Board introduces changes to county subdivision rules, adds surveyor review fee structure

The Lassen County Board of Supervisors on Thursday introduced amendments to the county subdivision ordinance intended to tighten maintenance rules for newly created roads and to ease long-standing procedural limits on exceptions.

Don Willis, the county surveyor, told the board the proposal would add a requirement to record private road maintenance agreements for paved road types, remove a waiver that undermined those agreements, and eliminate the recording obligation for limited-access unpaved roads that serve a single parcel. Staff also proposed broadening the county's narrow exceptions process in the road-standards section and adding an hourly-rate chart for county surveyor map reviews when more than two review cycles are required (code sections discussed included 16.32.0.09 and 3.18.0.13).

Willis said paved roads historically were accepted into the county-maintained road system, but that practice has ended; paved road types therefore need maintenance agreements like unpaved types because paved surfaces require upkeep. He said the hourly-rate chart would reimburse the county for staff time when survey maps require multiple reviews and that the rate would reflect the county surveyor's current weighted hourly rate, visible on invoices and planned to be posted on the county planning and building services web page.

Board members asked how the weighted rate would be calculated and where residents could verify the number. Planning and building staff said the weighted rate appears on invoices and that the county will add a link on its website showing the current rate before the ordinance returns for second reading. A missing diagram (diagram #2) from the packet was acknowledged and staff committed to providing it on second reading.

The chair opened a public hearing and, with no members of the public speaking for or against the changes, the board returned the item to the dais. Supervisor Bridges moved to receive the report, find the ordinance introduction exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act under the cited guidelines, introduce the ordinance and waive the first reading with a minor sentence addition; Supervisor Alba seconded. A roll call vote recorded Supervisor Scanlon: Yes; Supervisor Bridges: Yes; Supervisor Alba: Aye; Supervisor Ingram: Aye; Supervisor Naylor: Yes. The motion passed.

The ordinance will return for a second reading that will include the missing diagram and the website link to the weighted hourly rate. The introduction action does not itself change county code until subsequent reading and adoption.