§ 30-9. Reversion to acreage.

The reversion to acreage of existing lots or parcels shall require the submittal of an application for reversion to acreage to the director. The reversion to acreage of lots or parcels typically will be encountered when an applicant wishes to subdivide or divide by minor land division land that has previously been platted or otherwise split, and which needs to be cleared of such boundaries to avoid superimposing the new lot or parcel lines over the existing land division. The processing of requests for reversion to acreage shall require:

(1)

Submittal requirements. The following items shall be submitted with any reversion to acreage request:

a.

A written request (the form of which may be obtained from the development services department) signed by all owners of property, proposed to be reverted to acreage, including a specific identification of the lots or parcels included in the request. If the lots or parcels were established with the recordation of a subdivision, or another instrument of record, the lots or parcels shall be referenced to record to that document.

b.

An 8½-inch by 11-inch copy of the current county tax assessor's map(s) of the township, range, and section, or detailed portion of the section(s) thereof, showing the lots or parcels to be reverted to acreage.

c.

Processing fees as detailed in the adopted fee schedule.

d.

Title report(s) for the property proposed to be reverted to acreage, for all lots or parcels included in the request. When more than one individual owns the property to be reverted, separate title reports for each piece of the property owned by each different owner must be submitted.

e.

Except for "unsubdivided lands," as defined by A.R.S. § 32-2101, any portion of the subdivision remaining after the reversion to acreage must function as designed, except that any portion of a subdivision recorded prior to September 7, 1965, may be reverted to acreage.

1.

If a phase of a subdivision is requested for reversion, the applicant, prior to the hearing by the planning and zoning commission, must submit a written proposal detailing the intended use and development of the property to be reverted. If such a proposal requires rezoning of the property, the rezone application shall be submitted and heard prior to or concurrently with the request for the reversion.

2.

If the applicant proposes a new subdivision of the property being requested for reversion, the applicant shall, prior to the consideration of the reversion request by the planning and zoning commission, meet the requirements of these regulations for the subdivision of property. Under such circumstances, the applicant's request for a reversion to acreage of property shall not be scheduled for the consideration of the planning and zoning commission and board of supervisors until it can be considered concurrently with a subdivision preliminary plat for that property.

f.

Notification letters. As a part of the reversion to acreage process, the applicant is required to provide notification to the public and to affected individuals or entities as follows:

1.

Notification letters (the form may be obtained from the development services department) will be prepared by the applicant(s) and given to the development services department upon submittal of the reversion to acreage application. Each notification letter will include a copy of the application, reason for the reversion to acreage, and a map or diagram showing the lots or parcels to be reverted clearly marked. Each notification letter shall be accompanied by a first-class postage stamped envelope, and shall be addressed to all property owners who own property within 300 feet of the lots or parcels to be reverted. If the applicant requests the reversion to acreage of a phase of a subdivision, he shall notify all property owners in all other phases of the same basic tract number. It is the responsibility of the applicant to demonstrate to the county that the number of notification letters provided is sufficient for the intended action.

2.

Lots or parcels which were not established by the recordation of a board of supervisors-approved subdivision final plat; or by a county-approved parcel plat; or by an independent survey, such as a written property description included on a deed approved by the county surveyor, shall require of the applicant a survey of the lots or parcels being reverted, to be performed by a state registered land surveyor.

(2)

Processing. The processing of applications for reversion to acreage shall be as follows:

a.

Upon the receipt by the director of the documents required for the processing of a reversion to acreage application, the director shall forward copies of the submittal to the county engineer and other agencies that may be interested in the requested reversion. The director shall evaluate the application, compile the comments received from the other reviewing agencies, and schedule the requested reversion for the consideration of the planning and zoning commission. The reversion application shall be posted and advertised in accordance with Arizona Revised Statutes.

b.

The planning and zoning commission shall consider the application for the reversion and the recommendation of the director, and make a recommendation to the board of supervisors that the request for reversion be approved or denied.

c.

The board shall consider the following:

1.

The recommendation of the planning and zoning commission.

2.

The recommendations of the director, the county engineer, and the county attorney.

3.

Input from any other department, agency, individual, or entity affected by the application.

d.

The board of supervisors shall not approve a reversion to acreage if it finds that:

1.

The reversion is likely to be injurious to the public safety, health and welfare.

2.

The reversion adversely affects existing or proposed surrounding development officially submitted to the county for review.

3.

The reversion to acreage of a phase of a subdivision would result in a fractionalized development which cannot reasonably stand on its own, nor in conjunction with existing contiguous development.

(3)

Action.

a.

If, in the opinion of the board, the reversion to acreage of the lots or parcels complies with the requirements of these regulations, the board may approve the reversion to acreage by resolution.

b.

Upon the reversion to acreage of lots or parcels, the zoning for the reverted property shall be processed for revocation and reversion to the prior zone per A.R.S. § 11-814.

c.

If the reversion to acreage application is denied by the board, no further application for reversion to acreage for any of the same lots or parcels shall be allowed for one year from the date of the board denial, unless, per the determination of the director, the reason for the denial of the request has been resolved.

( Ord. No. 2001-01 , § 1.9, 2-20-2001; Ord. No. 2004-04 , § 1.9, 12-6-2004; Ord. No. 2010-06 , § 1.9, 4-5-2010; Ord. No. 2011-11 , § 1.9, 9-12-2011)