Sonoma Municipal Code Ch. 16.08 Certificates of Compliance

This chapter provides procedures for the filing, processing, and approval or denial of certificates of compliance and conditional certificates of compliance, consistent with the requirements of the Map Act. (Ord. 06-2022 § 1, 2022).

A certificate of compliance is a document recorded by the county recorder, which acknowledges that the subject parcel is considered by the city to be a legal lot of record. A conditional certificate of compliance is used instead of a certificate of compliance to validate a parcel that was not legally subdivided. Any person owning real property, or a purchaser of the property in a contract of sale of the property, may request a certificate of compliance. (Ord. 06-2022 § 1, 2022).

A certificate of compliance application shall include the form provided by the department, the required filing fee, and a chain of title, consisting of copies of all deeds beginning before the division and thereafter, unless the parcels were created through a recorded subdivision map. (Ord. 06-2022 § 1, 2022).

A. City Engineer Review. The city engineer shall review all available information and make a determination whether the real property was divided in accordance with the Map Act, the development code, and other applicable provisions of the municipal code. Upon making the determination, the city engineer shall cause a certificate of compliance to be filed with the county recorder. In the event that the city engineer determines that the real property does not comply with the provisions of the development code or the Map Act, the application shall instead be processed as a conditional certificate of compliance, SMC 16.08.050, Conditional certificates of compliance.

B. Form of Certificate. The certificate of compliance shall identify the real property, shall state that the division complies with the provisions of the Map Act and the development code, and shall include all information required by Map Act Section 66499.35.

C. Effective Date of Certificate. A certificate of compliance shall not become final until the document has been recorded by the county recorder. (Ord. 06-2022 § 1, 2022).

A conditional certificate of compliance is used to validate a parcel that was not legally divided. If the current owners are the original subdividers, conditions may be based on current standards. The preparation, filing and processing of a conditional certificate of compliance application shall occur in compliance with this section.

A. Application. An application for a conditional certificate of compliance shall be prepared and include the same materials as a certificate of compliance (SMC 16.08.030).

B. Review and Approval. Upon making a determination that the real property does not comply with the provisions of the development code or the Map Act, the city engineer shall grant a conditional certificate of compliance, imposing conditions as provided by subsection (C) of this section, Conditions of Approval.

C. Conditions of Approval. If the owners of the property for which a certificate is requested are the original subdividers, the city engineer may impose any conditions that would be applicable to a current subdivision, as provided by the Map Act and the development code, regardless of when the property was divided. If the owners had no responsibility for the subdivision that created the parcel, the city engineer may only impose conditions that would have been applicable at the time the property was acquired by the current owners.

D. Appeal. A decision to issue a conditional certificate of compliance and/or the conditions imposed by the city engineer may be appealed to the commission in compliance with Chapter 19.84 SMC, Appeals.

E. Completion of Process. Following expiration of the 10-day appeal period after the determination and imposition of conditions by the city engineer, the city engineer shall file a conditional certificate of compliance with the county recorder. The certificate shall identify the property, and serve as notice to the property owner or purchaser who applied for the certificate, a grantee of the owner, or any subsequent transferee or assignee of the property that the fulfillment and implementation of the conditions shall be required before subsequent issuance of a permit or other approval for the development of the property.

F. Effective Date of Certificate. A conditional certificate of compliance shall not become effective until the document has been recorded by the county recorder. (Ord. 06-2022 § 1, 2022).