Ventura County Municipal Code Art. 9 Lot Line Adjustments

The purpose of this Article is to establish procedures for approving lot line adjustment applications pursuant to Government Code section 66412(d) that meet the standards set forth below. The approval of lot line adjustment applications and subsequent review and approval of deeds are ministerial acts that are not subject to CEQA. In instances where a lot line adjustment 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 lot line adjustment, the lot line adjustment 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 lot line adjustment is, in and of itself, a ministerial act.

(Ord. No. 4566, § 1, 6-16-2020)

Applications for the approval of a lot line adjustment 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)

a. Lot line adjustment applications shall be processed by the Planning Division if all information and documents requested in the application and each item listed below in Section 8209-1.1(a)(1) through (a)(7) is submitted to the satisfaction of the Planning Division and is deemed complete.

1. A deposit of the required fees pursuant to the Board-adopted Fee Schedule to process the lot line adjustment and to record the deeds, sketch map, and other documents necessary to effectuate the lot line adjustment.

2. Two (2) copies of a current preliminary title report showing record title interests in the property, including all legal access easements for proposed off-site access roads or driveways and all other existing easements.

3. Documentation establishing that the lots that are the subject of the lot line adjustment are legal lots.

4. Two (2) copies of the legal description and a sketch, prepared by a person authorized to practice land surveying, of the new boundaries of each of the lots as adjusted by the lot line adjustment. 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 all the lot lines including distances between former and new lot lines. A record of survey may be voluntarily submitted as a substitute for a sketch.

5. 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.

6. Draft deed(s) reflecting the adjusted property boundaries.

7. If required by Business and Professions Code section 8762, the applicant shall have a record of survey prepared which shall be approved by the County Surveyor. The approved record of survey shall be recorded simultaneously with the deed(s) reflecting the lot line adjustment.

b. Lot line adjustment applications shall be processed ministerially without a public notice or hearing.

(Ord. No. 4566, § 1, 6-16-2020)

a. The County Surveyor and the Planning Division shall review the lot line adjustment 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 lot line adjustment 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 lot line adjustment are technically correct, the County Surveyor shall stamp and transmit the documents to the Planning Division for recordation in the Office of the County Recorder upon final approval of the application by the advisory agency pursuant to Sections 8209-5 et seq. of this Chapter.

(Ord. No. 4566, § 1, 6-16-2020)

The Planning Director, upon written notification to the applicant, may terminate processing of an incomplete lot line adjustment application if the Planning Director determines that the applicant did not make a reasonable effort to complete the application for a period of six (6) months from the date of notification of incompleteness or notification of correction. Lack of diligence or reasonable effort to complete the application process includes failing to promptly provide information and documents requested by the Planning Division or the County Surveyor. If the Planning Director terminates the incomplete application, all unused fees shall be refunded to the applicant.

(Ord. No. 4566, § 1, 6-16-2020)

The Planning Director may grant one (1) extension of up to six (6) months if the applicant submits a written request for an extension to complete the application which demonstrates good cause.

(Ord. No. 4566, § 1, 6-16-2020)

The Planning Director or designee is the designated advisory agency for ministerial lot line adjustment applications under this Article.

(Ord. No. 4566, § 1, 6-16-2020)

A proposed lot line adjustment that complies with the following standards set forth below in Section 8209-3(a) through (e) shall be ministerially approved, subject to compliance with all other requirements of this Article.

a. The lot line adjustment is between four (4) or fewer existing adjoining legal lots, not all of which shall be adjoining each other as long as each lot is adjoined to another lot subject to the lot line adjustment.

b. The lot line adjustment shall not create a greater number of lots than exist at the time of application but may reduce the number of lots.

c. In cases where the parent lots' property lines cross jurisdictional boundaries, the resultant property lines shall be coterminous with the boundaries of a city or a county.

d. No lot involved in the lot line adjustment that conforms to the minimum parcel size of the zoning designation in which it is located shall become nonconforming as to parcel size as a result of the lot line adjustment.

e. The lots resulting from the lot line adjustment shall conform to all objective standards and requirements of the General Plan, Zoning Ordinances, and Ventura County Improvement Standards and Specifications. If the lot line adjustment as proposed would not conform to such standards and requirements, the Planning Director may impose objective conditions or exactions on its approval to bring the lot line adjustment into conformity with such standards and requirements pursuant to Government Code section 66412(d). Imposition of such conditions shall not render approval of the lot line adjustment discretionary.

(Ord. No. 4566, § 1, 6-16-2020)

If the standards in Section 8209-3(a) through (e) are satisfied, except that one (1) or more of the lots that are the subject of the application do not conform to the minimum lot size for the applicable zone, the lot line adjustment may still be ministerially approved if the following additional standards are met:

a. No lot that is conforming to the applicable minimum lot size will be rendered nonconforming as to lot size by the lot line adjustment; and

b. The lot line adjustment shall not cause any existing nonconforming lot to become smaller than the smallest nonconforming lot involved in the lot line adjustment, except that land from a nonconforming lot may be added to another nonconforming lot to make the latter nonconforming lot conforming to the minimum lot size for the applicable zone so long as the nonconforming lot that is made smaller remains at least ten (10) acres in size. Any nonconforming lot that is made conforming as to lot size by the lot line adjustment shall not be made large enough to be eligible for further subdivision.

(Ord. No. 4566, § 1, 6-16-2020)

a. The only conditions the advisory agency may impose on the approval of a lot line adjustment are those to: conform the resulting lots to all objective standards and requirements of the General Plan, zoning ordinances and Ventura County Improvement Standards and Specifications; require the prepayment of real property taxes prior to the approval of the lot line adjustment; and facilitate the relocation of existing utilities, infrastructure, or easements.

b. If the lot line adjustment 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 lot line adjustment. If the conditions are not fulfilled within one (1) year of the date of the conditional approval letter, the lot line adjustment shall expire and become null and void unless the applicant obtains a written extension from the advisory agency pursuant to Section 8209-5.1.1 below.

c. The lot line adjustment shall be ready for recordation when the advisory agency determines that the conditions have been fulfilled and is in receipt of the following:

1. All outstanding fees;

2. An up-to-date preliminary title report;

3. The lot line adjustment documents approved by the County Surveyor (e.g., legal description and a sketch); and

4. All deeds prepared for recordation as approved by the County Surveyor pursuant to Section 8209-1.1.1(b).

d. Once the requirements of Section 8209-5.1(c) are satisfied, the Planning Division shall cause each of the County Surveyor-approved lot line adjustment documents and deeds to be recorded in the Office of the County Recorder. Upon recordation in the Office of the County Recorder, the lot line adjustment shall become effective.

(Ord. No. 4566, § 1, 6-16-2020)

Prior to the expiration of the conditional approval of the lot line adjustment application pursuant to Section 8209-5.1(b) above, the Planning Director may grant one (1) extension of up to six (6) months if the applicant demonstrates good cause.

(Ord. No. 4566, § 1, 6-16-2020)

If the lot line adjustment application is unconditionally approved, the Planning Division shall forward the lot line adjustment documents and deeds approved by the County Surveyor pursuant to Section 8209-1.1.1(b), to the Office of the County Recorder for immediate recordation.

(Ord. No. 4566, § 1, 6-16-2020)

The lot line adjustment shall become effective upon recordation of the lot line adjustment in the Office of the County Recorder pursuant to Section 8209-5.1(d) of this Chapter.

(Ord. No. 4566, § 1, 6-16-2020)