§ 36.530

This Division establishes requirements for applications for the creation of a condominium or other common interest development (including a community apartment project, planned development or stock cooperative, as provided by California Civil Code Section 1351) simultaneously with the construction of a new structure, and the conversion of an existing structure to a condominium, consistent with the requirements of the Map Act.

(Ord. No. 2108 § 1.)

A. Condominiums. When a residential structure is proposed at the time of construction as a condominium or other common interest development, a Tentative Map for the project shall be filed in the same form, have the same contents and accompanying data and reports and shall be processed, approved or denied in the same manner in compliance with Division 36.510 (Tentative Map Filing and Processing). Division 36.520 (Parcel Maps and Final Maps) determines whether a Parcel or Final Map shall also be filed.

B. Condominium Conversions. A condominium conversion is the conversion of real property to a common interest development as defined by Section 1351 of the California Civil Code.

1. Approvals required. A conversion shall require the approval of a Tentative Map, and Parcel or Final Map, except where a Parcel Map, or Tentative and Final Map are waived in compliance with Map Act Sections 66428(b) or 66428.1, for the conversion of a mobile home park. If a Parcel Map is waived, a Tentative Map shall still be required.

2. Application filing and processing. A Tentative Map for a condominium conversion shall be filed in the same form, have the same contents and accompanying data and reports and shall be processed, approved or disapproved in the same manner as set forth in Division 36.510 (Tentative Map Filing and Processing), except as otherwise provided by the following provisions of this Section.

3. Application contents. Condominium conversion applications shall include the same information and materials as Tentative Map applications, except for conversions of residential projects, which shall also include the following information and materials.

a. Tentative Map. The Tentative Map for a condominium, community apartment project, or the conversion of five or more existing dwelling units to a stock cooperative need not show the buildings or the manner in which the airspace above the property shown on the map are to be divided. However, the applicant shall provide an illustration of how division will occur to enable verification of the accuracy of the legal descriptions on deeds for the transfer of ownership of the units.

b. Verification of stock cooperative vote. If the development being converted to a condominium is a stock cooperative, the application shall also include verification of the vote required by Map Act Section 66452.10.

c. Relocation assistance program. A program proposed by the applicant that will assist tenants displaced through the conversion in relocating to equivalent or better housing.

d. Vacancy rate assessment. An assessment of the vacancy rate in multi-family housing within the City.

4. Staff report. The staff report on the Tentative Map for the condominium conversion (Section 36.530.020) shall be provided the subdivider and each tenant of the subject property at least three days before any hearing or action on the Tentative Map by the Commission or Council.

5. Public notice. The following notice shall be provided in addition to that required by Division 36.630 (Public Hearings):

a. Tenant notice. The subdivider shall give notice to all existing or prospective tenants as set forth in Map Act Sections 66452.8 and 66452.9, and shall provide the Department satisfactory proof that the notice was given; and

b. Public hearing notice. Notice of the public hearing(s) on the Tentative Map shall be provided to all tenants of the subject property, as required by Map Act Section 66451.3.

6. Approval of conversion, required findings.

a. Time limit, stock cooperatives. The approval or disapproval of the conversion of an existing building to a stock cooperative shall occur within 120 days of the application being found complete in compliance with Section 36.400.060 (Application Review). The 120day time limit may be extended by mutual consent of the subdivider and the City.

b. Conversion findings, residential projects. Approval of a tentative or Final Map for a subdivision to be created from the conversion of residential real property into a condominium project, community apartment project or stock cooperative shall not be granted unless the findings set forth in Map Act Section 66427.1 are first made.

7. Completion of conversion. The filing, approval and recordation of a Parcel Map or Final Map in compliance with Division 36.520 (Parcel Maps and Final Maps) shall be required to complete the subdivision process, except where a Parcel Map, or tentative and Final Map are waived for the conversion of a mobile home park in compliance with Map Act Section 66428(b).

(Ord. No. 2108 § 1.)

A. Applicability. As provided by Map Act Section 66412(d), the Lot Line Adjustment procedure is for the purpose of relocating lot lines between two or more existing adjacent parcels, where land taken from one parcel is added to an adjacent parcel and where no more parcels are created than originally existed.

1. For the purposes of this Division, an “adjacent parcel” is one that directly touches at least one of the other parcels involved in the adjustment.

2. Parcels combined by encumbrances or encroachments of existing structures shall be considered a single original parcel for purposes of an adjustment in compliance with this Division.

B. Lot Line Adjustment application and processing. A Lot Line Adjustment application shall be prepared, filed and processed as provided by this Section.

1. Application content. A Lot Line Adjustment application shall include all information and other materials required by the Department.

2. Processing. Lot Line Adjustment applications shall be submitted to the Department and shall be processed in compliance with the procedures specified by Division 36.400 (Application Filing and Processing) of this Zoning Code. An environmental review shall not be required, in compliance with the CEQA Guidelines.

C. Approval or denial of Lot Line Adjustment. The Director shall determine whether the parcels resulting from the adjustment will conform with the applicable provisions of this Zoning Code. The Department may approve, conditionally approve, or deny the Lot Line Adjustment in compliance with this Section. Decisions made by the may be appealed to the Commission in compliance with Division 36.610 (Appeals) of this Zoning Code.

