Abernathy Valley, Inc. v. County of Solano

Abernathy Valley, Inc., is the current owner of land that is shown on a subdivision map recorded in 1909 pursuant to a 1907 statewide subdivision map law. Abernathy asked the County of Solano (County) to record a certificate of compliance with the Subdivision Map Act, Government Code section 66410 et seq., for one lot on the property. The County denied the application and Abernathy petitioned for a writ of mandate to compel the County to issue the certificate. The trial court granted the writ, mling that the lot was grandfathered under Government Code section 66499.30, subdivision (d). We consider whether parcels depicted on the 1909 map are entitled to legal recognition under the Subdivision Map Act’s grandfather clause. We reverse.

Background

In 1909, the “Wm. Pierce Subdivision No. 1” map (Pierce Map) was filed with the Solano County Recorder. The map depicted a parcel of about 250 acres of land subdivided into 25 lots of about 10 acres each, with each lot identified by number. In a deed recorded in 2002, Abernathy Valley, Inc. (Abernathy), acquired lots 9 through 16 and lots 19 through 24 (which collectively comprised a single contiguous area of land), with the…