Division 1. Street Dedication and Improvement

9161.1 Purpose, Definitions and Applicability.

A. The purpose of this Division 1 is to establish reasonable standards to ensure that, pursuant to the City’s General Plan, all necessary street dedications are made and all required street improvements are completed, constructed, or adequately provided for prior to the issuance of building permits for certain new buildings and structures and prior to their use and occupancy.

B. For the purposes of this Division 1, the following terms shall be defined as follows:

(1) “Building” shall mean any edifice having a roof supported by columns or walls which is intended primarily for human habitation or for the shelter, housing or enclosure of persons.

(2) “Structure” shall mean any edifice constructed or erected which requires location on the ground or is attached to something having a location on the ground and is not intended primarily for human habitation or for the shelter, housing or enclosure of persons, such as petroleum refinery facilities.

C. Subject to the specific exceptions set forth in CMC 9161.2, no building permit shall be issued for any building or structure on any lot, any portion of which abuts upon any public street, unless one-half (1/2) of the street which is located on the same side of the centerline as such lot has been dedicated and improved as provided for in this Division 1. (Ord. 83-634, § 1; Ord. 88-830, § 1)

9161.2 Exceptions.

The provisions of CMC 9161.1 and 9161.3 through 9161.7 shall not apply to building permits for the following types of buildings or structures, or modifications thereto, if such buildings or structures, or modifications thereto, comply with all other applicable requirements of this Chapter:

A. Additions or alterations to existing buildings or structures, including the addition thereto of accessory buildings or structures, for all uses permitted in the RS Zone and two-family dwellings permitted in the RM Zone.

B. Outdoor advertising and on-site signage.

C. Accessory structures, the principal use of which is for agricultural purposes.

D. Oil wells.

E. New buildings to be constructed, or existing buildings and structures to be used and occupied, on property for which all required public improvements have been identified or completed pursuant to the applicable provisions of the Subdivision Ordinance and the Subdivision Map Act in effect at the time such development was approved; provided, however, that in all such cases the curbs, gutters, pavement, street lights, sidewalks, and necessary street drainage shall, if not then completed, be constructed or installed by the applicant.

F. New buildings or structures to be constructed as part of a development project where the City Council has, in conjunction with its approval thereof, ratified, approved or adopted a specific plan, an agreement to improve, or a discretionary permit setting forth a phased schedule pursuant to which the requirements of CMC 9161.3 through 9161.7 will be satisfied at specified times.

G. The alteration, interior modification or enlargement of an existing building which, in the determination of the Director of Public Works, will not result in a significant increase in traffic as a result of the primary or intended use of the building. Existing structures shall not be subject to this exception.

H. New buildings or structures to be constructed, and the alteration, interior modification or enlargement of an existing building, or of a structure accessory thereto, all or any combination of which will take place on one (1) lot, if the total value of such construction, alteration, modification or enlargement does not require a building permit valued under the Building Code in excess of $100,000.

I. The restoration or repair of a building or structure damaged or destroyed by fire, explosion, earthquake, flood or other casualty or act of God, or by the public enemy; provided, that the use or occupancy of such building or structure thereafter continues in the same manner as lawfully existed prior to such damage or destruction. (Ord. 88-830, § 1)

9161.3 Dedications.

A. When dedication is required under this Division 1, full street dedication shall be made upon the property or properties to be improved. Streets shall be dedicated to one-half the planned ultimate width, measured from the centerline, including corner cutoffs. All such right-of-way shall be determined by the Director of Public Works in accordance with the General Plan, the Master Plan of Streets and Highways, or the Subdivision Ordinance, as applicable; provided, however, that in no event shall dedication be required to such an extent that the area or width of any lot will be reduced below that permitted by the Subdivision Ordinance when a lot is reduced by acquisition for public purposes.

B. The Director of Public Works may require, in lieu of actual dedication, an irrevocable offer of dedication. Any such irrevocable offer of dedication shall be subject to the approval of the City Council, shall be executed by all persons having any right, title, interest or lien in the property, or any portion thereof to be dedicated, and shall be acknowledged and recorded in the same manner as a conveyance of real property. Such offer of dedication, when recorded in the office of the county recorder, shall be irrevocable and may be accepted at any time by the City Council. Such offer of dedication may be terminated by the City Council, and the right to accept such offer abandoned, in the same manner as is prescribed for the summary vacation of streets or highways by Part 3 (commencing with Section 8300) of Division 9 of the California Streets and Highways Code. (Ord. 83-634, § 2; Ord. 88-830, § 1)

9161.4 Improvement Requirements for Buildings and Structures.

A. Before any building permit is issued for any building or structure subject to the provisions of this Division 1, the applicable improvements identified in subsection B below shall be installed, constructed or otherwise provided for.

B. The required improvements may include, without limitation, the following: pavement, curbs, gutters, sidewalks, drainage facilities, sewer facilities, water facilities, lighting, traffic signals, signing, striping, median improvements, parkway trees and landscaping, grading of right-of-way, right-of-way dedication, noise attenuation barriers, modifications to existing utilities to facilitate any or all of the improvements identified herein, and repairs to any or all of the improvements identified herein. Other improvements may be required if, in the determination of the Director of Public Works, such improvements are directly related to the development of the site of the proposed building or structure and are required to protect the public health, safety and welfare.

