The purpose of this Part is to establish procedures and standards for urban lot splits in accordance with the requirements of Government Code Section 66411.7.
(Ord. 22-2210 § 16)
Only individual property owners may apply for an urban lot split. "Individual property owner" means a natural person holding fee title individually or jointly in the person's own name or as a beneficiary of a trust that holds fee title. "Individual property owner" does not include any corporation or corporate person of any kind (partnership, LP, LLC, C corp, S corp, etc.) except for a "community land trust," as defined in Revenue and Taxation Code Section 402.1(a)(11)(C)(ii), or a "qualified nonprofit corporation" as described in Revenue and Taxation Code Section 214.15.
(Ord. 22-2210 § 16)
A. 
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Code, an application for an urban lot split shall be considered ministerially, without discretionary review or a hearing, and shall be approved if it meets all of the requirements of this Part.
B. 
An application for an urban lot split shall be approved or denied by the Director.
C. 
The decision of the Director may be appealed in accordance with CMC § 9173.4.
D. 
Notwithstanding subsection (A) of this Section, the City may deny an application for an urban lot split if the Building Official makes a written finding, based upon a preponderance of the evidence, that the proposed urban lot split would have a specific, adverse impact, as defined in Government Code Section 65589.5(d)(2), upon public health and safety or the physical environment and for which there is no feasible method to satisfactorily mitigate or avoid the specific, adverse impact.
E. 
At least seven (7) days prior to making a determination on an application for an urban lot split, the Director shall mail a courtesy notice to the owner(s) of each property immediately adjacent to the property where the proposed lot split will be located informing the owner(s) of the submitted application.
(Ord. 22-2210 § 16)
The parcel that is proposed for subdivision through an urban lot split:
A. 
Shall be located in an RS zoning district;
B. 
Shall have at least one (1) residential dwelling unit located on it on the date that the urban lot split is approved, unless the parcel is owned by a "community land trust," as defined in Revenue and Taxation Code Section 402.1(a)(11)(C)(ii), or a "qualified nonprofit corporation" as described in Revenue and Taxation Code Section 214.15;
C. 
Shall only have residential uses located on it on the date the urban lot split is approved;
D. 
Shall not be located on a parcel that is any of the following, as more particularly described and defined in Government Code Section 65913.4(a)(6)(B) through (a)(6)(K):
1. 
Prime farmland, farmland of Statewide importance, or land zoned or designated for agricultural protection by an approved local ballot measure;
2. 
Wetlands;
3. 
Within a very high fire hazard severity zone as determined by the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, unless the site has adopted fire hazard mitigation measures pursuant to existing building standards or State fire mitigation measures;
4. 
A hazardous waste site that has not been cleared for residential use;
5. 
Within a delineated earthquake fault zone unless the development complies with all applicable State and local seismic protection building code standards;
6. 
Within a special flood hazard area subject to inundation by a one hundred (100) year flood, unless:
a. 
The site has been subject to a Letter of Map Revision prepared by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and issued to the City; or
b. 
The site meets Federal Emergency Management Agency requirements necessary to meet minimum floodplain management criteria of the National Flood Insurance Program;
7. 
Within a regulatory floodway, unless the development has received a no-rise certification;
8. 
Lands identified for conservation in an adopted natural community conservation plan, habitat conservation plan, or other adopted natural resource protection plan;
9. 
Habitat for protected species; or
10. 
Land under a conservation easement;
E. 
Shall not be located within a historic district or on property included on the State Historic Resources Inventory, as defined in Public Resources Code Section 5020.1, or within a site that is designated or listed as a City or County landmark or historic property or district pursuant to a City or County ordinance;
F. 
Shall not have been created through a previous urban lot split; and
G. 
Shall not be adjacent to a parcel that was previously subdivided through an urban lot split by the owner of the parcel on which the urban lot split is proposed or any person acting in concert with the owner.
(Ord. 22-2210 § 16)
A. 
An urban lot split shall subdivide an existing parcel to create no more than two (2) new parcels of approximately equal lot area; provided, that:
1. 
Neither resulting parcel shall be smaller than forty (40) percent of the lot area of the original parcel proposed for subdivision;
2. 
Neither resulting parcel shall be smaller than one thousand two hundred (1,200) square feet; and
3. 