1. Required findings. A proposed Lot Line Adjustment shall be denied if the Department finds any of the following:

a. The adjustment will have the effect of creating a greater number of parcels than exist before adjustment;

b. Any parcel resulting from the adjustment will conflict with any applicable regulations of this Zoning Code; or

c. The adjustment will result in an increase in the number of nonconforming parcels.

2. Conditions of approval. In approving a Lot Line Adjustment, the Department shall adopt conditions only as necessary to conform the adjustment and proposed parcels to the requirements of this Zoning Code and Chapter 9 (Buildings) of the Municipal Code, or to facilitate the relocation of existing utilities, infrastructure, or easements.

D. Completion of Lot Line Adjustment. Within 12 months after approval of the Lot Line Adjustment process shall be completed in compliance with this Section through the recordation of a deed or record of survey, after all conditions of approval have been satisfied.

1. Completion by deed. A Lot Line Adjustment shall not be effective or finally completed until a grant deed or signed by the record owners has been recorded. The applicant shall submit deeds to the City Engineer for review and approval in compliance with

Subsection 3. below (Review and Approval by the Department), before recordation of the grant deed. The legal descriptions provided in the deeds shall be prepared by a qualified registered civil engineer, or a licensed land surveyor licensed or registered in the State.

2. Completion by record of survey. If required by Business and Professions Code Section 8762 et seq., a Lot Line Adjustment shall not be effective or final until a record of survey has been checked by the City Engineer and recorded by the County Recorder. Where not required, a Lot Line Adjustment may also be completed by record of survey in compliance with this Subsection at the option of the applicant.

3. Review and approval by the Department. The City Engineer shall:

a. Examine the deeds to ensure that all record owners and lien holders have consented to the adjustment;

b. Verify that all conditions of approval have been satisfactorily completed and that the deeds are in substantial compliance with the Lot Line Adjustment as approved by the review authority;

c. Verify that the property owners have either obtained partial reconveyances from any mortgagor or other lien holder for any portion of a parcel being transferred to an adjacent parcel, and that any liens covering the adjacent property have been modified to cover the newly created larger parcel;

d. If satisfied that the deeds comply with the above requirements, place an endorsed approval upon the deeds; and

e. After approval of the legal descriptions, assemble the deeds and return them to the applicant for recordation.

4. Expiration. The approval of a Lot Line Adjustment shall expire and become void if the adjustment has not been completed as required by this Section within 12 months of approval.

(Ord. No. 2108 § 1.)

A. Merger not required. Two or more contiguous parcels or units of land which have been subdivided under the provisions of this Zoning Code or the Map Act shall not merge by virtue of the fact that the contiguous parcels are held by the same ownership. No further proceedings under this Zoning Code shall be required for the purpose of sale, lease or financing, except as provided by this Division.

B. Processing of requested merger. Upon request of the legal owner of contiguous parcels, the City may approve the merger of the property in compliance with Map Act Section 66499.20 3/4. The request shall be in writing and shall be accompanied by data and documents as required by the City Engineer’s office.

1. Review authority. The Director shall have the authority to review and approve proposed parcel mergers.

2. Conditions of approval. In approving a merger, the City may impose rea¨sonable conditions. The reasonableness of condi¨tions imposed by the Director and/or City Engineer may be appealed within 10 days of written notice of the conditions to the Council in compliance with Division 36.610 (Appeals).

3. Completion of merger. Upon approval, a Notice of Lot Merger shall be filed with the County Recorder. The form and con¨tent of the notice shall be as required by the City Engineer.

(Ord. No. 2108 § 1.)

A. Applicability. 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.

B. Application contents. 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.

C. Review and approval.

1. 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, this Zoning 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 this Zoning Code or the Map Act, the application shall instead be processed as a Conditional Certificate of Compliance (Section 36.530.050).

2. 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 this Zoning Code, and shall include all information required by Map Act Section 66499.35.

3. Effective date of certificate. A Certificate of Compliance shall not become final until the document has been recorded by the County Recorder.

D. Conditional Certificate of Compliance. 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.

1. Application. An application for a Conditional Certificate of Compliance shall be prepared and include the same materials as a Certificate of Compliance (Section 36.530.050).

2. Review and approval. Upon making a determination that the real property does not comply with the provisions of this Zoning Code or the Map Act, the City Engineer shall grant a Conditional Certificate of Compliance, imposing conditions as provided by Subsection D.3 (Conditions of Approval) below.

3. 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 this Zoning 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 acquired by the current owners.

4. 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 Division 36.610 (Appeals) of this Zoning Code.

5. 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.

6. Effective date of certificate. A Conditional Certificate of Compliance shall not become effective until the document has been recorded by the County Recorder.

(Ord. No. 2108 § 1.)

Division 36.540. Subdivision Design and Improvement Requirements

Sections:

36.540.010 Purpose of Division.

36.540.020 Applicability of Design and Improvement Standards.

36.540.030 Subdivision Design Standards.

36.540.040 Site Preparation and Subdivision Construction.

36.540.050 Subdivision Improvement Requirements.

36.540.060 Improvement Plans.

36.540.070 Installation of Improvements.

36.540.080 Improvement Agreements and Security.

36.540.090 Soils Reports.