SEARCH SCCgov

HOME | A-Z SERVICES | CONTACTS | FAQs | SUGGESTIONS | SITE MAP | ABOUT US   AGENCIES & DEPTS

County Connection |Handling Emergencies |Living and Working |Health and Human Care |Doing Business |Law and Justice

View recently adopted ordinances as of January 13, 2009 NOT YET CODIFIED OR INTEGRATED IN THIS SITE. (pdf file)

Ordinances enacted through January 13, 2009

Copyrighted by SANTA CLARA COUNTY CODE & Municipal Code Corporation, 1998.

Previous heading / Next heading / Table of Contents

__________

Sec. C12-5.20. Subdivisions.

(a) Subdivision means the division, by any subdivider, of any unit or units of improved or unimproved land, or any portion thereof, shown on the latest equalized County assessment roll as a unit or as contiguous units, for the purpose of sale, lease or financing, whether immediate or future except for leases of agricultural land for agricultural purposes. Property shall be considered as contiguous units, even if it is separated by roads, streets, utility easements or railroad rights-of-way.

"Subdivision" includes a condominium project, as defined in Civil Code § 1351 or a community apartment project, as defined in Business and Professions Code § 11004. Any conveyance of land to a governmental agency, public entity or public utility shall not be considered a division of land for purposes of computing the number of parcels. As used in this section, "agricultural purposes" means the cultivation of food or fiber, or the grazing or pasturing of livestock.

(b) Subdivision does not include:

(1) The financing or leasing of apartments, offices, stores or similar space within apartment buildings, industrial buildings, commercial buildings, mobile home parks or trailer parks.

(2) Mineral, oil or gas leases.

(3) Land dedicated for cemetery purposes under the Health and Safety Code of the State of California.

(4) Lot line adjustments in accordance with Chapter 5.55 of the Zoning Ordinance.

(5) Boundary line or exchange agreements to which the State Land Commission or a local agency holding a trust grant of tide and submerged lands is a party.

(6) Acquisition of less than a whole parcel by a public agency or public utility having the power of eminent domain. When any public agency or public utility having the power of eminent domain acquires less than a whole parcel, the residue of that acquisition shall be considered a separate parcel, legally conforming for purposes of the Zoning Ordinance, but subject to review and approval prior to development under applicable County land development regulations and ordinances.

(7) Sale by a public agency or public utility having the power of eminent domain of the residue of a parcel no longer needed for public purposes, so long as such residue is not further divided. Such residue shall be considered a separate parcel legally conforming for purposes of the Zoning Ordinance, but subject to review and approval prior to development under applicable County land development regulations and ordinances.

(c) Exclusion. All whole parcels described in recorded deeds as of June 25, 1969, shall be considered as separate parcels subject to regulation as existing individual parcels as single building sites, provided such parcels were not divided or created in violation of County ordinance which existed at the time of such creation or division. Such individual parcels may be assembled and re-divided at the option of the property owner.

(d) Major subdivision shall mean any subdivision containing five or more parcels or condominiums.

(e) Minor subdivision shall mean any subdivision containing four or less parcels or lots.

(f) Cluster subdivision means a subdivision using flexibility and variety in the location of dwelling units on a lot and diversity of lot sizes. This type of subdivision is subject to a cluster permit as outlined in Chapter 5.45 of the Zoning Ordinance, which should be consulted for types of clusters, processing and review.

(g) Hillside subdivision is a subdivision where the percent slope of the land is ten percent or more. The term "percent slope" shall mean the vertical drop divided by the horizontal distance multiplied by 100. Percent slope "S" shall be computed by the formula:

S=0.00229IL

A

Where

S	=	percent slope;
I	=	Interval of contours in feet (uniform vertical distance between successive contours);
L	=	Length of contours in feet (summation of individual contours); and
A	=	Area in acres of parcel being considered.

(Ord. No. NS-1203.35, § 4, 3-13-78; Ord. No. NS-1203.43, § 1, 3-26-79; Ord. No. NS-1203.79, § 1, 6-17-86; Ord. No. NS-1200.318, § 25, 3-28-06)

__________

County Policy | Privacy Policy | Accessibility | Site Map | Contact Webmaster | Site Help All Content Copyright ©2009, the County of Santa Clara, CA