Chapter 16.16
BOUNDARY LINE ADJUSTMENTS
Sections:
16.16.020 Approval – Required.
16.16.040 Preliminary approval.
16.16.060 Prohibitions generally – Protection of innocent purchaser.
16.16.080 Violation and enforcement.
16.16.010 Purpose.
The purpose of this chapter is to regulate the removal or adjustment of boundary lines between property. (Ord. 1055 § 1, 1998)
16.16.020 Approval – Required.
It is unlawful for the owner or owners of abutting lots to remove or adjust (hereinafter “change”) the location of all or any portion of any boundary line common to such lots without first having applied for and received approval for such change, in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. If any one or more of the lots to be affected by the proposed change are located within an area that was platted prior to October 14, 1971, the effective date of Ordinance No. 379, the provisions of this chapter shall be used in lieu of the plat alteration procedures set forth in Chapters 16.04 and 16.08 FHMC. (Ord. 1270 § 3, 2005; Ord. 1055 § 2, 1998)
16.16.030 Application.
A. The land use administrator is vested with the duty of administering the provisions of this chapter.
B. Any person or persons who desire to change the boundary line between lots shall complete and submit to the land use administrator the appropriate application form supplied for such purpose. The application shall be signed by all persons in whom fee title to any affected lot is vested, and also by all persons who have a contract vendor’s interest in any of such lots, or who have a mortgage or deed of trust against such lots.
C. Each person who signs an application shall be deemed to have undertaken an obligation to hold harmless and defend the town against any claim by any persons alleging to have owned, at the time the application is acted upon by the town, an interest in any of the affected lots, which interest is alleged to have been adversely affected by the town’s action upon such application. The land use administrator may, in his discretion, require the applicant to provide a current chain of title guarantee from a title insurance company with respect to any such lot.
D. Each application shall include a map and related data containing the following information:
1. The existing boundary lines and size, in square feet, of all of the lots affected by the proposed change;
2. The names and addresses of all persons owning an interest in any of said lots;
3. The location and size of all existing buildings, building setbacks, rights-of-way, easements, wells, watercourses, high and low water marks, municipal boundaries, section lines, township lines, abutting streets or roads (private or public), utility services, driveways and any other improvement located upon any of said lots;
4. The location of the proposed new boundary line(s), with clear and specific reference to each of the items contained in subsection (D)(3) of this section;
5. The size, in square feet, of each of the lots that would result from the proposed change;
6. Space for approval by the town; and
7. A certificate signed by the county treasurer certifying that all taxes for one year in advance, on all the property affected by the proposed boundary line adjustment, and all delinquent assessments for which the land within the boundary line adjustment may have been liable have been duly paid, satisfied or discharged. Said certificate shall read as follows:
TREASURER’S CERTIFICATE: All taxes and assessments of the current year, _______, including advance taxes per RCW 58.08.040, for current year tax not yet levied or certified and any delinquent taxes or assessments which have become a lien upon the lands herein described have been fully paid and discharged according to the records of my office. If any penalty fees are due under the provisions of the Open Space or DFL Law (Chapters 84.33 and 84.34 RCW), this does not guarantee that they have been paid.
______________________________San Juan County Treasurer Date
E. The nonrefundable application fees for all land use permit applications governed by this chapter shall be reviewed annually by the town council, who shall direct the town clerk to adjust the fee appropriately and post such list of land use permit application fees in a conspicuous place within Town Hall and make such list available to the public upon request. (Ord. 1282 § 2, 2005; Ord. 1055 § 3, 1998)
