The County of Imperial Planning & Development Services Department is sharing an overview of lot mergers, a common land-use process that residents may see on public hearing agendas or in mailed notices.
What Is a Lot Merger?
A lot merger is a legal process that combines two or more adjacent (contiguous) parcels into one single parcel. After a lot merger is finalized and recorded, the previously separate lot lines are removed for legal and land-record purposes. A lot merger can help simplify property boundaries, resolve old parcel configurations, and ensure parcels meet current standards. It does not automatically approve new development. Any future construction or land use must still follow zoning, building, and other applicable federal, state, and local requirements.
Two Ways a Lot Merger Can Occur in Imperial County, California
1) Lot Merger Requested by a Property Owner (application-based)
Imperial County’s Subdivision Ordinance (Title 9, Division 8, Chapter 8) establishes the County’s process for lot mergers initiated by the record property owner, including when a merger can be considered (for example: parcels must be contiguous and not separated/affected by certain easements or rights-of-way).
Key Steps Include:
- Completeness review: After submittal, the Department determines whether an application is complete within 30 days.
- Public hearing + decision: The Planning Director or the Planning Commission conducts a public hearing and approves or denies based on required findings (including conformance with state law/County ordinance, access, easements, and no creation of new lots)
2) Lot Merger Initiated by the County (notice-based, limited circumstances)
Imperial County also has procedures for County-initiated lot mergers (Title 9, Division 8, Chapter 9). These provisions describe when contiguous parcels under common ownership may be considered merged in specific circumstances, such as where a parcel does not meet minimum lot size or other listed conditions apply, and require notice to the property owner (including a Notice of Intention to Determine Status mailed by certified mail).
Can a Lot Merger Approve or Deny a Specific Project?
No. A lot merger is an administrative land record action only. It does not approve, deny, or signal support for any specific development project on the merged land. A lot merger simply determines how parcels are legally described and taxed. It does not:
- Grant other land-use entitlements
- Approve building permits
- Change zoning or allowable uses
- Establish density, intensity, or project design
- Predetermine environmental review outcomes
Any future development proposal on a merged parcel must still go through its own, separate review process, which depending on the zoning and the requested use may be either ministerial or discretionary. A ministerial action is a routine approval where staff confirm a project meets all existing rules and standards, with little or no judgment involved.
A discretionary action requires judgment and decision-making by the County, often includes public input, and may involve conditions of approval or environmental review.
Parcel Configuration Versus Development Entitlement
Because a lot merger does not evaluate land use, scale, impacts, or design, it cannot be used to infer how the County or any decision-making body might act on a future project. State law and County ordinances intentionally separate parcel configuration decisions from development entitlement decisions to ensure fairness, transparency, and due process. This structure ensures that:
- Property owners can correct or modernize parcel boundaries without implying development approval
- Decision-makers remain neutral during the entitlement process. At the time a complete project application is formally presented at a public hearing the decision-makers take in all information provided (verbal and physical) after which they will render a decision on the project.
In summary, a lot merger addresses how land is legally described, not how land will be developed.