Sacramento CA, City Lot split questions and help needed

[Perry Arnold]

I purchased a parcel in the city limits over 2 years ago. I have been living in one house and renting out the other, I would like to sell the rental to my tenant and am starting the process of splitting my lot. I have never done a lot split before and am hoping for some advice to help me understand the process and most importantly the timeline and cost that I can expect. 

I will try and add some information on the details of the project. 

The parcel is approximately 7,800sqft with one sfh on the corner and the other down the block, both houses have separate addresses and separate street access. Each sfh has separate sewer, water, and electrical.  

I reached out to the planning department and was directed to submit form CDD-0063, CDD-0027, along with a tentative map and site photos.

I believe to perform a lot split I will require a number of different deviations to the normal process. A few things to overcome that I see right off the bat is the smaller parcel size. The city of Sacramento requires a minimum lot size of 5,200sqft and a corner lot to be a min of 6,200sqft. as well as setbacks may be an issue. 

A few questions:

-Should I plan on involving a surveyor, Civil engineer, or contractor to navigate through his process? 

-Has anyone done something similar in the area? any ideas on the timeline I should expect or the cost to complete this project? 

Any help would be appreciated. Thank you!!!

[Matt Devincenzo]

I don't work in Sacramento, so I don't have that level of local knowledge but I do this work in San Diego so the process overall will be the same. As far as consultants, yes you will need a surveyor at a minimum however a land use/planning civil is a better option (IMO). Ideally you find a engineering and survey outfit that can do both, but you want to be sure they aren't just engineers, but are intimately familiar with the land use game. This is going to be largely about the skill of your consultant in negating the City's concerns since you are attempting deviations/variances of some sort. Because of that the surveyor is likely not the best equipped to handle this through the City for you. That is my opinion as someone who does this for clients...and is biased in that I'm the one advocating for the client, not the surveyor...

As far as costs...I'd assume you will spend somewhere between $25-50K to process this through the tentative map process. There are survey costs, consultant fees, City submittal fees, noticing costs, recording fees ect. Following that assuming there are no other conditions to address other than the mapping action, you should plan on an additional $20-30K for the map including paying a full year's property taxes in advance as well as possibly posting a bond for an additional year's taxes. That may be high, but one thing many of my clients are 'shocked' by is the overall cost for these type of projects even after giving them a summary of what to expect.

If this was City of SD and you were bringing this to me based on what you have mentioned I would advise that you are unlikely to get this approved due in large part to the type and number of non-conforming features...the lot size is generally a 'no-go' without some specific reasons why it should be approved. That said City of SD has some alternative approval options that would eliminate that as an issue, one is a small lot subdivision as well as a planned development permit both of which would better fit this issue. 

The third and IMO preferred option (without knowing more of the Sacramento specific options available) would be to pursue a Tentative Map Waiver for a condominium conversion. You would convert the two homes into condo ownerships whereby the exclusive use common area for each unit would include yard spaces. This could be set up without any active HOA/COA requiring dues or meetings since you could physically segregate the responsibility exactly like if it was a traditional SFR. The only difference is in the paperwork, two mapped fee simple lots, vs two mapped common ownership lots...this process is cheaper, faster and avoids the lot area issue you identified above.