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Lot Line Adjustment Surveys in Santa Barbara, CA | Lot Line Adjustment Specialists

Santa Barbara Land Surveyor has handled lot line adjustments end to end for South Coast property owners for more than 30 years, and the part of that experience clients notice most is that we treat the permitting half of the job with the same care as the survey half. A lot line adjustment lives or dies on the legal descriptions and the agency application, not just the field work, and we carry both.

A lot line adjustment shifts the boundary between two or more parcels you already own or control, without creating any new parcels, and it runs under the Subdivision Map Act's own provision for adjustments between existing lots rather than through a full subdivision. We retrace both parcels, write the new legal descriptions, draw the plat and exhibit, prepare the application for the City of Santa Barbara or Santa Barbara County, carry it through plan check, and see it to recording, and owners in Santa Barbara, Montecito, and Carpinteria use exactly this process to square up an irregular parcel or fix a house built across a line decades ago.

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How a Lot Line Adjustment Works

  • What It Is, and What It Is Not

    A lot line adjustment reshapes the boundary between existing legal parcels. It does not create a new parcel, and that is what keeps it out of the full subdivision process. The California Subdivision Map Act has a specific provision for adjustments between four or fewer existing parcels, and the reviewing agency processes it as a lot line adjustment rather than a parcel map. If your goal is to end up with more parcels than you started with, that is a subdivision, and a different process.

  • The Survey Half and the Permitting Half

    The work splits into two parts. The survey half retraces both parcels from the record and the monuments, establishes the existing common line, and locates the improvements near it. The permitting half is the application: new legal descriptions for each adjusted parcel, a plat or exhibit map, the agency forms, plan check corrections, and recording. Most of the calendar time is in the permitting half, waiting on agency review.

  • New Legal Descriptions and the Exhibit

    Each parcel in the adjustment gets a new legal description that reflects the revised boundary, written to match the survey and to record cleanly. We prepare the plat or exhibit map that goes with the descriptions, showing the old and new lines, the areas before and after, and the monuments. The descriptions and the exhibit are what the title company and the County Recorder work from.

  • City of Santa Barbara Versus County Process

    Property inside the City of Santa Barbara goes through City planning. Unincorporated land, including much of Carpinteria's outskirts and the foothills, goes through the County. Both require the survey, the legal descriptions, the exhibit, and agency approval before recording, and each has its own forms, fees, and review timeline. We prepare the package to the right agency's requirements from the start.

  • Why Owners Do It

    The common reasons are practical. An older parcel has an odd shape that limits where a house can go. A building or a pool was built across a line decades ago and needs to be brought onto one parcel. Two adjacent owners want to trade a strip of land. Each of these is a straightforward lot line adjustment once the survey and the descriptions are done.

Our Lot Line Adjustment Process

  1. Initial boundary retracement.

    Both parcels retraced from the record and the monuments.

  2. New legal description drafting.

    Written to match the survey and record cleanly.

  3. Plat and exhibit preparation.

    Showing old and new lines and areas.

  4. Application submittal to the City or County.

  5. Plan-check corrections.

  6. Recording and delivery.

Lot Line Adjustment Service Area

We handle lot line adjustments most often in Santa Barbara, Montecito, and Carpinteria, where older parcel configurations and decades of incremental building make this a recurring, real need. A California Professional Land Surveyor license covers this work anywhere in the state, so a parcel outside this immediate area is still worth a conversation.

Surveyor carrying a range pole along a brushy hillside path between estate homes, with a total station set up on its tripod behind him and mountains beyond

Why Choose Us for a Lot Line Adjustment

  • The survey, the legal descriptions, the exhibit, and the agency processing handled together
  • Package prepared to City of Santa Barbara or County requirements from the first submittal
  • Plan check corrections handled through to approval and recording
  • A written fixed fee for the survey and mapping, with agency fees called out separately
  • More than 30 years adjusting boundaries on South Coast parcels

Lot Line Adjustment FAQs

  • How much does a lot line adjustment cost?

    Commonly $3,500 to $9,000 and up for the survey, the legal descriptions, the exhibit, and agency processing. City or County filing fees are separate and we call them out in the proposal.

  • What is a lot line adjustment?

    It moves the boundary between existing legal parcels without creating a new one. It is processed under the Subdivision Map Act's lot line adjustment provision rather than as a subdivision.

  • How long does a lot line adjustment take in Santa Barbara?

    Usually several weeks to a few months. The survey is quick. The application has to clear the reviewing agency's plan check and then get recorded, and that is where the time goes.

  • Is a lot line adjustment the same as a subdivision?

    No. A subdivision creates new parcels and needs a parcel or tract map. A lot line adjustment only reshapes the line between parcels that already exist.

  • Do both property owners have to agree?

    Yes. Both owners sign the application and the new deeds, and any lender on either parcel usually has to consent as well.

  • Do you write the new legal descriptions and record the documents?

    Yes. We prepare the descriptions and the plat, carry the application through plan check, and see it through to recording, so both owners end with a corrected, recorded boundary.

Start Your Lot Line Adjustment
Call (805) 691-0076