Subdivided property may be reverted to acreage pursuant to the provisions of this section and Article 1 of Chapter 6 of the Subdivision Map Act. For the purpose of this chapter, a reversion to acreage is a process to be used for the combination and consolidation of land previously subdivided by the filing and recordation of a final subdivision tract.
A. Initiation of Proceedings by Owners. Proceedings to revert subdivided property to acreage may be initiated either by the City or by petition signed by all of the owners of record of the property to be reverted. The petition shall be in a form prescribed by the Director of Development Services and shall contain the information required by Section 66499.13 of the Subdivision Map Act and any such other information as required by the Director of Development Services.
B. Initiation of Proceedings by City Council. The City Council, at the request of any person or on its own motion, may by minute order initiate proceedings to revert property to acreage. The City Council shall direct the Director of Development Services to obtain the necessary information to initiate and conduct the proceedings as required by law.
C. Required Data. Petitions filed for the initiation of reversion proceedings shall contain the following:
1. Name, address and telephone number of the record owners of the lots or land to be reverted;
2. Evidence of title to the real property within the subdivision, in the form of title reports, recorded deeds or other data;
3. Evidence of the consent of all the owners of record to the reversion, which shall also include signatures of parties owning the types of land interests described in Section 66436(a)(2) of the Subdivision Map Act;
4. Evidence that none of the public improvements required to be made as a condition precedent to the final approval of the subdivision or parcel map have been made or installed within two years from the date the final map or final parcel map was recorded or filed for record with the County Recorder or within the time allowed by agreement for completion of the improvements, whichever is the later date;
5. Evidence that none of the lots or parcels shown on the final subdivision map or parcel map have been sold within five years from the date the final map or parcel map was recorded or filed for record with the County Recorder;
6. A fee in the amount specified in Title 21 of this code, to be paid by the owner or owners who initiated the reversion proceedings or to be paid by the person or persons who requested the City Council to initiate the proceedings. Such fees shall not be refunded.
D. Final Map. A final map showing the boundary of the land being considered for reversion, prepared in the same manner as that required for the final tract map of any subdivision, as specified in Chapter 16.02, and also showing dedications which will not be vacated or abandoned as a result of the reversion and any dedications required as a condition to reversion, shall be filed with the City Engineer for checking and approval. A map for the reversion to acreage need not be based upon a field survey if sufficient record data is available as determined by the City Engineer. The map, or a tentative copy thereof, shall be submitted at the same time the petition for reversion is submitted.
E. Action by the City Council. Upon receipt of the petition, the Director of Development Services shall verify its accuracy and completeness and shall prepare a report on the reversion, listing the pertinent items to be considered, any dedications or improvements to be required and any other information needed or required pursuant to the furtherance of the purpose of this chapter. Such report and petition shall be transmitted to the City Council and a public hearing before the Council shall be set within thirty days after its receipt. The Director's report shall also be sent to the owners or person who initiated the proceedings at least three days prior to the date of the public hearing. Notice of the public hearing shall be given as provided in Section 66451.3 of the Government Code. At the public meeting, the City Council shall hear the evidence and all interested parties. The City Council may approve a reversion to acreage only if it finds and records by resolution the following:
1. The dedications or offers of dedications to be vacated or abandoned by the reversion to acreage are unnecessary for present or prospective public uses or purposes;
2. Either:
a. All owners of an interest in the properties to be reverted, as they are described in subsection (c)(3) of Section 16.04.020 have consented to the reversion, or
b. None of the public improvements required to be made as a condition precedent to the final approval of the subdivision or parcel map have been made or installed within two years from the date the final map or parcel map was recorded or filed for record with the County Recorder or within the time allowed by agreement for completion of the improvements, whichever is the later date, or
c. None of the lots or parcels shown on the final subdivision or parcel map have been sold within five years from the date the final map or final parcel map was recorded or filed for record with the County Recorder;
3. As a condition of the approval of the reversion to acreage, the City Council shall require the following:
a. Dedications or offers of dedication for required streets, alleys, drain and utilities required for the public safety and welfare, as required by the City Engineer,
b. Retention of those portions of previously paid fees and deposits to cover the outstanding expenses of the City for engineering, inspection, surveying, testing, administration and overhead incurred in the processing, checking or handling of the subdivision of land being reverted,
c. Construction of certain public improvements as required by the City Engineer to provide access, adequate circulation to, around or through the land being reverted and essential utility services to the lots or parcels being reverted or to properties adjacent thereto, or, in lieu of construction, the retention of cash fees and deposits previously paid in the estimated amount of the required improvements,
d. Retention of a portion of the improvement securities previously posted or the posting of new improvement securities and agreements to guarantee the construction of any improvements required as a condition of the reversion.
F. Delivery of Final Map and Effect of Recordation. After the public hearing and approval of the reversion, and upon the City Engineer's statement as to the correctness and sufficiency of the final map, and upon the posting of any agreements or securities or the completion of any dedications required by the City Council, the City Engineer shall release the final map for delivery to the County Recorder. Reversion shall be effective upon the final map being filed for record by the County Recorder, and thereupon, all dedications and offers of dedication made by the original subdivision or parcel map or by separate instrument, not shown on the final map of the reversion, shall be of no further force or effect. When a reversion map is recorded, all fees and deposits shall be returned and all former agreements and improvement securities released, except as provided above in Section 16.04.020(E).
(Ord. 2722 (part), 1990).