Windsor Municipal Code Art. 5 Subdivision of Four or Fewer Parcels (Minor Subdivisions)

a. General. The form and contents, submittal requirements, and procedure for approval, amendment, extension, and expiration of tentative parcel maps shall be the same as provided for major subdivisions in Section 16-8-400 [1], except as otherwise set forth in this section.

b. Conditions of Approval Generally. In conditionally approving the tentative parcel map, the conditions shall be limited to the following:

1. Dedications or rights-of-way, easements, and the construction of reasonable offsite and onsite improvements for the parcels being created.

2. Mitigation measures identified in the CEQA review process as necessary to reduce potential impacts of the proposed subdivision.

3. Other conditions necessary to achieve conformity between the proposed subdivision and the General Plan, applicable specific plans and area plans, the Zoning Ordinance, the Growth Control Ordinance, and building ordinances.

4. Payment of applicable fees.

5. Execution of an improvement agreement, prior to approval of the parcel map, securing construction of onsite and offsite improvements.

c. Conditions of Approval Related to Offsite Improvements. Conditions of approval for a tentative parcel map requiring construction of onsite or offsite improvements shall not require completion of construction until approval of a permit to develop the parcels created by the subdivision or until the time specified in the required improvement agreement, whichever is earlier. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if an improvement agreement is not made a condition of tentative parcel map approval, construction of onsite and offsite improvements within a reasonable time following approval of the parcel map and prior to the issuance of a permit or other grant of approval for the development of a parcel may be made a condition of approval of the tentative parcel map, upon a finding that fulfillment of the construction requirements is necessary for either of the following reasons:

1. The public health and safety.

2. The required construction is a necessary prerequisite to the orderly development of the surrounding area.

d. Extensions. The approved life of a tentative parcel map may be extended by the filing of multiple parcel maps for the subdivision, under the same conditions and subject to the same terms as for tentative maps, as provided for in Section 16-8-400(g)(1) and 16-8-410(b) of this Chapter, if and only if all offsite improvements for the subdivision have been secured as part of the approval of the first parcel map.

e. Approving Authority. In contrast to tentative maps, the Planning Director is typically the decision maker for tentative parcel maps, unless the Director elects to transfer the matter to the Planning Commission.

(Ord. No. 2009-253, § 2, 7-15-2009)

Footnotes:

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When the provisions of Section 16-3-500 regarding extensions is applied to a tentative parcel map, references to the Subdivision Map Act shall be to Government Code section 66463.5, and not to section 66452.6.

a. General. The form and contents, submittal, approval, and filing of parcel maps shall conform to the provisions of this Section and the Subdivision Map Act.

b. Survey Required. An accurate and complete survey of the land to be subdivided shall be made by a registered civil engineer or licensed land surveyor. All monuments, property lines, centerlines of streets, alleys, and easements adjoining or within the subdivision shall be tied into the survey. The allowable error of closure on any portion of the parcel map shall not exceed 1/10,000 for field closures and 1/20,000 for calculated closures.

c. Form. The form of the parcel map shall conform to final map form requirements as specified by Section 16-8-410(d).

d. Contents. The contents of the parcel map shall conform to final map content requirements as specified by Section 16-8-410(e); however, a Town Clerk Statement shall not be required unless the final approval of a parcel map is by the Town Council. It shall additionally include an executed improvement agreement securing construction of offsite and onsite improvements required as a condition of approving the tentative map.

e. Preliminary Submittal. The subdivider shall submit prints of the parcel map to the Town Engineer for checking. The preliminary prints shall be accompanied by copies of the data, plans, reports, and documents as required for final maps by Section 16-8-410(f)(1), including a required improvement agreement. The Town Engineer may waive any of the requirements, if the location and nature of the proposed subdivision or existing documentation demonstrates that compliance with the requirements of Section 16-8-410(f)(1) is not necessary.