Each resulting lot shall be at least twenty (20) feet wide and shall have at least twenty (20) feet of street frontage.
B. 
An urban lot split shall not result in the creation of a parcel with more than two (2) existing units, as defined in CMC § 9210.7.
C. 
An urban lot split shall not require or allow the demolition or alteration of any of the following types of housing:
1. 
Housing that is subject to a recorded covenant, ordinance, or law that restricts rents to levels affordable to persons and families of moderate, low, or very low income.
2. 
Housing that is subject to any form of rent or price control through a public entity's valid exercise of its police power.
3. 
A parcel on which an owner of residential real property has exercised the owner's rights under Chapter 12.75 (commencing with Section 7060) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code to withdraw accommodations from rent or lease within fifteen (15) years before the date that the development proponent submits an application.
4. 
Housing that has been occupied by a tenant in the last three (3) years.
D. 
As a condition of approval for an urban lot split, the owner of the parcel being split shall sign an affidavit, in a form approved by the City Attorney, stating that:
1. 
The proposed urban lot split will not violate the requirements of subsection (C) of this Section;
2. 
Neither the owner, nor any person acting in concert with the owner, has previously subdivided an adjacent parcel using an urban lot split; and
3. 
The owner intends to occupy a residential dwelling unit on one (1) of the parcels created by the urban lot split as their primary residence for a minimum of three (3) years from the date of the approval of the urban lot split. This subsection (D)(3) shall not apply if the owner of the parcel is a "community land trust," as defined in Revenue and Taxation Code Section 402.1(a)(11)(C)(ii), or is a "qualified nonprofit corporation" as described in Revenue and Taxation Code Section 214.15.
E. 
As a condition of approval of an urban lot split, the owner shall dedicate all easements over the resulting parcels required for the provision of public services and facilities, as determined by the Director.
F. 
Each parcel resulting from an urban lot split shall have access to or adjoin the public right-of-way, and, if necessary, provide the other parcel with access to the right-of-way through an easement.
G. 
The City shall not require as a condition of approval of an urban lot split:
1. 
Dedications of rights-of-way or the construction of off-site improvements; or
2. 
The correction of nonconforming zoning conditions existing on the parcel that will be divided.
H. 
An urban lot split:
1. 
Shall conform with all the requirements of the Subdivision Map Act; and
2. 
Shall conform with all the requirements applicable to lot splits under this Code, except for those requirements that conflict with the requirements of this Part, in which case the provisions of this Part shall control.
(Ord. 22-2210 § 16)
A. 
Parcels created by an urban lot split shall only be used for residential uses, notwithstanding the fact that other uses may be permitted in the zoning district in which the parcels are located.
B. 
Residential units constructed on parcels created by an urban lot split shall not be rented for a term of less than thirty-one (31) consecutive days.
C. 
A parcel created through an urban lot split may not be further subdivided by a subsequent urban lot split.
D. 
Separate conveyance of the lots resulting from an urban lot split is permitted. If dwellings or other structures (such as garages) on different lots are adjacent or attached to each other, the urban lot split boundary may separate them for conveyance purposes if the structures meet building code safety standards and are sufficient to allow separate conveyance. If any attached structures span or will span the new lot line, the owner must record appropriate CC&Rs, easements, or other documentation that is necessary to allocate rights and responsibilities between the owners of the two (2) lots.
(Ord. 22-2210 § 16)
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Code, no more than two (2) units are permitted on any parcel created by an urban lot split. For the purposes of this Section, "unit" means any dwelling unit, including, but not limited to, a primary dwelling unit, a unit or units created pursuant to CMC § 9128.81 through § 9128.88, an accessory dwelling unit, or a junior accessory dwelling unit. For a diagram of possible configurations of units on a parcel created by an urban lot split, see CMC § 9128.88.
(Ord. 22-2210 § 16)
As a condition of approval of an urban lot split, the owner of the parcel to be divided shall execute a deed restriction, in a form approved by the City Attorney, which shall be recorded on each of the resulting parcels and shall limit the use of each parcel in accordance with the standards of this Chapter, including but not limited to the requirements in CMC § 9210.6 and § 9210.7. Violation of the deed restriction shall be considered a violation of this Code and may be enforced in a manner that this Code may be enforced.
(Ord. 22-2210 § 16)