Chapter 17.40
BOUNDARY LINE ADJUSTMENTS

Sections:

17.40.010    Purpose.

17.40.020    Procedures and limitations of the boundary line adjustment process.

17.40.030    Final approval and recording required.

17.40.040    Conceptual review.

17.40.010 Purpose.

The purpose of this chapter is to provide procedures and criteria for the review and approval of minor adjustments to boundary lines of legal lots or building sites in order to rectify defects in legal descriptions, to allow the enlargement or merging of lots to improve or qualify as a building site, to achieve increased setbacks from property lines or critical areas, to correct situations wherein an established use is located across a lot line, or for other similar purposes. [Ord. 11-0329 § 3 (Exh. 1).]

17.40.020 Procedures and limitations of the boundary line adjustment process.

Adjustment of boundary lines between adjacent lots shall be consistent with the following review procedures and limitations:

A. Applications for boundary line adjustments shall be reviewed as a Type 1 permit as provided in Chapter 19.25 KMC. The review shall include examination for consistency with KMC Title 18, Zoning; KMC Title 16, Environment; applicable Seattle/King County public health regulations and, for developed lots, Uniform Fire and Building Codes;

B. Any adjustment of boundary lines must be approved by the department prior to the transfer of property ownership between adjacent legal lots;

C. A boundary line adjustment proposal shall not:

1. Result in the creation of an additional lot;

2. Result in a lot that does not qualify as a building site pursuant to this title;

3. Relocate an entire lot from one parent parcel into another parent parcel;

4. Reduce the overall area in a plat or short plat devoted to open space;

5. Be inconsistent with any restrictions or conditions of approval for a recorded plat or short plat; or

6. Involve lots which do not have a common boundary;

D. The elimination of lines between two or more lots for the purpose of creating a single lot that meets requirements as a building site in all cases shall be considered a minor adjustment of boundary lines and shall not be subject to the subdivision and short subdivision provisions of this title;

E. Recognized lots in an approved site plan for a conditional use permit, special use permit, or site plan review shall be considered a single site and no lot lines on the site may be altered by a boundary line adjustment to transfer density or separate lots to another property not included in the original site plan of the subject development;

F. Lots that have been subject to a boundary line adjustment process that resulted in the qualification of an additional building site shall not be permitted to utilize the boundary line adjustment process again for five years to create an additional building site. [Ord. 11-0329 § 3 (Exh. 1).]

17.40.030 Final approval and recording required.

A. A title insurance certificate updated not more than 30 days prior to recording of the adjustment, which includes all parcels within the adjustment, must be submitted to the department with boundary line adjustment final review documents. All persons having an ownership interest within the boundary line adjustment shall sign the final recording document in the presence of a notary public.

B. Prior to final approval, documentation authorizing the transfer of property ownership shall be placed on the original boundary line map along with the legal descriptions of those portions of land being transferred when lots are under separate ownership. Lot lines within lots under the same ownership will be adjusted upon the recording of the boundary line adjustment.

C. A final record-of-survey document must be prepared by a land surveyor in accordance with Chapter 332-130 WAC and Chapter 58.09 RCW. The document must contain a land surveyor’s certificate and a recording certificate.

D. The final map page shall contain the following approval blocks:

1. The King County assessor and deputy assessor; and

2. The City, to be signed by the city manager. [Ord. 11-0329 § 3 (Exh. 1).]

17.40.040 Conceptual review.

Prior to proceeding through the boundary line adjustment process, an applicant may request an optional preapplication meeting. At that time the department will perform a conceptual review based upon the information brought in by the applicant. [Ord. 11-0329 § 3 (Exh. 1).]