQA Guidelines for the implementation of CEQA.

"City"

shall mean the City of Santa Maria.

"City Engineer"

shall mean the City Engineer of the City of Santa Maria and that person's duly authorized representatives.

"Community apartment project"

shall be defined as provided in Section 1351(d) of the State Civil Code.

"Condominium" and "airspace condominium"

are synonymous and are used interchangeably. "Condominium" shall mean 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. A condominium may also include a separate interest in other portions of the real property.

"Conversion"

shall mean the conversion of property from lease or rental occupancy to one of lot or space ownership, such as converting a mobile home park to airspace condominium ownership.

"County"

shall mean the County of Santa Barbara.

"Design"

shall mean:

(1)

Street alignments, grades, and widths.

(2)

Drainage, water, sewer, sanitary facilities and utilities, including alignments and grades.

(3)

Location and size of all required easements and rights-of-way.

(4)

Wall locations, materials, and heights.

(5)

Lot size and configuration.

(6)

Vehicular access, including fire roads.

(7)

Grading.

(8)

Land to be dedicated for park, open space, or recreational purposes.

(9)

Landscaping of public areas.

(10)

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 City's General Plan or any applicable specific plan.

(11)

Compliance with all applicable zoning regulations. (Reference: Government Code Section 66418).

"Development"

shall mean the uses to which the land of the subject subdivision shall be put, the buildings to be constructed on it, and all construction incident thereto. (Reference: Government Code Section 66418.1).

"Easement"

shall mean 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.

"Environmental Impact Report"

shall mean a detailed statement prepared pursuant to the provisions of CEQA that describes and analyzes the significant environmental impacts of a project and outlines alternatives and mitigation measures that mitigate or avoid these impacts.

"Final map"

shall mean a map showing a subdivision of five or more lots for which a tentative and final map are required by the Subdivision Map Act and this title, prepared in accordance with the Subdivision Map Act and this title, and designed to be filed for recordation in the Office of the County Recorder.

"General Plan"

shall mean the General Plan of the City of Santa Maria.

"Geologically hazardous area"

shall mean an area which may be affected by one or more of the geologic hazards discussed in the Seismic Safety Element of the General Plan.

"Improvement"

shall mean streets, sidewalks, storm drainage facilities, water and sewer facilities, utilities, boundary walls, landscaping to be installed, or agreed to be installed, by the subdivider, on the land to be used for public or private streets, highways, and easements, which are necessary for the general use of the lot owners in the subdivision and local neighborhood. "Improvement" shall also mean other specific improvements or types of improvements, the installation of which, either by the combination of the subdivider, public agencies, private utilities, or 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 City Engineering Specifications and Drawings where applicable, and to the satisfaction of the City Engineer in all instances where such improvements are to be publicly accepted and maintained. (Reference: Government Code Section 66419).

"Lot" or "parcel"

shall mean a unit or portion of land separate from other units or portions by description, as on a final or parcel map, or by another map approved 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. "Lot" has the same meaning as "parcel."

"Lot line adjustment"

shall mean a shift, rotation, or elimination of an existing lot line or lines, or other adjustment where a greater number of parcels than originally existing are not created. "Lot line adjustments" are processed pursuant to Section 11-11.03 of this title.

"Parcel map"

shall mean a map showing a subdivision of four or fewer lots for which a tentative and parcel map are required by the Subdivision Map Act and this title, prepared in accordance with the Subdivision Map Act and this title and designed to be filed for recordation in the Office of the County Recorder.

"Remainder"

shall mean that portion of an existing parcel which is not designated on the required map as part of the subdivision and which is not divided for the purpose of sale, lease, or financing. The remainder shall not be considered as part of the subdivision but shall be shown on the required map as part of the area surrounding the subdivision, except that a remainder of five acres or more need not be shown on the map and its location need not be indicated as a matter of survey, but only by deed reference to the existing boundaries of the remainder.

"Right-of-way"

is property dedicated to the City for street, highway, public access, or other public purpose.

"Standard City Engineering Specifications and Drawings"

shall mean those standard specifications and drawings as prepared and approved by the City of Santa Maria Department of Public Works, and kept on file at the City of Santa Maria Department of Public Works.

"Stock Cooperative Apartment Project"

shall be defined as provided in Section 1351(m) of the State Civil Code.

"Public street"

shall mean any duly dedicated street or roadway which the City has accepted and regularly maintains, or which the County duly accepted and regularly maintained prior to incorporation of the City and is not in the City Limits. Public streets are classified in accordance with the designations defined in the Circulation Element of the General Plan and shall be designed in accordance with Standard City Engineering Specifications and Drawings for public streets.

"Private street"

shall mean any street, accessway, 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 street design and width shall be pursuant to the Standard City Engineering Specifications and Drawings for public streets.

"Subdivider"

shall mean a person, firm, corporation, partnership, or association who or which proposes to divide, or causes to be divided, real property into a subdivision for oneself, itself, or for others. Employees and consultants of such persons or entities, acting in such capacity, are not "subdividers." (Reference: Government Code Section 66423).

