Chapter 17.40 BOUNDARY LINE ADJUSTMENT/LOT CONSOLIDATION

Chapter 17.40
BOUNDARY LINE ADJUSTMENT/LOT CONSOLIDATION

Sections:

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.

17.40.050 Recording required.

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 sensitive areas, to correct situations wherein an established use is located across a lot line, or for other similar purposes. Review and approval procedures shall be in accordance with applicable Washington State and City of Covington laws, rules and regulations, including permit processing procedures required by Chapter 14.30 CMC, and shall be subject to fees as set forth in the current fee resolution. (Ord. 20-07 § 112; Ord. 53-02 § 2 (19A.28.010))

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, limitations and requirements of CMC Title 12 and the design and construction standards and specifications of the City of Covington:*

(1) Applications for boundary line adjustments shall be reviewed as a Type 1 permit as provided in Chapter 14.30 CMC. The review shall include examination for consistency with CMC Title 18, shoreline management plan, Chapter 16.05 CMC, applicable Board of Health regulations (if applicable), and, for lots which have already been developed, all adopted International Codes;

(2) Any adjustment of boundary lines must be approved by the Department prior to the transfer of property ownership between adjacent legal lots;

(3) A boundary line adjustment proposal shall not:

(a) Result in the creation of an additional lot or the creation of more than one additional building site;

(b) Result in a lot that does not qualify as a building site pursuant to this title;

(d) Reduce the overall area in a plat or short plat devoted to open space;

(e) Be inconsistent with any restrictions or conditions of approval for a recorded plat or short plat;

(f) Involve lots which do not have a common boundary; or

(g) Circumvent the subdivision or short subdivision procedures set forth in this title. Factors which indicate that the boundary line adjustment process is being used in a manner inconsistent with statutory intent include: numerous and frequent adjustments to the existing lot boundary, a proposal to move a lot or building site to a different location, and a large number of lots being proposed for a boundary line adjustment;

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

(5) Recognized lots in an approved site plan for a conditional use permit, special use permit, urban planned development, or commercial site development permit 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;

(6) 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. 06-05 § 1; Ord. 23-04 § 8; Ord. 53-02 § 2 (19A.28.020))

*Code reviser’s note: The 2002 Design and Construction Standards and Specifications, as adopted by Ordinance 44-02, may be found on file at the City Clerk’s Office.

17.40.030 Final approval and recording required.

(1) 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.

(2) 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.

(3) 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.

(4) The final map page shall contain the following approval blocks:

(a) The King County Department of Assessments to be signed by the County Office of Records and Elections; and

(b) The Community Development Department, to be signed by the Director or his/her designee. (Amended at request of department 2/08; Ord. 53-02 § 2 (19A.28.030))

17.40.040 Conceptual review.

Prior to proceeding through the boundary line adjustment process, an applicant shall schedule a preapplication meeting. At that time the Department will perform a conceptual review based upon the information brought in by the applicant, two weeks prior to the meeting. (Ord. 53-02 § 2 (19A.28.040))

17.40.050 Recording required.

Verification that an approved boundary line adjustments has been recorded with the County Office of Records and Elections must be submitted to the City prior to issuance of any permit, or within one year of approval, whichever occurs first. (Ord. 53-02 § 2 (19A.28.050))