Chapter 23.36
*ENFORCEMENT
* Editor’s Note: Former Chapter 23.36, Compliance and Voidability, previously codified herein and containing portions of Ordinance No. 80-42 was repealed in its entirety by Ord. No. 92-27.
Sections:
23.36.030 Certificates of compliance.
23.36.040 Notice of violation.
23.36.070 Appeals of zoning administrator action.
23.36.010 PROHIBITION.
(a) No person shall sell, lease or finance any parcel or parcels of real property or commence construction of any building for sale, lease or financing thereon, except for model homes, or allow occupancy thereof, for which a final map is required by the Subdivision Map Act or this title, until such a map, in full compliance with the provisions of the Subdivision Map Act and this title, has been filed for record by the county recorder.
(b) No person shall sell, lease or finance any parcel or parcels of real property or commence construction of any building for sale, lease, or financing except for model homes, or allow occupancy for which a parcel map is required by this title or the Subdivision Map Act, until a map, in full compliance with the provisions of this title and the Subdivision Map Act, has been filed for record by the recorder.
(c) Conveyances of any part of a division of real property for which a final or parcel map is required by the Subdivision Map Act or this title shall not be made by parcel or block number, letter or other designation, unless and until such map has been filed for record by the county recorder.
(d) This section does not apply to any parcel or parcels of a subdivision offered for sale or lease, contracted for sale or lease, or sold or leased in compliance with or exempt from any law, including this title, regulating the design and improvement of subdivisions in effect at the time the subdivision was established.
(e) Nothing contained in subsections (a) and (b) shall be deemed to prohibit an offer or contract to sell, lease or finance real property or to construct improvements thereon where such sale, lease or financing, or the commencement of such construction, is expressly conditioned upon the approval and filing of a final map or parcel map, as required under the Subdivision Map Act or this title.
(Ord. 92-27 § 2 (part), 1992).
23.36.020 REMEDIES.
(a) Any deed of conveyance, sale or contract to sell property which has been divided or which has resulted from a division in violation of the provisions of the Subdivision Map Act or this title, is voidable at the sole option of the grantee, buyer or person contracting to purchase, or by any heirs, personal representative, or trustee in insolvency or bankruptcy thereof, within one year after the date of discovery of such violation. The deed of conveyance, sale or contract to sell is binding upon any successor in interest of the grantee, buyer or person contracting to purchase, other than those above enumerated, and upon the grantor, vendor or person contracting to sell, or his or her assignee, heir or devisee.
(b) Any grantee, or successor in interest thereof, of real property which has been divided, or which has resulted from a division, in violation of the provisions of this title or the Subdivision Map Act may, within one year of the date of discovery of such violation, bring an action in the superior court to recover any damages suffered by reason of such division of property. The action may be brought against the person who so divided the property and against any successors in interest who have actual or constructive knowledge of such division of property.
(c) The provisions of this section shall not apply to the conveyance of any parcel of real property identified in a certificate of compliance filed pursuant to Section 23.36.030 or identified in a recorded final or parcel map, from and after the date of recording.
The provisions of this section shall not limit or affect in any way the rights of a grantee or successor in interest under any other provision of law.
(d) This section does not bar any other legal, equitable or summary remedy which the city or other public agency may have under any other provision of law nor does it bar any person, firm or corporation from filing a suit in the superior court to restrain or enjoin any attempted or proposed subdivision or sale which violates the Subdivision Map Act or this title.
(e) The city shall not issue a permit or grant any approval necessary to develop any real property which has been divided or which has resulted from a division, in violation of the provisions of the Subdivision Map Act or this title, if it finds that development of such real property is contrary to the public health or the public safety. The authority to deny or approve such a permit shall apply whether the applicant was the owner of the real property at the time of the violation or whether the applicant is the current owner of the real property, with or without actual or constructive knowledge of the violation at the time of the acquisition of interest in the real property.
If the city issues a permit or grants approval for the development of any real property illegally subdivided, the city may impose those additional conditions which would have been applicable to the division of the property at the time the current owner of record acquired the property. If the property has the same owner of record as at the time of the initial violation, the city may impose conditions applicable to a current division of the property. If a conditional certificate of compliance has been filed for record in accordance with the provisions of Section 23.36.030, only those conditions stipulated into that certificate shall be applicable.
(Ord. 92-27 § 2 (part), 1992).
23.36.030 CERTIFICATES OF COMPLIANCE.
(a) Any person owning real property or a vendee of such person pursuant to a contract of sale of such real property may request the zoning administrator to determine whether the real property complies with the provisions of the Subdivision Map Act and this title. A written application for a certificate of compliance shall be accompanied by a preliminary title report not more than six months old that shows the legal owners of the property.
