Article 10 — Voluntary Mergers

8210-0 - Purpose; concurrent processing with discretionary projects.

The purpose of this Article is to establish procedures for processing voluntary merger applications to merge contiguous lots under common ownership into a single lot without reverting to acreage as authorized by Government Code section 66499.20.3. The approval of voluntary merger applications and subsequent review and approval of the certificate of merger and deeds are ministerial acts not subject to CEQA. In instances where a voluntary merger is requested in conjunction with a project involving an application for a conditional use permit, planned development permit or other discretionary County land use approval involving some or all of the property subject to the voluntary merger, the voluntary merger application shall be processed concurrently with the application for the discretionary land use approval, including for purposes of evaluating the project's potential environmental effects. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the County's approval of a voluntary merger is, in and of itself, a ministerial act.

(Ord. No. 4566, § 1, 6-16-2020)

8210-1 - Application.

Applications for the approval of a voluntary merger shall be filed with the Planning Division. No application shall be accepted for filing and processing if a violation of the NCZO, CZO, or this Chapter exists on the subject lot(s) unless the acceptance of the application is necessary to abate the existing violation and unless it conforms to the requirements of this Chapter; contains in a full, true, and correct form, the required information prescribed by the forms supplied by the Planning Division; and is accompanied by the appropriate fees.

(Ord. No. 4566, § 1, 6-16-2020)

8210-1.1 - Filing and processing requirements.

a.

The application for a voluntary merger shall be processed by the Planning Division if all information and documents requested in the application and each item listed below in Section 8210-1.1(a)(1) through (a)(7) is submitted to the satisfaction of the Planning Division and is deemed complete.

A deposit of the required fees pursuant to the Board-adopted Fee Schedule to process the voluntary merger and to record the certificate of voluntary merger. All unused fees shall be refunded to the applicant.

Two (2) copies of a current preliminary title report showing all parties with a legal or equitable interest in the lots and all easements, covenants, and other encumbrances and interests in the affected lots at the time of the filing of the application for the voluntary merger.

All parties having any record title interest in the lots subject to the voluntary merger application shall consent in writing to the voluntary merger subject to the exceptions set forth in Government Code section 66436.

If any of the existing lots are developed, an additional sketch or overlay drawing shall be prepared by the project surveyor that depicts the location of any buildings or structures with a notation of setback distances from the resulting adjusted lot lines.

Documentation as required by the County Surveyor to establish that each of the lots that are subject to the voluntary merger are legal lots. The applicant shall consult with the County Surveyor prior to submitting a voluntary merger application that involves illegally created lots to confirm compliance with Section 8210-3(a), (b), and (i).

Two (2) copies of the legal description and a sketch, prepared by a person authorized to practice land surveying, of the new boundaries of the merged lot as adjusted by the voluntary merger. The sketch shall also include: (a) the boundaries of each of the existing lots at the time of application; and (b) a north arrow and the bearings and distances for the merged lot lines. A record of survey may be voluntarily submitted as a substitute for a sketch.

Draft certificate of merger (see Section 8210-5 below) and deed(s) reflecting the adjusted property boundaries.

b.

The voluntary merger application shall be processed ministerially without a public notice or hearing.

(Ord. No. 4566, § 1, 6-16-2020)

8210-1.1.2 - County Surveyor and Planning Division review.

a.

The County Surveyor and the Planning Division shall review the voluntary merger application. If additional information is needed, the applicant shall provide the documents and information requested by the County Surveyor or Planning Division in order to deem the application complete. If the application is determined to be incomplete, the applicant shall be notified in writing of the reasons therefor and informed of the information needed to make the application complete.

b.

The County Surveyor shall determine whether the documents required to effectuate the voluntary merger are technically correct, including the deeds, legal description, and sketch map. When the County Surveyor is satisfied that the documents to be recorded to complete the voluntary merger are technically correct, the County Surveyor shall stamp and transmit the documents to the Planning Division for recordation with the Office of the County Recorder upon final approval of the application by the advisory agency pursuant to Section 8210-5 of this Chapter.

(Ord. No. 4566, § 1, 6-16-2020)

8210-1.1.3 - Termination of incomplete application.

An incomplete voluntary merger application may be terminated in the same manner for terminating an incomplete lot line adjustment application as set forth in Section 8209-1.1.2 of this Chapter.

(Ord. No. 4566, § 1, 6-16-2020)

8210-2 - Designated advisory agency.

The Planning Director or designee is the designated advisory agency for ministerial voluntary merger applications under this Article.

(Ord. No. 4566, § 1, 6-16-2020)

8210-3 - Standards for approval.

A voluntary merger that complies with the following standards shall be ministerially approved, subject to compliance with all other requirements of this Article:

a.

Each of the lots to be merged are legal lots. However, a legal lot that was illegally subdivided thus creating two (2) or more illegal lots may be merged back into its original configuration as the legal lot existed prior to the illegal subdivision so long as the other criteria of approval set forth in this Section are met.

b.

