ARTICLE 2. Definitions [66414. - 66424.6.]

Cal. Government Code - GOV 2.
in effect

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 66415. Section 66415.

“Advisory agency” means a designated official or an official body charged with the duty of making investigations and reports on the design and improvement of proposed divisions of real property, the imposing of requirements or conditions thereon, or having the authority by local ordinance to approve, conditionally approve or disapprove maps.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 66416. Section 66416.

“Appeal board” means a designated board or other official body charged with the duty of hearing and making determinations upon appeals with respect to divisions of real property, the imposition of requirements or conditions thereon, or the kinds, nature and extent of the design or improvements, or both, recommended or decided by the advisory agency to be required.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 66416.5. Section 66416.5.

(a) “City engineer” means the person authorized to perform the functions of a city engineer. The land surveying functions of a city engineer may be performed by a city surveyor, if that position has been created by the local agency. (b) A city engineer registered as a civil engineer after January 1, 1982, shall not be authorized to prepare, examine, or approve the surveying maps and documents. The examinations, certifications, and approvals of the surveying maps and documents shall only be performed by a person authorized to practice land surveying pursuant to the Professional Land Surveyors Act (Chapter 15 (commencing with Section 8700) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code) or a person registered as a civil engineer prior to January 1, 1982, pursuant to the Professional Engineers Act (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 6700) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code). (c) Nothing contained in this provision shall prevent a city engineer from delegating the land surveying functions to a person authorized to practice land surveying. Where there is no person authorized to practice land surveying within the city or agency, nothing shall prevent the city engineer from contracting with a person who is authorized to practice land surveying to perform the land surveying functions.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 66417. Section 66417.

(a) “County surveyor” includes county engineer, if there is no county surveyor. (b) A county engineer registered as a civil engineer after January 1, 1982, shall not be authorized to prepare, examine, or approve the surveying maps and documents. The examinations, certifications, and approvals of the surveying maps and documents shall only be performed by a person authorized to practice land surveying pursuant to the Professional Land Surveyors Act (Chapter 15 (commencing with Section 8700) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code) or a person registered as a civil engineer prior to January 1, 1982, pursuant to the Professional Engineers Act (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 6700) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code).

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 66418. Section 66418.

“Design” means: (1) street alignments, grades and widths; (2) drainage and sanitary facilities and utilities, including alignments and grades thereof; (3) location and size of all required easements and rights-of-way; (4) fire roads and firebreaks; (5) lot size and configuration; (6) traffic access; (7) grading; (8) land to be dedicated for park or recreational purposes; and (9) other specific physical requirements in the plan and configuration of the entire subdivision that are necessary to ensure consistency with, or implementation of, the general plan or any applicable specific plan as required pursuant to Section 66473.5.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 66418.1. Section 66418.1.

“Development” means the uses to which the land which is the subject of a map shall be put, the buildings to be constructed on it, and all alterations of the land and construction incident thereto.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 66418.2. Section 66418.2.

(a) “Environmental subdivision” means a subdivision of land pursuant to this division for biotic and wildlife purposes that meets all of the conditions specified in subdivision (b). (b) Prior to approving or conditionally approving an environmental subdivision, the local agency shall find each of the following: (1) That factual biotic or wildlife data, or both, are available to the local agency to support the approval of the subdivision, prior to approving or conditionally approving the environmental subdivision. (2) That provisions have been made for the perpetual maintenance of the property as a biotic or wildlife habitat, or both, in accordance with the conditions specified by any local, state, or federal agency requiring mitigation. (3) That an easement will be recorded in the county in which the land is located to ensure compliance with the conditions specified by any local, state, or federal agency requiring the mitigation. The easement shall contain a covenant with a county, city, or nonprofit organization running with the land in perpetuity, that the landowner shall not construct or permit the construction of improvements except those for which the right is expressly reserved in the instrument. Where the biotic or wildlife habitat, or both, are compatible, the local agency shall consider requiring the easement to contain a requirement for the joint management and maintenance of the resulting parcels. This reservation shall not be inconsistent with the purposes of this section and shall not be incompatible with maintaining and preserving the biotic or wildlife character, or both, of the land. (4) The real property is at least 20 acres in size, or if it is less than 20 acres in size, the following conditions are met: (A) The land is contiguous to other land that would also qualify as an environmental subdivision. (B) The other land is subject to a recorded perpetual easement that restricts its use to a biotic or wildlife habitat, or both. (C) The total combined acreage of the lands would be 20 acres or more. (D) Where the biotic or wildlife habitat, or both, are compatible, the land and the other land will be jointly managed and maintained. (c) Notwithstanding subdivision (a) of Section 66411.1, any improvement, dedication, or design required by the local agency as a condition of approval of an environmental subdivision shall be solely for the purposes of ensuring compliance with the conditions required by the local, state, or federal agency requiring the mitigation. (d) After recordation of an environmental subdivision, a subdivider may only abandon an environmental subdivision by reversion to acreage pursuant to Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 66499.11) if the local agency finds that all of the following conditions exist: (1) None of the parcels created by the environmental subdivision has been sold or exchanged. (2) None of the parcels is being used, set aside, or required for mitigation purposes pursuant to this section. (3) Upon abandonment and reversion to acreage pursuant to this subdivision, the easement for biotic and wildlife purposes is extinguished. (e) If the environmental subdivision is abandoned and reverts to acreage pursuant to subdivision (d), all local, state, and federal requirements shall apply. (f) This section shall apply only upon the written request of the landowner at the time the land is divided. This section is not intended to limit or preclude subdivision by other lawful means for the mitigation of impacts to the environment, or of the land devoted to these purposes, or to require the division of land for these purposes.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 66419. Section 66419.

