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Home My WebLink About50A - VOLUNTARY PARCEL MERGER REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION lWtt ~~/~, ~ CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: CLERK OF COUNCIL USE ONLY: SEPTEMBER 19, 2005 TITLE: ADOPT A VOLUNTARY PARCEL MERGER ORDINANCE APPROVED o As Recommended o As Amended o Ordinance on 151 Reading o Ordinance on 2nd Reading o Implementing Resolution o Set Public Hearing For f' / ~/7 --"/~-' .' / &<.--1-, i} '((6._"--- CITY MANAGER CONTINUED TO A FILE NUMBER RECOMMENDED ACTION Adopt an ordinance allowing for voluntary mergers of two or more parcels of land under single ownership. DISCUSSION Development projects often entail the construction across multiple parcels of land. This can at times present problems for applicants and result in unnecessary delays for projects. The problems that arise when development projects involve multiple parcels of land include: having the parking and building on separate legal parcels, which could be sold individually; proposed buildings that cross property lines, which could result in separate ownership of the same building; and, significant life safety impacts where minimum building separation and emergency exits are not provided. These problems are typically averted by consolidating the parcels during the development process. However, the consolidation of parcels commonly results in project delays and additional costs to applicants because it requires submittal of a lot line adjustment or subdivision map. These existing procedures can be costly, cumbersome and time-consuming. Several recent proj ects, including Discovery Science Center and City Place, have endured delays while the underlying property line issues were resolved. The proposed ordinance is an effort to streamline the development process by addressing this problem with a simpler lot merger process. Such a process is contemplated in Section 66499.20% of the Subdivision Map Act. which allows for the voluntary merger of contiguous parcels under common ownership. Under this ordinance, parcel mergers would be required to be consistent with the general plan and zoning ordinance. In addition, a 50A-1 Voluntary Parcel Merger Ordinance September 19, 2005 Page 2 parcel merger could not create any new lot lines, nor could it deprive the merged parcel or any adj acent parcel of access. The proposed lot merger process would allow the Planning Manager to approve or deny a proposed merger after consultation with the City Engineer and the Building Official. Approved certificates of merger would then be recorded with the county recorder. These proposed lot merger procedures would streamline the development process for projects that involve multiple parcels of land. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT In accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act, the proposed proj ect is exempt from further review. Categorical Exemption Environmental Review No. 2005-167 will be filed for this project. FISCAL IMPACT There is no fiscal impact associated with this action. . Trevino E tive Director Planning & Building Agency JT:rb rb\reports\Voluntary Parcel Merger Ord.cc 50A-2 ORDINANCE NO. NS-2697 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA ANA ADDING ARTICLE XI TO CHAPTER 34 OF THE SANTA ANA MUNICIPAL CODE TO ESTABLISH A PROCEDURE FOR THE VOLUNTARY MERGER OF PARCELS THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA ANA DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1: The City Council hereby finds, determines and declares as follows: A. The City is authorized pursuant to Government Code section 6499.20~ to establish by ordinance a process for the voluntary merger of one or more parcels of land provided they are contiguous and under common ownership. B. Section 21 080(b)(1) of the Public Resources Code provides that the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act ("CEQA") do not apply to ministerial projects proposed to be carried out or approved by public agencies. Title 14, California Code of Regulations, section15268, part of the State CEQA Guidelines, provides that the decision as to what is "ministerial" can most appropriately be made by the public agency involved, and that each public agency should identify or itemize those projects and actions which are deemed ministerial. Pursuant to this authority, and section 15305 (Class 5 categorical exemption) of the State CEQA Guidelines, the voluntary merger of parcels set forth by this ordinance is a ministerial project exempt from CEQA. C. Pursuant to CEQA, the City has adopted Categorical Exemption No. 2005-167 for the adoption of this Ordinance. SECTION 2: Article XI is added to Chapter 34 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code to read in full as follows: ARTICLE XI - VOLUNTARY MERGER OF PARCELS Sec. 34-170. Voluntary Merger of Parcels. Pursuant to the provisions of California Government Code section 6499.20~, a merger and certificate of merger of existing adjoining parcels of real property may be authorized by the Executive Director of Planning and Building ("Executive Director"), and filed for record by the county recorder only where the Executive Director makes all of the following findings, after consultation with the Public Works Agency: Ordinance No. NS-2697 Page 1 of 5 50A-3 (a) The merger will not affect any fees, grants, easements, agreements, conditions, dedications, offers to dedicate or security provided in connection with any City approvals of divisions of real property or lot line adjustments. (b) The boundaries of the parcels to be merged are contiguous, well-defined in existing recorded documents or filed maps and were