A parcel map shall be filed and recorded in the office of the county recorder for any subdivision for which a tentative and final map is not required by the Subdivision Map Act except for subdivisions created by short-term leases (terminable by either party on not more than thirty days' notice in writing) of a portion of an operating right-of-way of a railroad corporation defined as such by Section 230 of the Public Utilities Code; provided, however, that upon a showing made to the planning commission based upon substantial evidence that public policy necessitates such a map, this exception shall not apply.
(Ord. 939, 1976)
When a parcel map is required by this title, a tentative parcel map shall first be filed with the planning commission. The tentative map shall meet all requirements for tentative maps provided by the Subdivision Map Act and this title.
(Ord. 939, 1976)
The final parcel map shall contain all of the same information and data as required in a final tract map, and shall be prepared following the format as prescribed in the Subdivision Map Act. Appropriate certificates for signature by the city engineer, the county surveyor and the engineer or surveyor who prepared the map shall be provided, in a form as required by the city engineer and the Subdivision Map Act. The location and description of existing monuments or established lines, the setting of new points and monuments before or after map recordation, and the required survey data to be shown and provided, shall all be done in a similar manner to that required by a final tract map, and as required by the city engineer. Certificates for signatures by the city engineer and others required by law and this code shall be shown on the final parcel map, except that a certificate signed and acknowledged by all the parties having record title interest in the property to be divided by the parcel map is not required. The fact that a soils report was made as required in this title shall also be noted in the final map.
(Ord. 939, 1976)
Parcel maps shall meet all the requirements of the Subdivision Map Act and of this title and shall show all dedications or offer of dedications thereon. The planning commission may require that such dedications or offer of dedications be made by deed in lieu of or in addition to appearing on the map.
(Ord. 939, 1976)
The same improvements are required for a parcel map as in the case of a final map. The construction of any of these improvements shall be required and accomplished in the manner prescribed in this title for a subdivision for which a final map is filed.
(Ord. 939, 1976)
The planning commission shall approve the parcel map, provided that curbs, gutters, sidewalks and paving are installed along all public street frontage of the property so divided and that sanitary sewer facilities and domestic water service are made to each lot created, that all lot sizes conform to provisions of the zoning regulations of the city and that such division will not adversely affect the subdivision of adjoining lands or adversely affect the master plan.
(Ord. 939, 1976)
A. 
Definitions. For purposes of this section, the following definition shall apply:
"Urban lot split"
means a lot split of a single-unit residential lot into two parcels that meets the requirements of this section.
B. 
Requirements for Approval. The city shall ministerially approve a parcel map for an urban lot split that meets the following requirements:
1. 
The parcel is located within a single-unit residential zone.
2. 
The parcel map divides an existing parcel to create no more than two new parcels of approximately equal lot area, provided that one parcel shall not be smaller than forty percent of the lot area of the original parcel.
3. 
Each of the newly created parcels is no smaller than one thousand two hundred square feet in area.
4. 
The parcel is not located in any of the following areas and does not fall within any of the following categories:
a. 
A historic district or property included on the State Historic Resources Inventory, as defined in Section 5020.1 of the California Public Resources Code, or within a site that is designated or listed as a city landmark or historic property or district pursuant to a city ordinance.
b. 
A hazardous waste site that is listed pursuant to California Government Code Section 65962.5 or a hazardous waste site designated by the Department of Toxic Substances Control pursuant to California Health and Safety Code Section 25356, unless the State Department of Public Health, State Water Resources Control Board, or Department of Toxic Substances Control has cleared the site for residential use or residential mixed uses.
c. 
A delineated earthquake fault zone as determined by the State Geologist in any official maps published by the State Geologist, unless the development complies with applicable seismic protection building code standards adopted by the California Building Standards Commission under the California Building Standards Law and by the city's building department.
d. 
A special flood hazard area subject to inundation by the one percent annual chance flood (one hundred year flood) as determined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in any official maps published by FEMA. If an applicant is able to satisfy all applicable federal qualifying criteria in order to provide that the site satisfies this subsection and is otherwise eligible for streamlined approval under this section, the city shall not deny the application on the basis that the applicant did not comply with any additional permit requirement, standard, or action adopted by the city that is applicable to that site. A development may be located on a site described in this subsection if either of the following is met:
i. 
The site has been subject to a letter of map revision prepared by FEMA and issued to the city; or
ii. 
The site meets FEMA requirements necessary to meet minimum floodplain management criteria of the National Flood Insurance Program as further spelled out in California Government Code Section 65913.4(a)(6)(G)(ii).
e. 
