Chapter 16.52
ENFORCEMENT
Sections:
16.52.030 Certificate of compliance.
16.52.040 Notice of violation.
16.52.050 Appeals of planning commission action.
16.52.060 Violation as a misdemeanor.
16.52.070 Action against local agency—Limitation period.
16.52.010 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 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, and 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 thereon, or allow occupancy thereof, for which a parcel 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 and has been filed for record by the county 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 of this section 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.
F. Nothing contained in subsections A and B of this section shall be deemed to prohibit the construction of model homes subject to the subdivider first securing a permit from the department. (Ord. 702 § 1 (part), 1991)
16.52.020 Remedies.
A. Any deed of conveyance, sale or contract to sell 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, is voidable at the sole option of the grantee, buyer or person contracting to purchase, any heirs, personal representative or trustee in insolvency or bankruptcy thereof within 1 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 1 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 16.52.030 or identified in a recorded final map 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 legal, equitable or summary remedy to which the city or other public agency or any person, firm or corporation may otherwise be entitled and the city or other public agency or such person, firm or corporation may file a suit in the superior court to restrain or enjoin any attempted or proposed subdivision or sale, lease or financing in violation of the Subdivision Map Act and/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 such a permit or approval shall apply whether the applicant therefor was the owner of record at the time of such violation or whether the applicant therefor is either the current owner of record or a vendee thereof with, or without, actual or constructive knowledge of the violation at the time of the acquisition of an interest in such 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 16.52.030, only those conditions stipulated in that certificate shall be applicable. (Ord. 702 § 1 (part), 1991)
16.52.030 Certificate 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 planning commission to determine whether the real property complies with the provisions of the Subdivision Map Act and this title.
B. If the planning commission determines that the real property complies with the provisions of the Subdivision Map Act and this title, the city engineer 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 planning commission determines that the real property does not comply with the provisions of the Subdivision Map Act or this title, the planning commission may, as a condition to granting a certificate of compliance, impose conditions in accordance with Section 16.52.020 E. Upon the planning commission’s making such a determination and establishing such conditions, the 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 or real property described therein.
F. A fee and/or deposit shall be charged to the applicant for making the determination and processing the certificate of compliance in accordance with Section 16.04.070. (Ord. 702 § 1 (part), 1991)
16.52.040 Notice of violation.
A. If the department has 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 shall describe the violation and state that the owner will be given the opportunity to present evidence. The notice shall also contain an explanation as to why the subject parcel is not lawful under Section 66412.6(a) or (b) of the Subdivision Map Act. The notice shall specify the date, time and place for a meeting at which the owner may present evidence to the planning commission why a notice of violation should not be recorded.
B. The meeting shall be held no sooner than 30 days and no later than 60 days from the date of mailing of the notice of intention to record a notice of violation. If, within 15 days of receipt of the notice, the owner fails to file with the department a written objection to recording the notice of violation, the department shall file the notice of violation for record with the county recorder. If the owner files an objection and if, after the owner has presented evidence, the planning commission determines that there has been no violation, the department shall mail a clearance letter to the then current owner of record. If, however, after the owner has presented evidence, the planning commission determines that the property has in fact been illegally divided, the department shall record the notice of violation for record with the county recorder.
C. 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. 702 § 1 (part), 1991)
16.52.050 Appeals of planning commission action.
Appeals of any planning commission action pursuant to this chapter shall be made to the city council in accordance with the provisions of Section 16.16.100. (Ord. 702 § 1 (part), 1991)
16.52.060 Violation as a misdemeanor.
A. In addition to the remedies and procedures provided in this chapter, any person violating any of the provisions or failing to comply with any of the regulatory requirements of this title shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
B. Except as otherwise provided in this title, each person shall be guilty of a separate offense for each and every day during any portion of which any violation of any provision of this title is committed, continued or permitted by such person and shall be punishable accordingly. (Ord. 702 § 1 (part), 1991)
16.52.070 Action against local agency—Limitation period.
Any action or proceeding to attack, review, set aside, void or annul the decision of the city’s advisory agency, appeal board or legislative body concerning a subdivision, or of any of the 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 such action or proceeding is commenced and service of summons effected within 90 days after the date of such decision. Thereafter, all persons are barred from any such action or proceeding or any defense of invalidity or unreasonableness of such decision or of such proceedings, acts or determinations as provided by Government Code Section 66499.37, any such proceedings 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. 752 § 4, 1992)