Determining Parcel Buildability in Santa Cruz County

1. Water:   The parcel must have a Will Serve Letter to obtain water service from a water district or an Individual Water Service Permit issued by the County Environmental Health Department for a well or other water source.

2. Sewer/Septic:   The parcel must have a proper sewage disposal system, either a septic system approved by the County Environmental Health Department or a sewer connection issued by the County Public Works Department or Salsipuedes Sanitation District (if applicable).

3. Emergency Vehicle Access:   The building site must be accessible to emergency vehicles, such as ambulances and fire trucks. Contact the responsible fire agency for their access guidelines.

4. Site Safety:   The building site must be free from geologic hazards to the extent that the safety of the structure can be ensured. A soils (also called geotechnical) report and/or geology report may be required to assess or address environmental/safety concerns. County Resource Planners are generally available to discuss environmental issues from 8:00 AM to 12:00 noon weekdays in the Santa Cruz office.

5. Legal Access:   A parcel may not be used as a building site unless its principal frontage and access is located on:

   • a public right-of-way* at least 40 feet wide,
   • a legally deeded private right-of-way* at least 40 feet wide (a deed or title report may be required to determine this),
   • a public or private legally deeded right-of-way* less than 40 feet wide that was physically existing and in use as the principal means of access to a residence beyond (past) the subject parcel prior to July 1962, or
   • a parcel with an approved Level III Residential Development Permit allowing access via a less-than-40-foot wide right of way*

   *A public or private right-of-way is the area described in a deed that usually includes the roadway AND additional width for existing or future roadway/roadside improvements, such as curbs, gutters, sidewalks, landscaping and parking. Rights-of-way, like property lines, are not visible unless demarcated by a survey. Roadways and rights-of-ways are not the same.
   
   
   
6. Parcel Legality:   Building permits will only be issued for parcels that were legally created. Do not assume that legal status is conferred because a parcel has an assessor's parcel number, the property taxes have been levied, a title report has been done, and/or that the parcel is described in a deed or shown on a survey map. These items do not confer legal status. The following is a brief overview of the criteria for determining if a parcel was created legally.

   • The parcel must have been created by a County approved minor land division or a subdivision on file with the County Planning Department and Public Works Departments; or
   • If the parcel was created prior to January 21, 1972 (deeds required to demonstrate this), then:
     1. The parcel must have been created as part of a land division of four or fewer cumulative contiguous lots created by the subdivider, and
     2. The parcel must have been in compliance with the minimum parcel size, width, and frontage established by the zoning in effect at the time of parcel creation: or
   • An Unconditional Certificate of Compliance or a Conditional Certificate of Compliance (in which the conditions have been met) was issued and recorded, or
   • The lot was created consistent with the State Map Act and applicable County ordinances at the time of creation. If more than four parcels were created after 1963, then a tentative map must have been approved and a final map must have been recorded.