If one (1) or more involved parcels is subject to a conditional certificate of compliance, the conditions of development must be fully satisfied by the merger. Notwithstanding the foregoing if a condition of development that would not be satisfied relates to minimum parcel size, the merger shall be approved with the condition that the deed or deeds recorded to effectuate the merger contain an express statement that the resulting parcel remains subject to the conditional certificate of compliance, whose recording information shall be noted on the deed or deeds.

c.

The lots to be merged are contiguous to each other.

d.

The lots to be merged are under the same ownership.

e.

If there are any liens or deeds of trust, they shall encumber the entire merged lot. There cannot be any liens or deeds of trust encumbering only a portion of the merged lot.

f.

The voluntary merger will not adversely affect existing easements of record on any of the lots or any conditions of approval, dedications, offers to dedicate, or security arising from a previously recorded map that created any of the lots subject to the voluntary merger application.

g.

The voluntary merger will not alter the exterior boundary of the lots to be merged.

h.

The County Surveyor has approved the legal description as accurately representing the exterior boundaries of the resulting merged lot.

i.

The voluntary merger will not render any existing conforming structures or existing conforming uses on any of the involved lots to become a nonconforming structure or use. Existing legal nonconforming structures or uses on any of the lots subject to the application are not grounds to deny the voluntary merger.

j.

The deed or deeds submitted to the County Surveyor to effectuate the merger shall contain an express statement of the grantor(s), pursuant to section 1093 of the Civil Code, that the intent of the grantor(s) and the purpose of the deed(s) is to merge all of the property described in the deed(s) into a single lot.

(Ord. No. 4566, § 1, 6-16-2020)

8210-4 - Conditional approval.

a.

The only conditions the advisory agency may impose on the approval of a voluntary merger are those: to conform the merged lot to all objective standards and requirements of the General Plan, Zoning Ordinances and Ventura County Improvement Standards and Specifications; to require the prepayment of real property taxes prior to the recordation of the voluntary merger; and to facilitate the relocation of existing utilities, infrastructure, or easements.

b.

If the voluntary merger application is conditionally approved, the advisory agency shall send a letter of conditional approval notifying the applicant of the conditions to be fulfilled prior to recordation of the voluntary merger. If the conditions are not fulfilled within one (1)

year of the date of the letter, the voluntary merger shall expire and become null and void unless the applicant obtains a written extension from the advisory agency pursuant to Section 8210-4.1 of this Chapter.

c.

A conditionally approved voluntary merger shall be deemed ready for recordation when the advisory agency determines that the conditions have been fulfilled and is in receipt of the following:

An up-to-date preliminary title report;

The voluntary merger documents approved by the County Surveyor (e.g., legal description and a sketch); and

All deeds prepared for recordation as approved by the County Surveyor pursuant to Section 8210-1.1(a)(7) of this Chapter.

d.

Upon receipt of the documents required by Section 8210-4(c) above, the advisory agency shall cause each of the County Surveyor- approved voluntary merger documents and deeds to be recorded in the Office of the County Recorder.

(Ord. No. 4566, § 1, 6-16-2020)

8210-4.1 - Extension of conditional approval.

Prior to the expiration of the conditional approval of the voluntary merger application pursuant to Section 8210-4(b) above, the advisory agency may grant one (1) extension of up to six (6) months if the applicant demonstrates good cause.

(Ord. No. 4566, § 1, 6-16-2020)

8210-5 - Certificate of voluntary merger.

The recordation of a certificate of voluntary merger and the deed(s) shall effectuate the voluntary merger of the separate lots into a single lot for the purposes of the Subdivision Map Act and this Chapter, and the lots shall thereafter be treated in all respects as a single lot. The certificate of voluntary merger shall constitute a certificate of compliance for the merged lot.

(Ord. No. 4566, § 1, 6-16-2020)

8210-5.1 - Certificate of voluntary merger requirements.

A certificate of voluntary merger shall include all the following:

a.

All parties having any record title interest in the merged lot shall execute the certificate of voluntary merger before a Notary Public and submit it to the County Surveyor, excepting all those interests that are excepted pursuant to the provisions of Government Code section 66436. The County Surveyor shall also execute the certificate of voluntary merger, but the signature need not be notarized.

b.

The certificate of voluntary merger shall include an express written statement that the consolidation of the legal descriptions of the lots is intended by the owner(s) to merge those lots into a single lot as set forth in the legal description of the merged lot.

c.

Either: (a) the deed or deeds that comprise the ownership interests of each lot subject to the voluntary merger shall be attached to the certificate of voluntary merger; or (b) the recorder number of each deed to each lot subject to the voluntary merger shall be referenced in the certificate of voluntary merger.

d.

The legal description of the merged lot approved by the County Surveyor shall be attached to the certificate of voluntary merger.

(Ord. No. 4566, § 1, 6-16-2020)