Development on a Ground Lease of only a PORTION of an existing lot
Hey guys, I’m interested in doing a development on another party’s land. I like the location. 

However, the owner has existing improvements on the single-lot, and also has a portion of unused raw land. I only want to secure the rights to the raw land portion of the lot via a ground lease. I don’t want to subdivide for fundamental reasons. 

Is it possible to lease only a portion of the lot? Has anyone done so?

I was told it may be in conflict with the Subdivision Map Act, but not sure about this. Thanks.
[{"id": "ixkek2l", "text": "Yes it\u2019s possible. Tenants do it everyday. \n\nThe lot doesn\u2019t need to be subdivided if county / township / city etc won\u2019t allow it.  \n\nHow much property will be left over? If you\u2019re not leaving LL with enough land, this would make no sense for them to agree to.", "replies": [{"id": "ixkf5tz", "text": "Ah, wonderful. Does it have to be a stipulation that it\u2019s allowable only if the municipality doesn\u2019t allow subdivision? Or are you saying, leases can be structured this way - and here\u2019s an example of when it would need to be?\n\nI\u2019m only going to develop a small structure on the portion of completely raw land. There will be no overlap in terms of occupied space, though an access easement may need to be included as well. \n\nI just wanted to make sure that the Subdivision Act didn\u2019t expressly forbid this type of ground lease, as I had been advised to concern. I could see how it may be a workaround to officially subdividing land for different uses, and why it could have been pragmatically messy if unchecked.", "replies": [{"id": "ixkg1r5", "text": "You\u2019re still going to need to check. You can easily pull all of this information on the county / city website for zoning ordinances etc. \n\nIf they don\u2019t allow your use or property isn\u2019t zoned commercial or if you need variances, you should also call or go to country offices to preliminarily discuss if it\u2019s worth your time and money submitting all these forms for the aforementioned issues. \n\nI have zero idea where you\u2019re located or what local code is. \n\nWhat you\u2019re looking to pursue is possible and happens all over the country every day.", "replies": [{"id": "ixkgeis", "text": "Got it. And yeah, I didn\u2019t include the rest of the details because my only real concern was if this aspect of it were permissible. (Just for extra color, the proposed development will conform to zoning, building code, and not be subject to committee approval or public approval). But thank you.", "replies": [{"id": "ixkghr3", "text": "Perfect. \n\nIs LL on board for this? That\u2019s really your only hurdle at this point then.", "replies": [{"id": "ixkh2nx", "text": "Just a matter of giving the right incentives \ud83d\udc4d\ud83c\udffc\n\n\ud83d\ude35\ud83d\udd2b", "replies": [], "depth": 6}], "depth": 5}], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "ixkeun7", "text": "Might be specific to your state. California? I\u2019ve seen it here in Virginia plenty of times and I\u2019d be curious what the logic would be to prohibit this. I would think the lease would just specifically identify the premises just like any other lease. Maybe use metes and bounds like a survey.", "replies": [{"id": "ixkfbws", "text": "Ah great, I imagine it would be legally defined within the lease as such. Perhaps even bring in a surveyor to make it ironclad. \n\nMy potential reason for concern was given in another reply in this thread. \n\nThanks for the feedback.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "ixkiekm", "text": "How long is the ground lease for? This will impact the exit price if it\u2019s a ground lease.  Negotiate accordingly!", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "ixm6fdj", "text": "Yeah I did it.  Some challenges if multiple lessees want to get a loan on it and annoying deal with property taxes in a shared lot.  I dunno why you wouldn't want to divide the lot I didn't because I couldn't.", "replies": [{"id": "ixn7zi2", "text": "Thanks, appreciate your input", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}]