(a) “Improvement” refers to any street work and utilities to be installed, or agreed to be installed, by the subdivider on the land to be used for public or private streets, highways, ways, and easements, as are necessary for the general use of the lot owners in the subdivision and local neighborhood traffic and drainage needs as a condition precedent to the approval and acceptance of the final map thereof. (b) “Improvement” also refers to any other specific improvements or types of improvements, the installation of which, either by the subdivider, by public agencies, by private utilities, by any other entity approved by the local agency, or by a combination thereof, is necessary to ensure consistency with, or implementation of, the general plan or any applicable specific plan.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 66421. Section 66421.

“Local ordinance” refers to a local ordinance regulating the design and improvement of subdivisions, enacted by the legislative body of any local agency under the provisions of this division or any prior statute, regulating the design and improvements of subdivisions, insofar as the provisions of the ordinance are consistent with and not in conflict with the provisions of this division.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 66422. Section 66422.

“Certificate of exception” means a valid authorization to subdivide land, issued by the County of Los Angeles pursuant to an ordinance thereof, adopted between September 22, 1967, and March 4, 1972, and which at the time of issuance did not conflict with this division or any statutory predecessor thereof.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 66423. Section 66423.

“Subdivider” means a person, firm, corporation, partnership or association who proposes to divide, divides or causes to be divided real property into a subdivision for himself or for others except that employees and consultants of such persons or entities, acting in such capacity, are not “subdividers.”

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 66424. Section 66424.

“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. Property shall be considered as contiguous units, even if it is separated by roads, streets, utility easement, or railroad rights-of-way. “Subdivision” includes a condominium project, as defined in Section 4125 or 6542 of the Civil Code, a community apartment project, as defined in Section 4105 of the Civil Code, or the conversion of five or more existing dwelling units to a stock cooperative, as defined in of Section 4190 or 6566 of the Civil Code.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 66424.1. Section 66424.1.

Nothing in Section 66424 shall prevent a purchaser of a unit of land created under the provisions of this division or a local ordinance enacted pursuant thereto, from subdividing the land one or more times, pursuant to the provisions of this division prior to the time that an equalized county assessment roll has been completed reflecting the creation of the unit proposed to be subdivided. Nothing contained in this chapter shall prevent the same subdivider of a unit of land created under the provisions of this division, or a local ordinance enacted pursuant thereto, from making consecutive subdivisions of the same parcel or any portion thereof. Further, local agencies shall not, by ordinance or policy, prohibit consecutive subdivision of the same parcel or any portion thereof either by the same subdivider or a subsequent purchaser because the parcel was previously subdivided. Nothing contained in this section shall limit the authority of a local agency to impose appropriate conditions or requirements on the consecutive subdivisions.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 66424.5. Section 66424.5.

(a) “Tentative map” refers to a map made for the purpose of showing the design and improvement of a proposed subdivision and the existing conditions in and around it and need not be based upon an accurate or detailed final survey of the property. (b) “Vesting tentative map” refers to a map which meets the requirements of subdivision (a) and Section 66452.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 66424.6. Section 66424.6.

(a) When a subdivision, as defined in Section 66424, is of a portion of any unit or units of improved or unimproved land, the subdivider may designate as a remainder that portion which is not divided for the purpose of sale, lease, or financing. Alternatively, the subdivider may omit entirely that portion of any unit of improved or unimproved land which is not divided for the purpose of sale, lease, or financing. If the subdivider elects to designate a remainder, the following requirements shall apply: (1) The designated remainder shall not be counted as a parcel for the purpose of determining whether a parcel or final map is required. (2) For a designated remainder parcel described in this subdivision, the fulfillment of construction requirements for improvements, including the payment of fees associated with any deferred improvements, shall not be required until a permit or other grant of approval for development of the remainder parcel is issued by the local agency or, where provided by local ordinance, until the construction of the improvements, including the payment of fees associated with any deferred improvements, is required pursuant to an agreement between the subdivider and the local agency. In the absence of that agreement, a local agency may require fulfillment of the construction requirements, including the payment of fees associated with any deferred improvements, within a reasonable time following approval of the final map and prior to the issuance of a permit or other grant of approval for the development of a remainder parcel upon a finding by the local agency that fulfillment of the construction requirements is necessary for reasons of: (A) The public health and safety; or (B) The required construction is a necessary prerequisite to the orderly development of the surrounding area. (b) If the subdivider elects to omit all or a portion of any unit of improved or unimproved land which is not divided for the purpose of sale, lease, or financing, the omitted portion shall not be counted as a parcel for purposes of determining whether a parcel or final map is required, and the fulfillment of construction requirements for offsite improvements, including the payment of fees associated with any deferred improvements, shall not be required until a permit or other grant of approval for development is issued on the omitted parcel, except where allowed pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a). (c) The provisions of subdivisions (a) and (b) providing for deferral of the payment of fees associated with any deferred improvements shall not apply if the designated remainder or omitted parcel is included within the boundaries of a benefit assessment district or community facilities district. (d) A designated remainder or any omitted parcel may subsequently be sold without any further requirement of the filing of a parcel map or final map, but the local agency may require a certificate of compliance or conditional certificate of compliance.
Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026

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