16.16.040 Preliminary approval.
A. Upon receipt of a completed application and the applicable fee, the land use administrator shall review the same and shall provide written notice of disapproval, conditional preliminary approval, or preliminary approval to the applicant within 10 business days from receipt of same. Preliminary approval shall be given only if all the following conditions are met:
1. No lot to result from the proposed change shall be smaller than the minimum lot size required by any applicable subdivision and/or zoning ordinances in effect at the time the application is filed, except as follows: whenever any one or more lots involved in the proposed change are smaller than the allowable minimum size, the change may be approved so long as no resulting lot is smaller than the smallest of the existing lots;
2. The maximum lot coverage requirements and the minimum yard setback requirements of any applicable subdivision and/or zoning ordinances shall be met by all lots to result from the proposed change and by all buildings then existing on said lots;
3. The access and parking requirements of any applicable subdivision and/or zoning ordinances shall be met with respect to all lots to result from the proposed change;
4. The resulting lots will, for all other purposes, continue to meet all requirements of all applicable subdivision, zoning and other ordinances; and
5. No public utility then serving any of the lots to be affected shall become severed from the benefited lot.
B. In the event any of the above conditions is not met, conditional preliminary approval may nevertheless be given on the condition that final administrative approval shall be given only if the application is modified in such a manner as to meet all of said conditions. (Ord. 1282 § 3, 2005; Ord. 1055 § 4, 1998)
16.16.050 Final approval.
A. Subsequent to the granting of preliminary approval or conditional preliminary approval, the applicant shall be granted final administrative approval upon presentation to the land use administrator of the following items:
1. In the event conditional preliminary approval was granted, a modified application wherein all of the conditions of subsection A of this section are met;
2. Copies of the proposed conveyance documents;
3. A plat of all affected lots, to be prepared in accordance with the same standards as are required by this title, depicting the new boundary lines in accordance with the preliminary or conditional approval previously granted; and
4. Satisfactory proof that lot corners have been in fact monumented, in accordance with applicable standards set forth in state and/or local law.
B. Final approval shall not be deemed given until the plat map and all conveyance documents, consistent with the requirements of this chapter, shall have been filed for record with the San Juan County auditor and recorded copies thereof delivered to the land use administrator. (Ord. 1282 § 4, 2005; Ord. 1270 § 4, 2005; Ord. 1055 § 5, 1998)
16.16.060 Prohibitions generally – Protection of innocent purchaser.
A. No building permit, substantial development permit, or other development permit shall be issued for any lots as to which the boundary line has been changed in violation of this chapter.
B. The prohibition contained in this section shall not apply to any innocent purchaser for value without actual notice. All purchasers or transferees of property shall comply with the provisions of this chapter, and each purchaser or transferee may recover his damages from any person, firm, corporation, or agent selling, transferring or leasing land in violation of this chapter, including any amount reasonably spent as a result of inability to obtain any development permit and spent to conform to the requirements of said sections, as well as the cost of the investigation, suit, and reasonable attorney’s fees occasioned thereby. Such purchaser, transferee or lessee may, as an alternative to conforming his property to these requirements, rescind the sale, transfer or lease and recover the cost of investigation, suit, and reasonable attorney’s fees occasioned thereby. (Ord. 1055 § 6, 1998)
16.16.070 Injunctive relief.
Whenever a boundary line is changed in violation of this chapter, the town may commence an action to restrain and enjoin any sales, transfers, or leases of all affected lots, and to compel compliance with all the provisions of said sections. The costs of such action shall be taxed against the person having caused the adjustment to have been made. (Ord. 1055 § 7, 1998)
16.16.080 Violation and enforcement.
A. A violation of this chapter shall be and hereby is declared both a public nuisance and a Class 1 civil infraction, as defined in Chapter 1.18 FHMC. Each day that a violation of this chapter exists may be treated as a separate infraction.
B. Except in circumstances where there is a serious and imminent threat to public health or safety, prior to filing a public nuisance abatement action in San Juan County superior court, the town shall attempt to gain compliance by use of the civil infraction procedures set forth in Chapter 1.18 FHMC.
C. The penalty for committing a civil infraction under this chapter shall be as set forth in Chapter 1.18 FHMC. (Ord. 1055 § 8, 1998)