Rebuilding assistance sought for fire victims on 'illegitimate' lots

The wildfires of October 2003 and October 2007 destroyed or damaged more than 3,500 homes in San Diego County and forced those homeowners into the rebuilding process.

Some of those property owners have found that their homes were not on legal buildable lots, and on July 23 the San Diego County Board of Supervisors directed the county’s Chief Administrative Officer to explore remedies to allow those homeowners to rebuild.

The supervisors’ 5-0 vote directed the Chief Administrative Officer to investigate options which would allow property owners who lost structures in a declared natural disaster area and learned that their property was not a legal buildable lot to rebuild their lost or damaged structures.

The CAO was also directed to pursue any necessary changes or actions at the state or Federal levels which would allow such fire victims to rebuild their lost or damaged structures, and the CAO was directed to report back to the supervisors within 90 days.

Although the homeowners had been paying property taxes on their parcels and the lots had been assigned assessor’s parcel numbers, during the rebuilding process many homeowners found that the parcels were not legally subdivided according to the state Subdivision Map Act.

“A growing number of property owners have discovered that their lot is not a legal buildable lot,” said Supervisor Dianne Jacob. “This ultimately prohibits them from rebuilding.”

The Subdivision Map Act requires approval of the division of lands before a portion of property is conveyed from one owner to another. In some cases lots were subdivided in accordance with the Subdivision Map Act but do not meet the minimum lot size, and some fire victims have found that the ownership and assessor’s parcel number do not match even though the legal description on the deed is correct.

To comment on this article online, visit http://www.thevillagenews.com.