Untitled California Attorney General Opinion

BACKGROUND

The subdivision of land is a key component of land development. As one commentator has observed, “[t]he subdivision of land—designating lots and laying out

1 18-902 streets—is the aspect of development which most permanently and significantly sets the pattern for the development of a community.”

California began regulating the mapping of subdivisions in 1893, and first enacted a comprehensive “Subdivision Map Act” in 1937. 2 The Act prohibited the sale of subdivided land without prior government approval of the subdivision, and authorized local governments to regulate the “design and improvement of subdivided property.”

Reflecting the potential impact of development, the Act’s purposes are manifold:

[A] primary goal of the Map Act and local subdivision ordinances is to encourage orderly community development by providing for the regulation and control of the design and improvement of a subdivision, with proper consideration of its relation to adjoining areas. . . . The Map Act facilitates coordination of subdivision planning (including, e.g., lot size and configuration, street patterns, and utility easements) with the overall community planning shown on the…