C. The estimated cost of all such required improvements shall not exceed fifty (50) percent of the valuation of the structure for which a building permit is requested. The valuation shall be determined by the City Building Official using as a guide the Marshall Valuation Service compiled by Marshall and Swift Publication Company. (Ord. 88-830, § 1)

9161.5 Agreement to Improve.

A. In lieu of completing the improvements required by CMC 9161.4(B), the Director of Public Works may, subject to the approval of the City Council, require either of the following:

(1) An agreement to complete the required improvements, executed by the applicant or by any other responsible person; or

(2) A specific plan of phased development, executed by the applicant or by any other responsible person, which plan specifically provides for completion of the required improvements.

B. The required improvements shall be completed within the time specified in the agreement to improve or in the specific plan; provided, however, that the Director of Public Works may grant such additional time for completion as may be deemed necessary if, in the determination of the Director, good and sufficient reasons exist for any such extension.

C. Upon the failure of an applicant or other responsible person to complete any required improvement within the time specified in an agreement to improve or a specific plan, the City Council may, upon notice in writing of not less than ten (10) calendar days served personally upon the person, firm or corporation signing the agreement or specific plan, or upon notice in writing of not less than twenty (20) calendar days served by registered or certified mail, addressed to the last known address of the person, firm or corporation signing the agreement or specific plan, determine that the improvement work or any part thereof is incomplete and may cause to be forfeited to the City all or a portion of the improvement security given for the faithful performance of such improvement work, and may further cause to be negotiated any instrument of credit deposited with and assigned to the City in such amount as may be required to complete the improvement work. (Ord. 88-830, § 1)

9161.6 Construction Standards.

All construction work within existing or proposed street rights-of-way shall be performed in compliance with the Highway Permit Ordinance, as contained in Chapter 1, Article VII of this Code, and the requirements of the Public Works Department. (Ord. 88-830, § 1)

9161.7 Improvement Security and In-Lieu Fees.

A. All construction work within the public right-of-way shall be secured by an improvement security, the amount and type of which shall be determined as provided for in CMC 9207.13 and 9207.14.

B. In-lieu fees shall be paid to the City in the event that required improvements cannot physically be constructed at the site of the proposed building or structure, and such fees shall be paid in cash or by cashier’s check. (Ord. 83-634, § 3; Ord. 88-830, § 1)

9161.8 Relief from Compliance.

The Director of Public Works may, in the exercise of sound discretion, relieve an applicant from compliance with all or a portion of the provisions of CMC 9161.3 through 9161.7 if the Director finds:

A. The required improvements would create a drainage or traffic problem; or

B. The proposed use will be isolated from a roadway, and a connecting roadway is not likely to be improved for many years; or

C. Because of the peculiar circumstances of the property, the development of the surrounding property, or other reasons, such required improvements can best be constructed through use of an assessment proceeding. (Ord. 83-634, § 4; Ord. 84-698, § 1; Ord. 88-830, § 1)

9161.9 Appeals.

Any applicant aggrieved by a determination of the Director of Public Works pertaining to the interpretation or application of the provisions of this Division 1 may appeal to the Planning Commission. The Planning Commission shall provide such applicant an opportunity to be heard and shall thereafter affirm, modify or reverse the determination of the Director of Public Works. (Ord. 88-830, § 1)

9161.10 Parkway Trees.

A. Except as otherwise provided herein, parkway trees shall be provided and planted by the owner or developer of any lot in connection with any construction on such lot requiring a building permit under the Building Code valued in excess of $10,000.

B. Such parkway trees shall be planted in the public easement (parkway strip) between the street pavement and the lot line of such lot. If sidewalk exists in such parkway strip without provision for parkway trees, tree wells shall be provided as part of such parkway tree requirement.

C. Utilities shall not be released for the buildings or structures constructed on such lot until the required parkway trees have been planted or such planting has been provided for in accordance herewith and the specifications of the Director of Public Works. Such provision may be made by bond pursuant to the provisions of CMC 1400 in an amount not to exceed the estimated cost of the parkway tree requirement.

D. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Section:

(1) The total estimated cost of the parkway tree requirement shall not exceed one-third (1/3) of the estimated value of the improvements provided for in such building permit; and

(2) Where adequate public right-of-way (parkway strip) does not exist, or where the adjacent street is not improved or required to be improved with the proposed development with curb and gutter, such parkway tree requirement shall be waived in connection with such building permit. Such waiver shall not affect the requirement for parkway trees in connection with any subsequent application for a building permit with respect to such lot.

E. The provisions of this Section shall not apply to incidental construction on previously developed residential lots. Such incidental construction shall include, but not be limited to, room or patio additions, room realignment, and swimming pool and garage construction. Incidental construction, as said term is used herein, shall not include the construction of a residential unit. (Ord. 88-830, § 1)