City of Granite Falls, WA Article III Boundary Line Adjustments

§ 19.05.200 Boundary line adjustments.

(A) Application Submittal.

(1) Application Documents. A boundary line adjustment application shall consist of the following documents: application form, legal descriptions of existing and adjusted lot, tract, parcel or building site, affidavit of ownership, vicinity map, boundary line adjustment certificate including proof of legal lot status, declaration of legal documentation, and proposed boundary line adjustment/survey map, consistent with the requirements as set forth in GFMC § 19.04B.120, Application submittal.

(2) Application Fees. The applicant shall pay the required fees as set forth in the city's fee schedule or other applicable resolutions or ordinances when submitting the application.

(B) Procedure and Special Timing Requirements.

(1) Boundary line adjustments shall be approved, approved with conditions, or denied as follows:

(a) The city shall process the BLA as a Type I decision; and

(b) The BLA is exempt from notice provisions set forth in GFMC § 19.04B.125.

(2) The city shall decide upon a BLA application within 45 days following submittal of a complete application or revision, unless the applicant consents to an extension of such time period.

(3) The designated official may deny a BLA application or void a BLA approval due to incorrect or incomplete submittal information.

(4) Multiple boundary line adjustments are allowed to be submitted under a single BLA application if the adjustments involve contiguous parcels.

(5) The legal descriptions of the revised lots, tracts, or parcels shall be certified by a licensed surveyor or title company.

(6) A boundary line adjustment shall be not approved for any property for which an exemption to the subdivision provisions or an exemption to the short subdivision provisions has been exercised within the past five years.

(C) Decision Criteria. A boundary line adjustment is a Type I permit. In reviewing a proposed boundary line adjustment, the designated official shall use the following criteria for approval:

(1) The proposed BLA is consistent with applicable development restrictions and the requirements of this title, including but not limited to the general development standards of Chapter 19.06 GFMC and any conditions deriving from prior subdivision or short subdivision actions. The proposed BLA will also not create a lot below the required lot size or dimensions for its zone designation;

(2) The proposed BLA will not cause boundary lines to cross a UGA boundary, cross on-site sewage disposal systems, prevent adequate access to water supplies, or obstruct fire lanes;

(3) Boundary lines may not be adjusted between lots which have been created for tax purposes only;

(4) The proposed BLA shall not result in an increase in the potential number of dwelling units on lots, tracts, parcels or building site;

(5) The proposed BLA will not detrimentally affect access, access design, or other public safety and welfare concerns. The evaluation of detrimental effects may include review by the health district, the city engineer, or any other agency or department with expertise;

(6) The proposed BLA will not create new access which is inadequate, unsafe or detrimental to the existing road system because of sight distance, grade, road geometry, or other safety concerns, as determined by the city engineer. The BLA shall comply with the access provisions set forth in this title and the city of Granite Falls public works standards;

(7) When a BLA application is submitted concurrently with a Type I application pursuant to GFMC § 19.04A.210 and frontage improvements are required for the area subject to the BLA and the concurrent application, the improvements must be agreed to prior to approval of the BLA;

(8) If within an approved subdivision or short subdivision, the proposed BLA will not violate conditions of approval of that subdivision or short subdivision;

(9) The proposed BLA will not cause any lot that conforms with lot area or lot width requirements to become substandard;

(10) The proposed BLA may increase the nonconformity of lots that are substandard as to lot area and/or lot width requirements; provided, that the proposed BLA satisfies the other requirements of this chapter;

(11) The proposed BLA will not result in lots with less than 1,000 square feet of an accessible area suitable for construction when such area existed before the adjustment. This requirement shall not apply to lots that are zoned commercial or industrial;

(12) "Merged lots" means if two or more substandard lots or a combination of lots or substandard lots and portions of lots or substandard lots are contiguous and a structure is constructed on or across the lot line(s), which makes the lots contiguous, then the lands involved shall be merged and considered to be a single undivided parcel. No portion of said parcel shall be used, altered or sold in any manner which diminishes compliance with lot area and width requirements, nor shall any division be made which creates a lot with a width or area below the minimum requirements permitted by this chapter.

(D) Existing Structures. When boundary line adjustments are submitted proposing the adjustment of lines with existing structures, the existing structures shall be required to comply with all zoning code requirements including, but not limited to, such things as setback, parking, height, landscaping and access requirements as a condition of boundary line adjustment approval. The applicant shall be required to submit a site plan showing that all of these requirements can be met prior to approval.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, an existing structure that does not conform to current zoning code requirements may be permitted to remain following a boundary line adjustment; provided, that the boundary line adjustment does not increase the degree of nonconformance of the structure with respect to any applicable zoning standard.

(E) Information for Recording. After the city has given the applicant approval, the applicant shall submit the original map prepared by a registered land surveyor having a trimmed size of 18 inches by 24 inches. The original map shall be accompanied with original signatures of all parties of interest.