(b) If the zoning administrator determines that the real property complies with the provisions of the Subdivision Map Act and this title, the planning and community development department shall file a certificate of compliance for record with the county recorder. The certificate of compliance shall identify the real property and shall state that the division thereof complies with the provisions of the Subdivision Map Act and this title.
(c) If the zoning administrator determines that the real property does not comply with the provisions of the Subdivision Map Act or this title, the zoning administrator may, as a condition to granting a certificate of compliance, impose conditions in accordance with Section 23.36.020(e). Upon the zoning administrator’s making such a determination and establishing such conditions, the planning and community development department shall file a conditional certificate of compliance for record with the county recorder. Such certificate shall serve as notice to the property owner or vendee who has applied for the certificate, a grantee of the property owner, or any subsequent transferee or assignee of the property, that the fulfillment and implementation of such conditions shall be required prior to subsequent issuance of a permit or other grant of approval for development of the property.
Compliance with such conditions shall not be required until such time as a permit or other grant of approval for development of such property is issued by the city.
(d) A recorded final map or parcel map shall constitute a certificate of compliance with respect to the parcels of real property described therein.
(e) Subject to the provisions of Section 66499.35(e) of the Subdivision Map Act, an official map prepared pursuant to Section 66499.52(b) of the Subdivision Map Act shall constitute a certificate of compliance with respect to the parcels of real property described therein.
(f) For the purposes of administration of this section, any lot or parcel of land, as shown on the records of the county recorder as a separate parcel prior to November 30, 1957 and which conforms with the zoning ordinance in effect at the time of creation shall be considered as a conforming parcel.
(g) The applicant for a certificate of compliance shall pay the city a fee, established by resolution, to cover the reasonable cost of processing the application.
(Ord. 92-27 § 2 (part), 1992).
23.36.040 NOTICE OF VIOLATION.
At any time the department obtains knowledge that real property has been divided in violation of the provisions of the Subdivision Map Act or this title, a notice of intention to record a notice of violation shall be mailed by the department by certified mail to the current owner of record. The notice of intention shall describe the property in detail, name the owners, and describe the violation and state that the owner will be given the opportunity to present evidence as to why the referenced notice of violation should not be recorded. The notice shall specify the date, time and place for a meeting at which the owner may present evidence to the zoning administrator why a notice of violation should not be recorded.
The meeting shall be held no sooner than thirty days and no later than sixty days from the date of mailing of the notice of intention to record a notice of violation. If, within fifteen days of receipt of the notice, the owner fails to file with the zoning administrator a written objection to recording the notice of violation, the zoning administrator shall file the notice of violation for record with the county recorder. In cases where the owner attends the meeting, if after the owner has presented evidence, the zoning administrator determines that the property has in fact been illegally divided, the zoning administrator shall record the notice of violation. If, after the owner presents evidence, the zoning administrator determines that there has been no violation, the zoning administrator shall mail a clearance letter to the then current owner of record.
The notice of violation, when recorded, shall be deemed to be constructive notice of the violation to all successors in interest in such property.
(Ord. 92-27 § 2 (part), 1992).
23.36.050 PENALTIES.
A violation of this title by a person who is the subdivider or an owner of record, at the time of the violation, of property involved in the violation constitutes a misdemeanor punishable by the maximum fine and imprisonment permitted by Sections 19 and 19.2 of the Penal Code and Section 36901 of the Government Code.
(Ord. 92-27 § 2 (part), 1992).
23.36.060 JUDICIAL ACTION.
Any action or proceeding to attach, review, set aside, void or annul the decision of the zoning administrator, zoning board or city council concerning a subdivision, or of any proceedings, acts or determinations taken, done or made prior to such decision, or to determine the reasonableness, legality or validity of any condition attached thereto, shall not be maintained by any person unless the action or proceeding is commenced and service of summons effected within ninety days after the date of the decision. Thereafter all persons are barred from any such action or proceeding or any defense of invalidity or unreasonableness of the decision or of the proceedings, acts or determinations. Any such proceeding shall take precedence over all matters of the calendar of the court except criminal, probate, eminent domain and forcible entry and unlawful detainer proceedings.
(Ord. 92-27 § 2 (part), 1992).
23.36.070 APPEALS OF ZONING ADMINISTRATOR ACTION.
Appeal of any zoning administrator action pursuant to this chapter shall be made to the zoning board. No public hearing shall be required for an appeal under this section.
(Ord. 92-27 § 2 (part), 1992).