f. Review and Approval by Town Engineer. The Town Engineer, in consultation with the Planning Department, shall review the parcel map to determine if it conforms to the approved tentative parcel map, including conditions of approval, the Subdivision Map Act, and this title. The subdivider shall make corrections and additions until the map is acceptable to the Town Engineer. The subdivider shall submit to the Town Engineer the original tracing of the map, corrected to its final form and signed by all parties required to execute the certificates on the map. Original signatures shall appear on the original drawing and on any duplicates. Upon receipt of all required certificates and submittals and the subdivider's payment of required fees, the Town Engineer shall approve the parcel map, if it complies with the requirements of the Subdivision Map Act, this Chapter, and the tentative map and all conditions thereof. The Town Manager or, pursuant to his or her designation, the Town Engineer may execute the required improvement agreement prior to the Town Engineer's approval of the parcel map.

g. Timing of Construction of Offsite Improvements. In the event that an improvement agreement was not required or that, pursuant to Section 16-8-500(c), the timing of construction of offsite improvements was not otherwise established as a condition of approving a tentative parcel map, the Town Engineer may, in approving a parcel map, require fulfillment of the construction requirements within a reasonable time following approval of the parcel map and prior to the issuance of a permit or other grant of approval for the development of a parcel upon a finding that fulfillment of the construction requirements is necessary for either of the following reasons:

1. The public health and safety.

2. The required construction is a necessary prerequisite to the orderly development of the surrounding area.

h. Filing with the County Recorder. The Town Engineer or authorized agent shall file the approved parcel map directly with the County Recorder.

(Ord. No. 2009-253, § 2, 7-15-2009)

a. A subdivider may file an application for a waiver of the requirements for a parcel map in a form acceptable to the Planning Director.

1. A parcel map shall not be required for the following:

(A) Subdivisions of a portion of the operating right-of-way of a railroad corporation, as defined by Section 230 of the Public Utilities Code, that are created by short-term leases (terminable by either party on not more than thirty (30) days' notice in writing).

(B) Land conveyed to or from a governmental agency, public entity, public utility, or for land conveyed to a subsidiary of a public utility for conveyance to that public utility for rights-of-way, unless a showing is made in individual cases, upon substantial evidence, that public policy necessitates a parcel map. For purposes of this subsection, land conveyed to or from a governmental agency shall include a fee interest, a leasehold interest, an easement, or a license.

2. The Planning Director may waive the parcel map for any other division of real property that would otherwise require a parcel map, if the division of real property otherwise satisfies the requirements of this section.

b. A complete application for a parcel map waiver shall include a complete tentative parcel map application, providing the Town with the information necessary to determine whether it can make the findings required by subsection (c) below while also providing an opportunity for continued processing of the tentative parcel map in the event that the waiver is denied. The Planning Director may, however, waive the requirement of a tentative parcel map application, if unnecessary to make the findings in subsection (c) below. Upon receipt of a complete application for a parcel map waiver, the application shall be processed in the same manner as a tentative parcel map application. The Planning Director or other decisionmaker shall make a decision within sixty (60) days of receiving the complete application. In the event that the Planning Director denies a request for parcel map waiver, the request may be reconsidered by the appropriate decisionmaker as part of a concurrently processed tentative map or tentative parcel map application.

c. A parcel map may be waived, as provided in this Section, only upon the following findings by the decisionmaker:

1. The proposed division of land complies with requirements as to area, improvement and design, floodwater drainage control, appropriate improved public roads, sanitary disposal facilities, water supply availability, environmental protection, and other requirements of this Chapter, local ordinance, the Subdivision Map Act, and the General Plan; and

2. The public purposes served by recordation of a parcel map (e.g. providing an instrument for disclosure of title restrictions, easements, agreements, and other limitations of use which are either pre-existing or are resulting from the creation of the new parcel) do not apply.

d. Upon waiving the parcel map requirement, the Town Engineer shall cause to be filed with the County Recorder a "Certificate of Compliance" for the land to be divided and a plat map showing the division. The certificate shall include a statement regarding payment of taxes for signature by the County Clerk according to Section 16-8-410(e)(4)(G).

e. A tentative map may be required for all divisions of land for which a parcel map waiver is approved.

f. Parcel map waivers shall be subject to the same conditions as those for a tentative parcel map, as set forth in Section 16-8-500(b).

g. If the Planning Director, Planning Commission, or on appeal, Town Council denies an application to waive a parcel map, the subdivider may apply for a tentative and parcel map in accordance with this Article.

(Ord. No. 2009-253, § 2, 7-15-2009)