A regulatory floodway as determined by FEMA in any of its official maps, published by FEMA unless the development has received a no-rise certification in accordance with Section 60.3(d)(3) of Title 44 of the Code of Federal Regulations. If an applicant is able to satisfy all applicable federal qualifying criteria in order to provide that the site satisfies this subsection and is otherwise eligible for streamlined approval under this section, the city shall not deny the application on the basis that the applicant did not comply with any additional permit requirement, standard, or action adopted by the city that is applicable to that site.
f. 
Habitat for protected species identified as candidate, sensitive, or species of special status by state or federal agencies, fully protected species, or species protected by the federal Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. Section 1531 et seq.), the California Endangered Species Act (Chapter 1.5 (commencing with Section 2050) of Division 3 of the California Fish and Game Code), or the Native Plant Protection Act (Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 1900) of Division 2 of the California Fish and Game Code).
5. 
The proposed urban lot split would not require demolition or alteration of any of the following types of housing:
a. 
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;
b. 
Housing that is subject to any form of rent or price control through a public entity's valid exercise of its police power;
c. 
Housing that has been occupied by a tenant in the last three years; or
d. 
A parcel or parcels on which an owner of residential real property exercised rights under California Government Code Section 7060 et seq. to withdraw accommodations from rent or lease within fifteen years before the date of the application.
e. 
The application shall provide information regarding the above, signed under penalty of perjury. The application shall indicate that filing false information on an application is a criminal offense.
6. 
The urban lot split does not result in more than two units on a parcel, including any accessory dwelling units or junior accessory dwelling units.
7. 
The split does not create a flag lot.
8. 
The parcel has not been established pursuant to an urban lot split in accordance with this section.
9. 
Neither the owner of the parcel being subdivided nor any person acting in concert with the owner has previously subdivided an adjacent parcel in accordance with this section. For purposes of this section, "acting in concert" shall include, but not be limited to, where the owner of a property proposed for an urban lot split is the same, related to, or connected by partnership to the owner, buyer or seller (if transferred within the previous three years) of an adjacent lot.
C. 
Time Limit for Action. The city shall approve or deny an application within sixty days from the date the city receives a completed application. If the application is denied, the city shall return a full set of comments to the applicant with a list of items that are defective or deficient and a description of how the application can be remedied within the sixty-day time period. Any application not acted upon within this time period shall be deemed approved.
D. 
Standards and Requirements. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this code to the contrary, the following requirements shall apply:
1. 
The urban lot split shall conform to all applicable objective requirements of the Subdivision Map Act and this title, except as the same are modified by this section.
2. 
No setback shall be required for an existing structure, or a structure constructed in the same location and to the same dimensions as an existing structure.
3. 
Except for circumstances described in subsection D.1 of this subsection, the setback for side and rear lot lines shall be four feet.
4. 
The applicant shall provide easements for the provision of public services and facilities as required.
5. 
Landlocked parcels created by an urban lot split shall have an access easement over the other parcel on the same map. Unless a larger width is required pursuant to the requirements of a utility company or the fire department, the easement shall be not less than ten feet in width and must connect to the same curb cut and apron as the other parcel on the same map.
6. 
Residential units developed on a lot created pursuant to this section shall be subject to the provisions of Section 18.24.060 of this code.
E. 
Limitations. The city shall not require or deny an application based on any of the following:
1. 
The city shall not require dedications of rights-of-way or the construction of off-site improvements for the parcels being created as a condition of issuing a parcel map.
2. 
The city shall not impose any subdivision standards that would have the effect of physically precluding the construction of two units on either of the resulting parcels or that would result in a unit size of less than eight hundred square feet.
3. 
The city shall not require the correction of nonconforming zoning provisions as a condition for the urban lot split.
4. 
The city shall not deny an application solely because it proposes adjacent or connected structures provided that all building code safety standards are met, and they are sufficient to allow a separate conveyance.
F. 
Affidavit. An applicant for an urban lot split shall be required to sign an affidavit in a form approved by the city attorney to be recorded against the property stating the following:
1. 
That applicant intends to occupy one of the housing units as their principal residence for a minimum of three years from the date of approval. This requirement does not apply when the applicant is a "community land trust" or a "qualified nonprofit corporation" as the same are defined in the California Revenue and Taxation Code.
2. 
That the uses shall be limited to residential uses.
3. 
That any rental of any unit created by the urban lot split shall be for a minimum of thirty-one days.
4. 
That the maximum number of units to be allowed on each parcel is two, including units otherwise allowed as an accessory dwelling units or junior accessory dwelling units.
G. 
Requirements for Denial. The city may deny an urban lot split if the building official makes a written finding, based upon a preponderance of the evidence, that the proposed housing development project would have a specific, adverse impact, as defined and determined in California Government Code Section 65589.5(d)(2), upon the public health and safety and for which there is no feasible method to satisfactorily mitigate or avoid the specific, adverse impact.
(Ord. CC 2025-11, 10/20/2025)