"Subdivision"

shall mean 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 assessor roll as a unit or as contiguous units, for the purpose of sale, lease, or financing, whether immediate or future. Property shall be considered contiguous units even if separated by roads, streets, utility easements or railroad rights-of-way. "Subdivision" includes a condominium project, as defined in Section 1351(f) of the State Civil Code, a community apartment project, as defined in Section 1351(d) of the State Civil Code, and the conversion of existing dwelling units to a stock cooperative, as defined in Section 1351(m) of the State Civil Code. "Subdivision" includes any division of land by gift or inheritance, but excludes a 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. (Reference: Government Code Section 66424).

"Subdivision Committee"

shall mean the committee established in accordance with Section 11-2.02(c) of this chapter.

"Subdivision Map Act"

shall mean Government Code Section 66410 et seq., inclusive.

"Tentative map"

shall mean a map prepared for the purpose of showing the design and improvement of a proposed subdivision and the existing conditions in and around the subdivision. "Tentative map" shall include a tentative map prepared in connection with both a final map and parcel map pursuant to the provisions of the Subdivision Map Act and of this title.

"Title Report"

shall mean a document regarding the ownership and encumbrances, limitations, or restrictions upon that ownership of the subject property prepared or updated by a title insurance company. The title report shall not be more than six months old from the date of tentative map, final map, or parcel map submittal, whichever is the case.

"Vesting tentative map"

shall be defined as provided in Section 66424.5(b) of the Subdivision Map Act.

(Ord. 94-29, eff. 12/15/94)

(a) City Council. The City Council shall act as the Advisory Agency on the approval of final maps and improvement agreements, and where applicable, parcel maps and improvement agreements. The City Council shall also act on the approval, conditional approval, or denial of reversions to acreage.

The City Council shall act as the appeal board for hearing appeals of Planning Commission approval, conditional approval, or denial of official tentative maps. The City Council shall also act as appeal board for hearing appeals of other Planning Commission actions as provided in this title.

The City Council shall determine violations of the Subdivision Map Act and of this title, and other duties as indicated in the City of Santa Maria Municipal Code.

(b) Planning Commission. The Planning Commission shall act as the Advisory Agency on the approval, conditional approval, or denial of official tentative maps.

The Planning Commission shall act as the appeal board for hearing appeals of actions taken on applications for lot line adjustments, mergers, and certificates of compliance by the Director of Community Development.

(c) Subdivision Committee. The City has established a Subdivision Committee whose members shall be as follows: a member of the Planning Commission appointed by the chair of the Planning Commission at the meeting after the election of Planning Commission officers; the Director of Public Works, or a designated representative; the Director of Community Development, or a designated representative; and the Director of Recreation and Parks, or a designated representative. The Planning Commission member shall serve as chair of the Subdivision Committee, and the Community Development Department representative shall serve as the Committee's secretary. Minutes of the deliberations and reports of the Subdivision Committee shall be kept and its proceedings shall be open to the public.

The responsibility of the Subdivision Committee is to perform a preliminary review of all data related to design and improvement of a planned subdivision before an applicant submits an official tentative map for Planning Commission review. The Subdivision Committee makes recommendations to the Planning Commission.

(d) City Attorney. The responsibility of the City Attorney shall include approving as to form all resolutions, subdivision improvement agreements, and securities.

(e) City Engineer. The responsibilities of the City Engineer shall include:

(1) Establishing standard design and construction details, and standards and specifications for all subdivisions and public improvements related thereto;

(2) Establishing if proposed subdivision improvements comply with the provisions of the Subdivision Map Act and this title;

(3) Processing and certifying final maps, parcel maps, reversion to acreage maps, lot line adjustments, and amended and corrected maps, and processing and approving subdivision improvement plans;

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

(5) Writing and approving subdivision improvement agreements as to content;

(6) Inspecting, approving, and accepting public improvements associated with subdivisions; and

(7) Administering subdivision improvement agreements and security.

(f) Director of Community Development. The responsibilities of the Director of Community Development shall include:

(1) Processing of tentative map applications, including evaluating tentative map consistency with the general plan, zoning ordinance, and any applicable specific plan;

(2) Acting as the Advisory Agency on the approval, conditional approval, or denial of applications for lot line adjustments, mergers, and certificates of compliance;

(3) Processing of street name changes;

(4) Review of final maps and parcel maps for consistency with tentative map conditions; and

(5) Review and approval of security amounts for Community Development Department related improvements.

(g) City Clerk. The responsibilities of the City Clerk shall include:

(1) Processing of all documents through the City Council, such as final maps and subdivision improvement agreements;

(2) Collecting final map and parcel map processing fees; and

(3) Coordinating the recordation of all final maps, parcel maps, lot line adjustments, mergers, and reversions to acreage.

(h) Director of Recreation and Parks. The responsibilities of the Director of Recreation and Parks shall include:

(1) Review of tentative maps with respect to street tree requirements, park charges, and public landscaping requirements;

(2) Administration and calculation of the Residential Development Tax and Subdivision/Residential In-Lieu Park Fee;

(3) Review and approval of landscape and irrigation improvement plans for landscape areas that are within City landscape maintenance districts; and

(4) Review and approval of security amounts for street trees and for landscaping within City landscape maintenance districts.

(Ord. 94-29, eff. 12/15/94)