Except as otherwise provided in this Article, two or more contiguous parcels or units of land which have been subdivided under the provisions of the Subdivision Map Act or any prior law regulating the division of land or any ordinance enacted pursuant thereto shall not merge by virtue of the fact that such contiguous parcels or units are held by the same owner, and no further proceedings under the Subdivision Map Act or this Chapter shall be required for the purpose of sale, lease or financing of such contiguous parcels or units or any of them. Pursuant to the authority granted by section 66424.2 of the Government Code of the State of California, contiguous parcels or units that would otherwise merge under said section 66424.2 shall be exempt from merger unless proceedings are taken pursuant to this Article to merge such parcels or units.
The provisions of section 7-01-2710 above which provide that there shall be no automatic merger of parcels or units of land shall also apply to parcels created under the former Ordinance Code procedure for creating lot splits if the owner of the property subject to the lot split conveyed such parcels within the time limits set forth in said ordinance for final completion of the lot split. Also, if subsequent to such a conveyance, one person acquired or hereafter acquires title to two or more contiguous parcels created by such a lot split, the provisions of section 7-01-2710, which prevent merger shall be applicable. However, the provisions of sections 7-01-2720 through 7-01-2735 of this Article, which provide for merger after notice and hearing shall be applicable to such lot splits.
The Board of Supervisors, either on its own motion, or upon request by a landowner, may institute proceedings to merge parcels or units of land subject to merger under section 66424.2 of the Government Code of the State of California by giving at least thirty (30) days written notice to the owner of the parcels or units affected by the proposed merger of its intent to record a notice of merger and of the time, date and place of a hearing on the proposed merger. The owner and other interested parties may present evidence to the Board of Supervisors at the hearing why such notice should or should not be recorded.
If the Board of Supervisors, after a hearing, by a four fifths (4/5) vote determines that the parcels or units of land in question are subject to merger under section 66424.2 of the Government Code of the State of California, and that under the circumstances of the particular case, it would be contrary to the purposes for the regulation of the subdivision of land set forth in section 7-01-1000 of this Chapter if the parcels or units of land were not merged, it may order the parcels or units merged. In lieu of merger, the Board of Supervisors may impose such conditions as will insure that nonmerger will not be contrary to the purposes set forth in section 7-01-1000 of this Chapter. If such conditions are not met within the time provided, the Board shall cause a notice of merger to be recorded as set forth in section 7-01-2730 of this Article.
Pursuant to the provisions of California Government Code section 66499.20 æ and upon application by the owners of record, a merger and the recording of a notice of merger of existing adjoining parcels of real property may be authorized by Resource Management Agency Director and filed for recording with the Tulare County Clerk-Recorder only where the Resource Management Agency Director makes all of the following findings:
(a)
The merger will not affect any fees, grants, easements, agreements, conditions, dedications, offers to dedicate or security provided in connection with any approvals of divisions of real property or lot line adjustments; and
(b)
The boundaries of the parcels to be merged are well-defined in existing recorded documents or filed maps and were legally created or have certificates of compliance issued on them; and
(c)
The merger will not alter the exterior boundary of the parcels to be merged; and
(d)
The document used to effect the merger contains an accurate description of the exterior boundaries of the resulting parcel; and
(e)
All parties having any record title interest in the real property affected have consented to, and waived any right to hearing on, the merger upon a form and in a manner approved by County Counsel, excepting all those interests that are excepted from the requirement to consent to the preparation and recordation of final maps under the provisions of California Government Code Section 66436 and according to the terms, provisions, reservations and restrictions provided therein for such consent; and
(f)
All necessary fees and requirements, including a fee for recording the documents, have been provided; and
(g)
Where a record of survey is deemed to be necessary by the county surveyor or the applicant in order to monument and define the boundaries of the merged parcel, such record or survey, otherwise in compliance with all requirements, shall be filed at the same time as the notice of merger is filed for recording.
(Amended by Ord. No. 3316, effective 11-01-05)
If contiguous parcels or units of land held by the same owner are merged pursuant to the provisions of this Article and a notice of merger is recorded by the Tulare County Clerk-Recorder, such continguous parcels or units may not thereafter be sold, leased, or financed, except as a unit, without compliance with the provisions of this Chapter, the County Zoning Ordinance, and all other applicable County ordinances. The merger shall be effective from the time of the recording of the notice of merger.
(Amended by Ord. No. 3316, effective 11-01-05)
The Board of Supervisors shall establish from time to time by resolution such fees as may be required for the review and processing of a proposal for voluntary merger under Section 7-01-2730.
(Amended by Ord. No. 3316, effective 11-01-05)