Chapter 16.02
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sections:
16.02.030 Administration and enforcement.
16.02.040 Types of land divisions.
16.02.070 Suitability for land division.
16.02.080 Concurrency of public infrastructure.
16.02.010 Purpose.
The purpose of this title is to regulate the division of land and to promote the public health, safety and general welfare in accordance with standards established by the state, and to implement the city’s comprehensive plan. It is further the purpose of this title to achieve the following:
(1) Prevent the overcrowding of land;
(2) Promote effective use of land;
(3) Lessen congestion on the streets and highways;
(4) Promote safe and convenient travel by the public on trails, bikeways, streets and highways;
(5) Provide for proper ingress and egress;
(6) Provide for adequate light and air;
(7) Provide for potable and irrigation water, wastewater, power and telecommunications utilities and stormwater drainage;
(8) Facilitate adequate provision of parks and recreation areas and sites for schools and school grounds;
(9) Provide for the expeditious review and approval of proposed land divisions that conform to zoning standards and local plans;
(10) Establish minimum development standards and policies;
(11) Protect environmentally sensitive areas;
(12) Adequately provide for a variety of land use needs for the citizens of the community; and
(13) Require uniform monumenting of land divisions and conveyance by accurate legal description. (Ord. 08-029 § 2).
16.02.020 Applicability.
Every division of land into two or more lots, parcels, tracts, boundary line adjustments, alterations or plat vacations within the corporate limits of the city shall proceed in compliance with this title. Other laws, ordinances, regulations and plans have a direct impact on the division of land. These include, but are not limited to, the city of Kittitas comprehensive plan, the wastewater facilities plan, the comprehensive water system plan, the six-year transportation improvement program, the Kittitas Municipal Code (KMC), particularly KMC Titles 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, and 18, the International Building and Fire Codes, and the laws, ordinances, regulations and plans of federal, state and local agencies. (Ord. 08-029 § 2).
16.02.030 Administration and enforcement.
The mayor, or his/her designee, hereafter referred to as the administrator, is vested with the duty of administering this title within the city. All procedures, enforcement and appeals shall be pursuant to KMC Title 14, Development Code Administration. (Ord. 08-029 § 2).
16.02.040 Types of land divisions.
(1) The following types of land divisions are governed by this title:
(a) Subdivisions are the division of land into five or more lots;
(b) Short subdivisions are the division of land into four or fewer lots;
(c) Binding site plans are the division of land for commercial and industrial purposes, and for the implementation of mobile homes or travel trailer home parks and condominiums (Chapter 64.32 or 64.34 RCW, the Horizontal Property Regimes Act) as defined and authorized by the KMC;
(d) Plat alterations are the alteration or modification of any land division, except as provided for final subdivision and short subdivision corrections and boundary line adjustments;
(e) Plat vacations are the vacation of any land division or portion thereof, or any area designated or dedicated for public use; and
(f) Boundary line adjustments are a property line modification made for the purpose of adjusting boundary lines which does not create any additional lots, tracts, parcels, sites, or divisions, nor creates any lot, tract, parcel, site, or division which contains insufficient area and dimensions to meet minimum requirement for width and area for building within that zoning designation.
(2) The provisions of this title shall not apply to the following:
(a) A cemetery or other burial plot while used for that purpose;
(b) Any division of land not containing a dedication in which the smallest lot created by division exceeds 20 acres;
(c) Any division of land made by testamentary provision or the laws of descent. (Ord. 08-029 § 2).
16.02.050 Definitions.
Whenever the following words and phrases appear in this title, they shall be given the meaning attributed to them by this section. All other definitions found in the Kittitas Municipal Code shall be applicable to this title, including without limitation KMC Title 10, Vehicles and Traffic; KMC Title 12, Streets, Sidewalks, and Public Places; KMC Title 13, Public Works; KMC Title 14, Development Code Administration, KMC Title 15, Buildings and Construction; KMC Title 17, Zoning Code; and KMC Title 18, Environment. When not inconsistent with the context, words used in the present tense shall include the future; the singular shall include the plural, and the plural the singular, the word “shall” is always mandatory, and the word “may” indicates a use of discretion in making a decision.
“Alley” means a public way which affords secondary means of vehicular and pedestrian access to abutting property and right-of-way for utilities and is not intended for general traffic circulation.
“As-built drawings or plans” means revised construction plans in accordance with all approved field changes reflecting the improvements on the site as they actually exist.
