Certificate of Compliance for Lot Line Adjustment

Certificate of Compliance for Lot Line Adjustment – A Certificate of Compliance is a determination by the local agency (the Planning Department) over whether a parcel of land was or was not created in compliance with the Subdivision Map Act in effect at the time the parcel was divided.

Section 66412.6 Subdivision Map Act

(a) For purposes of this division or of a local ordinance enacted pursuant thereto, any parcel created prior to March 4, 1972, shall be conclusively presumed to have been lawfully created if the parcel resulted from a division of land in which fewer than five parcels were created and if at the time of the creation of the parcel, there was no local ordinance in effect which regulated divisions of land creating fewer than five parcels.

Any person owning real property or a person, pursuant to a contract of sale of real property, may request a Certificate of Compliance. Such a request could arise from uncertainty on the part of the owner, purchaser or Title Company as to the legality of a parcel with respect to County Codes or the Subdivision Map Act.

A lot line adjustment is a modification of a boundary line between two or more legal parcels. It can be done between neighbors to resolve encroachment issues or can involve realigning multiple boundary lines between multiple parcels to make them more developable. A lot line adjustment requires interaction with local governmental agencies and must conform to the Subdivision Map Act.

Section 66412 of the Subdivision Map Act

(d) A lot line adjustment between four or fewer existing adjoining parcels, where the land taken from one parcel is added to an adjoining parcel, and where a greater number of parcels than originally existed is not thereby created, if the lot line adjustment is approved by the local agency, or advisory agency. A local agency or advisory agency shall limit its review and approval to a determination of whether or not the parcels resulting from the lot line adjustment will conform to the local general plan, any applicable coastal plan, and zoning and building ordinances. An advisory agency or local agency shall not impose conditions or exactions on its approval of a lot line adjustment except to conform to the local general plan, any applicable coastal plan, and zoning and building ordinances, to require the prepayment of real property taxes prior to the approval of the lot line adjustment, or to facilitate the relocation of existing utilities, infrastructure, or easements. No tentative map, parcel map, or final map shall be required as a condition to the approval of a lot line adjustment. The lot line adjustment shall be reflected in a deed, which shall be recorded. No record of survey shall be required for a lot line adjustment unless required by Section 8762 of the Business and Professions Code.

http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/row/landsurveys/Study_material/Laws_Surveyors/Subdivision_Map_Act_and_Division_3.pdf