Sec. 9-3.1211. Effective date of mergers.

   A merger of parcels becomes effective when the City of Thousand Oaks causes to be filed for record with the recorder of the county in which the real property is located, a notice of merger specifying the names of the record owner and particularly describing the real property.

(§ 1, Ord. 974-NS, eff. September 8, 1987)

Sec. 9-3.1212. Notification of intention to merger: Hearing.

   Prior to recording a notice of merger the City of Thousand Oaks shall cause to be mailed by certified mail to the then current record owner of the property a notice of intention to determine status, notifying the owner that the affected parcels may be merged pursuant to standards specified in Section 9-3.1210 and advising the owner of the opportunity to request a hearing on determination of status and to present evidence at the hearing that the property does not meet the criteria for merger. The notice of intention to determine status shall be filed for record with the recorder of the county in which the real property is located on the date that notice is mailed to the property owner.

(§ 1, Ord. 974-NS, eff. September 8, 1987)

Sec. 9-3.1213. Request for hearing.

   At any time within thirty (30) days after recording of the notice of intention to determine status, the owner of the affected property may file with the City of Thousand Oaks a request for hearing on determination of status.

(§ 1, Ord. 974-NS, eff. September 8, 1987)

Sec. 9-3.1214. Procedure for hearing.

   Upon receiving a request for hearing on determination of status from the owner of the affected property pursuant to Section 9-3.1213, the City of Thousand Oaks shall fix a time, date, and place for a hearing to be conducted by the Planning Commission, and shall notify the property owner of the time, date and place for the hearing by certified mail. The hearing shall be conducted no more than sixty (60) days following the City’s receipt of the property owner’s request for the hearing, but may be postponed or continued with the mutual consent of the City and the property owner.

(§ 1, Ord. 974-NS, eff. September 8, 1987)

Sec. 9-3.1215. Procedure for determination following hearing.

   (a)   At the hearing, the property owner shall be given the opportunity to present any evidence that the affected property does not meet the standards for merger specified in Section 9-3.1210.

   (b)   At the conclusion of the hearing, the City shall make a determination that the affected parcels are to be merged or are not to be merged and shall so notify the owner of its determination. A determination of nonmerger may be made whether or not the affected property meets the standards for merger specified in Section 9-3.1210 of the Thousand Oaks Municipal Code. A determination of merger shall be recorded within thirty (30) days after conclusion of the hearing.

(§ 1, Ord. 974-NS, eff. September 8, 1987)

Sec. 9-3.1216. Determination when no hearing is requested.

   If, within the thirty (30) day period specified in Section 9-3.1213, the owner does not file a request for a hearing in accordance with Section 9-3.1214 and Section 9-3.1215, the City may, at any time thereafter, make a determination that the affected parcels are to be merged or are not to be merged. A determination of merger shall be recorded as provided for in Section 9-3.1211 no later than ninety (90) days following the mailing of the notice required by Section 9-3.1214.

(§ 1, Ord. 974-NS, eff. September 8, 1987)

Sec. 9-3.1217. Mergers and resubdivision.

   Subdivided lands may be merged and resubdivided without reverting to acreage by complying with all the applicable requirements for the subdivision of land as provided by this chapter. The filing of the final map or parcel map shall constitute the legal merging of the separate parcels into one parcel and the resubdivision of such parcel, and the real property shall thereafter be shown with the new lot or parcel boundaries on the assessment roll. Any unused fees or deposits previously made pursuant to this chapter pertaining to the property shall be credited pro rata towards any requirements for the same purposes which are applicable at the time of the resubdivision. Any streets or easements to be left in effect after the resubdivision shall be adequately delineated on the map. After the approval of the merger and the resubdivision, the map shall be delivered to the County Recorder. The filing of the map shall consist of the legal merger and the resubdivision of the land affected thereby and shall also consist of the abandonment of all street and easements not shown on the map.

(Ord. 744-NS, eff. April 17, 1980, as amended by § 1, Ord. 974-NS, eff. September 8, 1987)

Sec. 9-3.1218. Voluntary lot mergers.

   (a)   Intent and Purpose. Concurrent Processing with Discretionary Projects. The purpose of this Article is to establish ministerial procedures for processing voluntary merger applications to merge contiguous lots under common ownership into a single lot as authorized by California Government Code Section 66499.20.3. The approval of voluntary merger applications and subsequent review and approval of the certificate of merger and deeds are ministerial acts not subject to CEQA. In instances where a voluntary merger is requested in conjunction with a project involving an application for a development permit or other discretionary City land use approval involving some or all of the property subject to the voluntary merger, the voluntary merger application shall be processed concurrently with the application for the discretionary land use approval, including for purposes of evaluating the project’s potential environmental effects. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the City’s approval of a voluntary merger is, in and of itself, a ministerial act.