“Binding site plan” means a drawing to scale which (a) identifies and shows the areas and locations of all streets, roads, improvements, utilities, open spaces, and any matter specified by the zoning code, and (b) contains inscriptions or attachments for such appropriate limitations and conditions for the use of the land as are established by the city zoning code, and (c) contains provisions requiring a development to be in conformity with the site plan.
“Block” means a group of lots, tracts, or parcels within well-defined and fixed boundaries.
“Boundary line adjustment” means a division of land for the purpose of alteration by minor adjustment of boundary lines, between platted or unplatted lots or parcels or both, which does not create an additional lot, tract, parcel, building site, or division, nor creates any lot, tract, parcel, building site, or division which contains insufficient area or dimension to meet the minimum requirements for width or area for a building site.
“Building envelope” means the physical portion of the lot that satisfies the applicable zoning code standards for physical placement, setback, lot coverage and all other location and dimensional requirements for the building.
“Condominium,” pursuant to RCW 64.34.020(9), means real property, portions of which are designated for separate ownership and the remainder of which is designated for common ownership solely by the owners of those portions. Real property is not a condominium unless the undivided interests in the common elements are vested in the unit owners, and unless a declaration and a survey map and plans have been recorded.
“Covenant” means a clause in a contract; a promise; an agreement contained in a deed for the performance or nonperformance of certain acts or the use or nonuse of property.
“Cul-de-sac” means a short street having one end open to traffic and the other temporarily or permanently terminated by a vehicle turnaround.
“Dedication” means the deliberate appropriation of land by an owner for any general and public uses, reserving to himself no other rights than such as are compatible with the full exercise and enjoyment of the public uses to which the property has been devoted.
“Easement” means the grant by a property owner to specific persons or to the public to use for a specific purpose or purposes.
“Final plat” means the final drawing of the land division, including a binding site plan, and dedication prepared for filing for record with the county auditor and containing all elements and requirements set forth in Chapter 58.17 RCW and in this code adopted under this chapter.
“Frontage” denotes the property line which abuts the principal means of access to the property.
“Land” means all contiguous parcels of land, regardless of ownership, date of acquisition or location in different lots, tracts, parcels, tax lots or separate government lots, that are to be divided shall constitute a single land division action. Multiple applications or applications and/or exemptions shall not be utilized as a substitute for comprehensive land divisions in accordance with the requirements of this chapter.
“Land division” means the division of land into two or more parts for the purpose of establishing building sites.
“Lot” means a fractional part of divided lands having fixed boundaries; having sufficient area and dimension to meet minimum zoning requirements for width and area; having frontage on a street and which is an integral part of the land division; and on which a principal use or building and its accessory buildings are placed or are to be placed, together with the required open spaces. The term shall include tracts and parcels.
“Lot consolidation” (see “boundary line adjustment”) means a process used for the purpose of consolidating boundary lines between platted or unplatted lots or both, which does not create any additional lots, tracts, parcels, or sites, and combines them into one building site.
“Lot, flag” means a lot not meeting minimum frontage requirements and where access to the public road is by a private easement or driveway.
“Lot of record” means a lot created by a recorded land division or a lot that is otherwise legally created.
“Monument” means an object used to permanently mark a surveyed location. The size, shape and design of the monument are to be in accordance with standards specified in Chapter 58.09 RCW, the Survey Recording Act.
“Open space” means open land for conservation of natural features, provision of visual amenity and for recreational use. It is land which is retained in or restored to a condition where nature predominates, and is substantially free of structures, impervious surface, and other land-altering activities of man’s built environment.
“Plat” means a map or representation of a land division, showing thereon the division of a tract or parcel of land lots, blocks, streets, and alleys or other divisions and dedications.
“Preliminary plat” means a neat, approximate drawing of a proposed land division showing the general layout of streets and alleys, lots, blocks and other elements of a subdivision consistent with the requirements of Chapter 58.17 RCW and this code. The preliminary plat shall be the basis for the approval of the general layout of a land division.
“Record of survey” shall mean the locating and monumenting in accordance with sound principles of land surveying by or under the supervision of a licensed land surveyor, of points or lines which define the exterior boundary or boundaries common to two or more ownerships or which reestablish or restore general land office corners recorded with the county in conformance with Chapter 58.09 RCW.
“Reserve easement” shall mean a strip of land between a land division boundary and a street within an approved land division, the control of which strip is deeded to the city.