legally created or have certificates of compliance issued on them. If the finding under this subsection (b) cannot be made, the Executive Director may nevertheless authorize the merger of two or more parcels of land of which at least one was not created in compliance with the Subdivision Map Act and/or local ordinances as an alternative to the issuance of a conditional certificate of compliance. (c) The merger will not alter the exterior boundary of the parcels to be merged. (d) The document used to effect the merger contains an accurate description of the exterior boundaries of the resulting parcel. (e) The parcels to be merged are under common ownership. (f) All parties having any record title interest in the real property affected have consented to the merger upon a form and in a manner approved by the City, excepting all those interests that are excepted from the requirement to consent to the preparation and recordation of final maps under the provisions of California Government Code section 66436 and according to the terms, provisions, reservations and restrictions provided therein for such consent. (g) The parcels, if merged, would be consistent with the City's general plan and Chapter 41 of the Code. (h) The merger, if approved, would not deprive the merged parcel nor any other, adjacent parcel, of access as required by this Chapter. (i) All necessary fees and requirements, including a fee for recording the documents, have been provided. Sec. 34-171. Appeal of Executive Director's Decision. Ordinance NS-2697 Page 2 of 5 50A-4 The Executive Director's decision to grant or deny an application for a voluntary merger of parcels may be appealed to the Planning Commission by any interested party within ten (10) calendar days of the Executive Director's decision. The decision of the Planning Commission, which shall be made pursuant to Section 34-170, shall be final. Sec. 34-172. Concurrent filing of record of survey. Where a record of survey is deemed to be necessary by the Executive Director or the applicant in order to monument and define the boundaries of the merged parcel, such record of survey, otherwise in compliance with all requirements of this article, may be filed with the county recorder at the same time as the merger and certificate of merger. Sec. 34-173. Effect of Voluntary Merger. The filing of said merger and certificate of merger for record shall constitute a merger of the separate parcels into one parcel for the purpose of the Subdivision Map Act and local ordinances enacted pursuant thereto, and the parcels shall thereafter be treated in all respects as a single parcel. Sec. 34-174. Recording of merger without approval prohibited. No person shall record a document merging separate legal parcels into a single parcel for the purposes of the Subdivision Map Act and local ordinances enacted pursuant thereto except in conformity with the provisions of this article. Sec. 34-175. Application Fees. The City Council shall establish by ordinance or resolution such fees as may be required for the review and processing of a proposal for voluntary merger. SECTION 3: All actions by the City granting or denying an application for a voluntary merger or parcels or the issuance of a certificate of merger are hereby deemed exempt from the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act ("CEQA"). SECTION 4: The application fee to process and review a request for merger and certificate of merger shall be, until further action by the Council by ordinance or resolution, the same as the fee for an application for a lot line adjustment. The fee to appeal the Executive Director's decision to the Planning Commission pursuant to section 36-171 of the Code shall be, until further action by the Council by ordinance or resolution, one-half (%) the application fee for a lot line adjustment. These fees shall, without further action of the Council, be added to the City's Miscellaneous Fee Resolution upon its next update. Ordinance No. NS-2697 Page 3 of 5 50A-5 The Council further finds, determines and declares that the these fees are just and reasonable in that the amount of staff work to process a lot line adjustment is equal to or more than the staff work necessary to process an application for a merger and certificate of merger, and that the staff work needed to process an appeal of the Executive Director's decision is at least one-half C~) or the work needed to process the initial application. SECTION 5: If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion of this ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by the decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance. The City Council of the City of Santa Ana hereby declares that it would have adopted this ordinance and each section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion thereof irrespective of the fact that anyone or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses, phrases, or portions be declared invalid or unconstitutional. ADOPTED this day of ,2005 Miguel A. Pulido Mayor APPROVED AS TO FORM: Joseph W. Fletcher, City Attorney By: Benjamin Kaufman Chief Assistant City Attorney AYES: Council members NOES: Councilmembers ABSTAIN: Councilmembers NOT PRESENT: Council members Ordinance NS-2697 Page 4 of 5 50A-6 CERTIFICATE OF ATTESTATION AND ORIGINALITY I, PATRICIA E. HEALY, Clerk of the Council, do hereby attest to and certify that the attached Ordinance No. NS-2697 to be the original ordinance adopted by the City Council of the City of Santa Ana on , and that said ordinance was published in accordance with the Charter of the City of Santa Ana. Date: Clerk of the Council City of Santa Ana Ordinance No. NS-2697 Page 5 of 5 50A-7 50A-8