Opinion No. (2009)

EDMUND G. BROWN JR. Attorney General DANIEL G. STONE Deputy Attorney General THE HONORABLE GREGORY J. OLIVER, COUNTY COUNSEL FOR THE COUNTY OF TUOLUMNE, has requested an opinion on the following question: With respect to a county's initial review and approval of tentative subdivision maps, if a county board of supervisors has delegated this responsibility to the county surveyor, may the board, by ordinance, require that all public hearings be conducted and all determinations be made by the county surveyor personally and not by a deputy county surveyor? CONCLUSION A county board of supervisors may adopt an ordinance requiring that the county surveyor, and not a deputy county surveyor, conduct public hearings and make initial determinations on tentative subdivision maps submitted for county approval, because the ultimate power to review tentative subdivision maps is vested in the board of supervisors. *Page 2 ANALYSIS The question posed here concerns the authority of a county board of supervisors to restrict a county surveyor's delegation of certain duties to deputy surveyors. Specifically, we are informed that a county board has, by ordinance, designated the county surveyor as the…