“Reverse frontage lots” shall mean a lot which has two opposite sides abutting two parallel or approximately parallel streets.
“Right-of-way” means an area of land occupied or intended to be occupied by a street, alley, crosswalk, railroad held in ownership by the public, which may provide for electric transmission line, oil or gas pipeline, water main, sanitary or storm sewer main, or other special use.
“Roadway” means a portion of a street open for vehicular traffic and between curbs where curbs are laid.
“Short plat” means the map or representation of a short subdivision.
“Short subdivision” means the division or redivision of land into four or fewer lots, tracts, parcels, sites or divisions for the purpose of sale, lease or transfer of ownership.
“Street” means the dedicated right-of-way which provides a location for vehicular circulation and a means of access to abutting properties. A street may serve, but not be limited to, the location for public utilities, walkways, public open space and recreation area, cut and fill slopes, and drainage.
“Street frontage” means the length along a street upon which a structure, business, or lot is abutting or fronts.
“Street, private” means a privately owned and maintained access provided for by a tract, easement, or other legal means, typically serving three or more potential dwelling units.
“Street, public” means a publicly owned facility providing access, including the roadway and all other improvements, inside the right-of-way.
“Subdivider” means a person, firm, corporation, partnership or association which causes land to be divided or redivided into a land division as herein defined.
“Subdivision” means the division or redivision of land into five or more lots, tracts, parcels, sites, or divisions for the purpose of sale, lease, or transfer of ownership.
“Title certificate” means an instrument of ownership with sufficient supporting documentation to demonstrate an unencumbered fee simple interest in the land. A statutory warranty deed or some lesser instrument accompanied by a title insurance policy showing ownership is vested in the names of those appearing as grantors and constitutes marketable title for the purposes of this chapter. (Ord. 08-029 § 2).
16.02.060 Comprehensive plan.
The city’s comprehensive plan shall guide the use of all land within the city. The type and intensity of land use as shown on the comprehensive plan shall be used as a guide to determine the character of land division, including, but not limited to, lot size and arrangement and the type and extent of streets and roads, highways, dedications, improvements, services, and other utilities and public facilities. (Ord. 08-029 § 2).
16.02.070 Suitability for land division.
(1) Each proposed land division shall be reviewed to ensure that:
(a) The proposal conforms to the goals, policies, criteria and plans set forth in the city of Kittitas comprehensive plan;
(b) The proposal conforms to the development standards set forth in KMC Title 17, Zoning Code; KMC Title 13, Public Works, and other applicable titles;
(c) The proposed street system conforms to the city of Kittitas public infrastructure standards and specifications and neighborhood street plans, and is laid out in such a manner as to provide for the safe, orderly and efficient circulation of traffic;
(d) The proposed land division will be adequately served with city-approved water and sewer, and other utilities appropriate to the nature of the land division;
(e) The layout of lots and their size and dimensions take into account topography and other constraints on the site in order that buildings may be reasonably sited;
(f) Identified hazards and limitations to development have been considered in the design of streets and lot layouts to assure streets and building sites are on geologically stable soil considering the stress and loads to which the soil may be subjected;
(g) Safe walk to school procedures, as established by the city, have been met.
(2) Lack of compliance with the criteria set forth in this section shall be grounds for denial of a proposed land division, or for the issuance of conditions necessary to more fully satisfy the criteria.
(3) No final land division shall be approved unless:
(a) The final land division is in substantial conformance with the provisions for the preliminary approval, including any conditions imposed as part of the approval.
(b) The final land division contains a dedication to the public of all common improvements, including but not limited to streets, roads, sewage disposal and water supply systems which were a condition of approval.
(c) All common improvements required as conditions of approval of the proposed land division have been referenced on the final plat of the land division.
(d) City-approved water and sewer facilities will be available to each lot created by the division of land.
(e) The final land division is in compliance with the provisions of applicable titles.
(f) The applicant provides evidence of an adequate water supply for the intended use.
(4) When the appropriate review authority finds that the final land division is in substantial conformity to the preliminary approval, he or she shall endorse his or her approval on the final land division and shall implement the final approval and recording procedures set forth within this title. (Ord. 08-029 § 2).
16.02.080 Concurrency of public infrastructure.
Those public facilities and utilities required to be provided as a condition of approval shall be fully operational concurrently with the use and occupancy of the development, unless otherwise authorized herein through bonding or other methods acceptable to the city. (Ord. 08-029 § 2).