Lakeview Meadows, supra, 27 Cal.App.4th 593, 598 Bright v. The SMA prohibits a subdivider from selling, leasing or financing parcels of property without first obtaining approval by the local agency (the City) of the appropriate map and otherwise complying with the SMA. A local agency approves a tentative and final map or a parcel map only after extensive review of the proposed subdivision and consideration of such matters as the property’s suitability for development, the adequacy of roads, sewer, drainage, and other services, the preservation of agricultural lands and sensitive natural resources, and dedication issues. Such conditions typically cover streets, public access rights, drainage, public utility easements, and parks, among other improvements. The SMA sets forth procedures by which cities and counties may impose a variety of specific conditions when approving subdivision maps. Code §66426) and a parcel map is required for subdivisions involving four or fewer parcels (Gov. Generally speaking, a tentative map and final map are required for subdivisions involving five or more parcels (Gov. land” for purposes of triggering the SMA’s requirements. The SMA applies to “subdivisions.” Government Code §66424 describes when a “subdivision” is created with respect to a “unit or units of. Through local review and approval of all proposed subdivisions, the SMA aims to “control the design of subdivisions for the benefit of adjacent landowners, prospective purchasers and the public in general.” Gardner, supra, 29 Cal.4th 990, 997-998. To that end, legislative bodies of local agencies (i.e., the Board of Supervisors) are required to promulgate ordinances on the subject. To implement the above-described purposes, the SMA vests local governments with the authority to regulate and control the design and improvement of land subdivisions in California. The main purposes of the SMA are to encourage and facilitate orderly community development, coordinate planning with the community pattern established by local authorities, and to assure proper improvements are made. County of Santa Clara (1994) 27 Cal.App.4th 593, 598 and Government Code §66410 et seq. The SMA is the primary regulatory control governing the subdivision of real property in California. The issue required a basic understanding of the history and purpose of the Subdivision Map Act (“SMA”). The case was novel because there are no published cases that authorize a “parking easement” of this nature and because the easement arose as a result of a planning condition imposed by the City of San Francisco in granting a parcel map waiver under the Subdivision Map Act. The facts of the case were complicated but in short, my clients argued that the condition was valid, and in effect granted them a “parking easement over” over defendant’s commercial property, and the other side was trying to defeat the condition. The City of San Francisco public works department had imposed a condition (adjacent parking) in 1978 in connection with the approval of the subdivision of the plaintiff and defendant's property, and the issue was whether the condition was valid, decades later and given the changed circumstances of the property and present-day zoning requirements. Recently I represented owners of San Francisco commercial property, who were arguing in support of a very novel easement claim over the adjacent property.
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