(a) If a parcel or unit of land is contiguous to a parcel or unit of land held by the same owner and any one of the contiguous parcels or units does not conform to current standards for minimum parcel size to permit use or development under the Zoning Ordinance, the parcels or units may be merged if all of the following conditions are met:
(1) At least one of the contiguous parcels or units is not developed with a structure for which a permit has been issued or for which a building permit was not required at the time of construction, or is developed only with an accessory structure or accessory structures, or is developed with a single structure, other than an accessory structure, that is also partially sited on a contiguous parcel or unit.
(2) One or more of the following conditions exists with respect to any affected parcel. The parcel:
(A) Comprises less than 5,000 square feet at the time of the determination of the merger.
(B) Was not created in compliance with applicable laws and County ordinances in effect at the time of its creation.
(C) Does not meet current standards for sewage disposal and domestic water supply.
(D) Does not meet slope stability standards.
(E) Has no legal access which is adequate for vehicular and safety equipment access and maneuverability.
(F) If developed would create a health or safety hazard.
(G) Is inconsistent with the County General Plan or any applicable specific plan, other than minimum lot size or density standards.
(b) Subsection (a) shall not apply if any of the conditions in Government Code section 66451.11(b)(7)(A)-(E) exist.
(c) If the County approved a lot line adjustment or a division of land plat or issued a certificate of compliance resulting in the merger of parcels or units of land which would not have merged pursuant to the current provisions of this section, the merged parcels or units shall remain merged. The Director, however, may issue a certificate of compliance on written application of the owner of the merged property or a vendee of that person pursuant to a contract of sale of the real property, if the Director determines all of the following are true:
(1) No final or parcel map has been recorded for all or any portion of the parcels or units.
(2) In the case of a division of land plat, the ownership of all portions of the merged lots remains the same as when the division of land plat was approved.
(3) In the case of a lot line adjustment, after the merged parcels or units are unmerged, the lot line adjustment would meet the present requirements for a lot line adjustment in chapter 9 of this division and the resulting parcels or units would not be required to be merged pursuant to subsection (a) of this section.
(4) In the case of a certificate of compliance, after the merged parcels or units are unmerged, the certificate of compliance would still be issuable pursuant to section 81.1103 and the resulting parcels or units would not be required to be merged pursuant to subsection (a) of this section.
(d) If the Director determines that the requirements for a parcel merger have been met and the County intends to take action under this section to merge the parcels, the Director shall proceed pursuant to Government Code sections 66451.12-66451.18. If a property owner requests a hearing pursuant to Government Code section 66451.13 the Director shall hold the hearing.
(Added by Ord. No. 5835 (N.S.), effective 8-28-80; amended by Ord. No. 6396 (N.S.), effective 8-12-82; amended by Ord. No. 6508 (N.S.), effective 3-1-83; amended by Ord. No. 6882 (N.S.), effective 1-17-85; amended by Ord. No. 10037 (N.S.), effective 3-26-10)