   (b)   Application. Applications for the approval of a Voluntary Merger shall be filed with the Community Development Department. No application shall be accepted for filing and processing if there is an open investigation pertaining to a documented violation of the TOMC on the subject lot(s) unless:

      (1)   The acceptance of the application is necessary to abate the existing violation and otherwise conforms to the requirements of this Chapter;

      (2)   Contains in a full, true, and correct manner, the required information prescribed by the forms supplied by the Community Development Department; and

      (3)   Is accompanied by the appropriate fees.

   (c)   Filing and Processing Requirements.

      (1)   The application for a Voluntary Merger shall be processed by the Community Development Department if all information and documents requested in the application, including each item listed below in Section 9-3.1218(c)(1)(i) through (c)(1)(vii), are submitted and concurrently reviewed to the satisfaction of the Community Development Department until deemed complete.

         (i)   A deposit of the required fees pursuant to the City's Fee Schedule to process and record a certificate of voluntary merger.

         (ii)   A current preliminary title report showing all parties with a legal or equitable interest in the lots and all easements, covenants, and other encumbrances and interests in the affected lots at the time of the filing of the application for the voluntary merger.

         (iii)   All parties having any record title interest in the lots subject to the voluntary merger application have consented in writing to the voluntary merger subject to the exceptions set forth in Government Code Section 66436.

         (iv)   If any of the existing lots are developed, a site plan prepared by the project surveyor that depicts the location of any buildings or structures with a notation of setback distances from the resulting adjusted lot lines.

         (v)   Documentation, as required by the Community Development Department, to establish that each of the lots that are subject to the voluntary merger are legal lots. The applicant is encouraged to consult with the Community Development Department prior to submitting a voluntary merger application that involves illegally created lots to confirm compliance with Section 9-3.1218(g)(1)(2)(11).

         (vi)   Legal description and map, prepared by a person authorized to practice land surveying or land surveyor, of the new boundaries of the merged lot as adjusted by the voluntary merger. The map shall also include: (i) the boundaries of each of the existing lots at the time of application; and (ii) a north arrow and the bearings and distances for the merged lot lines. A record of survey may be voluntarily submitted as a substitute for a map.

         (vii)   Draft certificate of voluntary merger (see Section 9-3.1218(k) below) and deed(s) reflecting the adjusted property boundaries.

      (2)   Unless otherwise specified in this Article, the voluntary merger application shall be processed ministerially without a public notice or hearing.

   (d)   Community Development Department and City Engineer Review.

      (1)   The Community Development Department and City Engineer shall review the voluntary merger application. If additional information is needed, the applicant shall provide the documents and information requested by the Community Development Department and City Engineer in order to deem the application complete. If the application is determined to be incomplete, the applicant shall be notified in writing of the reasons therefor and informed of the information needed to make the application complete.

      (2)   The City Engineer or designee shall determine whether the documents required to effectuate the Voluntary Merger are technically correct, including the legal description and map. When the City Engineer or designee is satisfied that the documents to be recorded to complete the voluntary merger are technically correct, the City Engineer shall transmit the documents to the Community Development Department for recordation with the Office of the County Recorder upon final approval of the application by the advisory agency pursuant to Section 9-3.1218(j) of this Chapter.

   (e)   Termination of Incomplete Application. An incomplete voluntary merger application may be terminated in the same manner for terminating an incomplete land use permit application as set forth in Section 9-4.2817(a)(1), and (a)(2) "Applications incomplete for processing.”

   (f)   Designated Advisory Agency. The Community Development Director or designee is the designated advisory agency for ministerial voluntary merger applications under this Article.

   (g)   Standards for Approval. The Community Development Director, in consultation with the City Engineer, shall approve or conditionally approve a voluntary lot merger without public notice or hearing if, on the basis of the complete application that demonstrates the following:

      (1)   Each of the lots to be merged are legal lots. However, a legal lot that was illegally subdivided thus creating two or more illegal lots may be merged back into its original configuration as the legal lot existed prior to the illegal subdivision so long as the other criteria of approval set forth in this section are met;

      (2)   If one or more involved parcels is subject to a conditional certificate of compliance, the conditions of development must be fully satisfied by the merger. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if a condition of development that would not be satisfied relates to minimum parcel size, the merger shall be approved with the condition that the deed or deeds recorded to effectuate the merger contain an express statement that the resulting parcel remains subject to the conditional certificate of compliance, whose recording information shall be noted on the deed or deeds;

      (3)   The lots to be merged are contiguous to each other;

