Purchase Property before Subdivision Approval - Assessing Risk

[Zachary Freeman]

I am interested in a large R1 lot in Torrance, CA. The property is zoned R1. It has 1 1400 sq ft home and 1 700 sq ft home. The status is legal non conforming. Lot size is 17.4k sq ft; average R1 lot size is 5k-6k sq ft in the neighborhood. The parcel is bordered by streets on both its north and south border. All parcels on that block are split as two R1 lots. I want to purchase the property and remodel/expand the larger home to 2500 sq ft and demo the small home and build a 2500 sq ft home.

If I cannot get the subdivision approved the property will not fit my needs and I will lose significantly. I can submit a prelim plan review and get a sense of any issues but I still am at the mercy of planning commission and any potential neighbor complaints at the hearing.

Any recommendations on how to proceed? I'd like to make this deal happen while limiting my risk to an acceptable level. I have considered offering full asking and request for a long escrow period such that escrow doesn't close until I have received approval from the planning commission. I'm not sure the sellers will go for that though. 

Thanks

[Amit Saini]

I did not understand where does the sub-division of lot come into play.

Did you mean to say your intention is to divide the 17.5k sq. ft. lot into two R1 lots?

If that's the case, you can pay a quick visit to planning commission department and have them pull up past cases of R1 lot sub-division & how the PC / council voted. They may also give you "general guidance". Keep in mind though without formal drawings from an architect and an application, they won't move forward.