WHICH ONE DO YOU NEED?
Three ways to change a property line. The right one depends on your parcel.
Lot line adjustment
Shifts the line between two to four adjacent parcels. Land moves from one parcel to another — no new parcels are created.
- Fix a garage, wall or driveway that crosses the line
- Give a lot enough area or setback to build
- Square up an awkward shape or follow the terrain
SB 9 urban lot split
California’s ministerial lot split for single-family lots. Approval is a staff decision with no public hearing, and the agency must act within 60 days of a complete application.
- Two lots, each at least 1,200 sq ft and 40% of the original
- Up to two homes on each new lot
- Owner signs a 3-year owner-occupancy affidavit
Parcel map
The standard Subdivision Map Act route for up to four parcels: a tentative map, conditions of approval, then a final parcel map we prepare, sign and record.
- New lots must meet the zone’s minimum lot size
- The usual path for rural acreage
- Monuments set and the map recorded
SB 9 IN THE HIGH DESERT
Not every parcel qualifies — and many rural ones don’t.
Outside city limits, SB 9 only applies to a parcel that sits wholly inside a Census-designated urban area. Much of the acreage in Piñon Hills, Phelan and the unincorporated desert falls outside that boundary. Inside cities like Hesperia, Victorville, Apple Valley, Lancaster and Palmdale, the location test is usually met — but the parcel still has to clear the rest of the list.
If SB 9 is off the table, a parcel map often still works. We’ll tell you which path fits before you spend money on either.
What we check first
- 01Single-family residential zoning
- 02City limits, or wholly inside a Census urban area if unincorporated
- 03Fire hazard severity zone, floodplain, farmland and other excluded-site maps
- 04Historic status, rent-restricted housing and recent tenancy
- 05No prior SB 9 split of the parcel or an adjacent one by the same owner
- 06Easements, access and where existing buildings fall against the new line
HOW IT WORKS
From feasibility check to a recorded map.
- /01
Feasibility
Zoning, eligibility, title and record maps reviewed so you know which route works — and what it will take.
- /02
Boundary survey
Existing lines located in the field, with buildings, fences and easements tied in.
- /03
Map & descriptions
The plat, tentative or parcel map, net lot areas and new legal descriptions, prepared under PLS 9320.
- /04
County review
We submit to the city or county and handle plan-check corrections from the planning and surveyor’s offices.
- /05
Record & monument
New corners set and the map or adjustment documents recorded, so the new lines are on the record and on the ground.
COST
What drives the price.
- Which route the parcel needs — adjustment, SB 9 split or parcel map
- Parcel size, terrain and how many corners must be recovered or set
- How clean the title and the record maps are
- Conditions the city or county attaches to the approval
- Rounds of plan-check corrections
City or county application and recording fees are paid to the agency and are separate from our fee. We’ll tell you what to expect up front.
Send the address or APN and a sentence about what you want to do. We’ll reply with the route that fits and a written proposal.
“Responsive, reliable and professional… they made a complicated project much easier.”