      (4)   The lots to be merged are under the same ownership;

      (5)   If there are any liens or deeds of trust, they shall encumber the entire merged lot. There cannot be any liens or deeds of trust encumbering only a portion of the merged lot;

      (6)   The voluntary merger will not adversely affect existing easements of record on any of the lots or any conditions of approval, dedications, offers to dedicate, or security arising from a previously recorded map that created any of the lots subject to the voluntary merger application;

      (7)   The lot merger shall not impair existing easements, or it shall include the relocation of existing easements, utilities, or infrastructure serving adjacent lots, parcels, or public lands and streets;

      (8)   The lot merger shall not impair existing access or create a need for access to adjacent lots or parcels;

      (9)   The lot merger will not alter the exterior boundary of the lots to be merged;

      (10)   The City Engineer or designee has approved the legal description as accurately representing the exterior boundaries of the resulting merged lot;

      (11)   The voluntary merger will not render any existing conforming structures or existing conforming uses on any of the involved lots to become a nonconforming structure or use. Existing legal nonconforming structures or uses on any of the lots subject to the application are not grounds to deny the voluntary merger; and

      (12)   The deed or deeds submitted to the Community Development to effectuate the merger shall contain an express statement of the grantor(s), pursuant to section 1093 of the California Civil Code, that the intent of the grantor(s) and the purpose of the deed(s) is to merge all of the property described in the deed(s) into a single lot.

   (h)   Conditional Approval:

      (1)   The only conditions the Advisory Agency may impose on the approval of a voluntary merger are those required:

         (i)   Conform the merged lot to all objective standards and requirements of the General Plan, Zoning Ordinances and City of Thousand Oaks Improvement Standards and Specifications; and

         (ii)   Facilitate the relocation of existing utilities, infrastructure, or easements.

      (2)   If the voluntary merger application is conditionally approved, the advisory agency shall send a letter of conditional approval notifying the applicant of the conditions to be fulfilled prior to recordation of the voluntary merger. If the conditions are not fulfilled within one year of the date of the letter, the voluntary merger shall expire and become null and void unless the applicant obtains a written extension from the Advisory Agency pursuant to Section 9-9-3.1218(i), "Extension of Conditional Approval" of this Chapter.

      (3)   A conditionally approved voluntary merger shall be deemed ready for recordation when the advisory agency determines that the conditions have been fulfilled and is in receipt of the following:

         (i)   An up-to-date preliminary title report;

         (ii)   The voluntary merger documents approved by the City Engineer (e.g., legal description and a map); and

         (iii)   All deeds prepared for recordation as approved by the Community Development Director pursuant to Section 9-3.1218(c)(1)(vii) of this Chapter.

      (4)   Upon receipt of the documents required by Section 9-3.1218(h)(3) above, the Advisory Agency shall cause each of the Community Development Director-approved voluntary merger documents and deeds to be recorded in the Office of the County Recorder.

         (i)   Extension of Conditional Approval. Prior to the expiration of the conditional approval of the voluntary merger application pursuant to Section 9-3.1218(h)(2) above, the Advisory Agency may grant one extension of up to six (6) months if the applicant demonstrates good cause.

         (ii)   Certificate of Voluntary Merger. The recordation of a Certificate of Voluntary Merger and the deed(s) shall effectuate the voluntary merger of the separate lots into a single lot for the purposes of the Subdivision Map Act and this Chapter, and the lots shall thereafter be treated in all respects as a single lot. The Certificate of Voluntary Merger shall constitute a Certificate of Compliance for the merged lot.

         (iii)   Certificate of Voluntary Merger Requirements. A Certificate of Voluntary Merger shall include all the following:

      (5)   All parties having any record title interest in the merged lot shall execute the Certificate of Voluntary Merger before a Notary Public and submit it to the Community Development Department, excepting all those interests that are excepted pursuant to the provisions of Government Code Section 66436. The Community Development Director shall also execute the Certificate of Voluntary Merger, but the signature need not be notarized.

      (6)   The Certificate of Voluntary Merger shall include an express written statement that the consolidation of the legal descriptions of the lots is intended by the owner(s) to merge those lots into a single lot as set forth in the legal description of the merged lot.

      (7)   Either: (a) The deed or deeds that comprise the ownership interests of each lot subject to the voluntary merger shall be attached to the certificate of voluntary merger, or (b) the recorder number of each deed to each lot subject to the Voluntary Merger shall be referenced in the Certificate of Voluntary Merger.

      (8)   The legal description of the merged lot approved by the City Engineer shall be attached to the Certificate of Voluntary Merger.

(§ 1, Ord. 1734-NS, eff. January 10, 2025)