(1) Information required on the map shall include:

(a) The date, scale and north arrow;

(b) Boundary lines (both present and revised), right-of-way for streets, easements and property lines of lots, tracts, parcels or sites, with accurate bearings, dimensions or angles and arcs, and central angles of all curves;

(c) Names and right-of-way widths of all streets;

(d) The survey must indicate that all lot corners are staked;

(e) Number of each lot, tract, parcel or building site and each block;

(f) Description of private covenants and special restrictions;

(g) Location, dimensions and purpose of any easements;

(h) Location and description of monuments and lot, tract, parcel or building site corners set and found;

(i) If required to define flood elevations or other features relative to the lot, then datum elevations and primary control points approved by the city. Descriptions and ties to all control points will be shown with dimensions, angles and bearings;

(j) Designation by phantom letters of the lot(s), tracts, parcels or building sites existing prior to the boundary line adjustment, and designation by solid letters of the proposed lots, tracts, parcels or building sites;

(k) Special setback lines when different from city's zoning code;

(l) A dedicatory statement acknowledging any public or private dedications, donations or grants;

(m) Location of existing structures, utilities, setbacks, encroachments and area of all lots, tracts, parcels or building sites after adjustment;

(n) The file number of the boundary line adjustment must be on the boundary line adjustment/survey map.

(2) Certificates.

(a) Examined, found to be in conformity with applicable zoning and other land use controls, and approved this ____ day of ____, 20__.

____________________________

Community Development/Planning Director

(b) I hereby certify that this boundary line adjustment is based upon an actual survey and subdivision of Section ____, Township ___ North, Range ___ EWM; that the distances, courses and angles are shown thereon correctly; that the monuments shall be set and lot corners shall be staked correctly on the ground, that I fully complied with the provisions of the state and local statutes and regulations governing surveying.

____________________________

Licensed Land Surveyor

(Seal)

(c) I hereby certify that all state and county taxes heretofore levied against the property described herein, according to the books and records of my office, have been fully paid and discharged, including ____ taxes.

_____________________________

Treasurer, Snohomish County

(d) Filed for record at the request of ____ this ____ day of ___, 20__, at ___ minutes past __m, and recorded in Vol. __ of Plats, page __, records of Snohomish County, Washington.

_____________________________

Auditor, Snohomish County

(3) Vicinity Map. A vicinity map clearly identifying the location of the property shall be submitted.

(4) Legal Descriptions. All boundary line adjustment application submittals shall include legal descriptions of the existing and proposed lots, tracts, parcels or building sites. All legal descriptions must be prepared by a licensed surveyor in the state of Washington, attorney, or title company.

(5) Affidavit of Ownership. All boundary line adjustment application submittals shall be accompanied by a notarized signature of the owner, or owners, of the property subject to the boundary line adjustment. Those signing as owners must conform to those designated as owners in the boundary line adjustment certificate. The recording number of the boundary line adjustment/survey map shall be on the affidavit of ownership form.

(6) Declaration of Legal Documentation. All boundary line adjustment application submittals shall be accompanied by a notarized statement containing:

(a) The signatures of owner, or owners, of the property subject to the boundary line adjustment, declaring that they are solely responsible for securing and executing all necessary legal advice or assistance concerning the legal documents necessary to transfer title to those portions of the properties involved in the boundary line adjustment; and

(b) A declaration that the legal documents necessary to transfer title to the property in question have been prepared and executed so that, upon the recording of the boundary line adjustment, the title to the properties will accurately reflect the new configuration resulting from the boundary line adjustment as approved by the city.

(7) Boundary Line Adjustment Certificate. All boundary line adjustment application submittals shall be accompanied by a boundary line adjustment certificate current to within 30 days of date submitted from a title company that certifies the following:

(a) The legal description of all lots, parcels, tracts or building sites to be adjusted; and

(b) The names of the owners of any lots, tracts, parcels or building sites to be adjusted; and

(c) Any easements, restrictions or covenants affecting the property to be adjusted, with a description of such easements, restrictions and covenants.

(F) Recording with Auditor. When the boundary line adjustment proposed for recording has been signed by the city, and the applicant has complied with all of the requirements of this title and state law, then the applicant shall record the original boundary line adjustment/survey map and the original affidavit of ownership with the county auditor. The applicant will also furnish the city with one digital copy of the recorded boundary line adjustment/survey map. After this has been done and the boundary line adjustment has been properly recorded, the boundary line adjustment will become valid. The applicant is responsible for recording the boundary line adjustment and paying all associated recording fees. It shall be a violation of this title for anyone to record a boundary line adjustment which does not bear the verification of approval as defined by this title.

(G) Correcting Errors on an Approved BLA. Typographical errors in recorded legal descriptions or minor discrepancies on recorded BLA maps may be corrected by filing an affidavit of correction of boundary line adjustment with the city clerk. The affidavit shall be on a form supplied by the city clerk. The designated official shall review the affidavit for compliance with applicable code provisions. If approved, the applicant shall record the affidavit with the Snohomish County auditor within 45 days. Immediately after recording, copies of the recorded affidavit of correction shall be provided to the city clerk by the applicant.

(Ord. 1020 § 1 (Att. A), 2022; Ord. 1070 § 6, 2026)