Chapter 16.20
Short Plat
Sections:
16.20.020 Short subdivision--Further division--Final map approval required.
16.20.040 Application--Prior to submission-- Conference.
16.20.050 Preliminary short plat--Number of copies submitted.
16.20.060 Completion of environmental assessment required.
16.20.070 Incomplete or inaccurate application.
16.20.090 Application--Contents.
16.20.100 Application--Distribution of copies.
16.20.110 Application--Review and consideration.
16.20.120 Application--Approval--Appeals.
16.20.130 Application--Final approval--Conditions.
16.20.150 Valid land use--Length of time.
16.20.010 Applicability.
Every division of land into nine or fewer lots, any one of which is less than one-onehundred-twenty-eighth (1/128) of a section or five acres, for the purpose of sale, lease, or transfer of ownership shall proceed in compliance with this chapter and the other provisions of this code which relate to or govern the division or development of land. (Ord. 1348 §1, 1994).
16.20.020 Short subdivision--Further division--Final map approval required.
(a) Land within a short subdivision, the short plat of which has been approved within five years immediately preceding, may not be further divided in any manner, until either a final plat thereof has been approved and filed for record pursuant to city regulations concerning the subdivision of property into ten or more lots, tracts or parcels or, if the original short subdivision contained less than four parcels, then the owner who filed the short plat may seek an alteration so as to create a total of four lots within the original short plat boundaries.
Where there have been no sales of any lots in a short subdivision, nothing contained in this section shall prohibit a subdivider from completely withdrawing the entire short plat and thereafter presenting a new application.
(b) Unless otherwise restricted by resolution or city ordinance, lots recorded pursuant to the provisions of this code governing the platting of land into two or more lots may be further divided pursuant to the requirements of the municipal code so long as all requirements imposed pursuant to the various provisions of the municipal code, including but not limited to, area and time separation since prior platting, are satisfied as to each lot in any such redivision. (Ord. 1348 §2, 1994).
16.20.030 Excluded parcels.
Where a subdivider owns a minimum of eighty acres or one-eighth of a section, he need not include the entirety of his ownership in his short subdivision; provided, that any excluded parcel(s) shall be a minimum of forty acres or one-sixteenth of a section in area; and provided further, that any excluded parcel(s) shall have legal access which has been approved by the approving authority. (Ord. 1348 §3, 1994).
16.20.040 Application--Prior to submission-- Conference.
Prior to the submission of the short plat application, the subdivider or his representative may meet with the building official or, in his discretion, the site plan review committee to discuss preliminary sketches or studies.
(1) At this time, the official or, in appropriate cases, the committee may make available such pertinent information as may be on file relating to the general area and known to the official or committee.
(2) It is the purpose of this conference to be held without unreasonable delay after the request for such conference by the applicant. The conference may take place prior to detailed work by an engineer or surveyor.
(3) Discussion topics at this time may include such matters as the comprehensive plan, development standards, shoreline master plan, critical areas, zoning, availability of sewer and water, latecomer charges, development concepts, other requirements and permits, and the environmental impact of the plat. If the applicant owns adjacent land, the possibilities of future development may also be discussed and considered. (Ord. 1348 §4, 1994).
16.20.050 Preliminary short plat--Number of copies submitted.
Four copies of the preliminary short plat shall be submitted to the building official upon forms furnished by said building official which shall affix thereto a file number and the date of receipt. (Ord. 1348 §5, 1994).
16.20.060 Completion of environmental assessment required.
If an environmental assessment or impact statement is required on any short plat, then the short plat shall not be considered as filed with the building official until the final environmental assessment or impact statement has been completed and the time period for any appeal thereof has lapsed without an appeal having been perfected. In the event of an appeal or response requiring further consideration of the assessment or statement prior to the ability of the document's being declared final, the date of filing shall be considered as having been achieved until such appeal, response or consideration has become final and the time for any further appeal has lapsed.
Unless otherwise required by law, rule or regulation, no environmental checklist shall be required unless the proposed divisions contains four or more lots. (Ord. 1348 §6, 1994).
16.20.070 Incomplete or inaccurate application.
Accuracy for all data and information submitted on or with a short plat shall be the responsibility of the applicant. Any proposed short plat found to be inaccurate or misleading so as to hamper the decision of the building official shall be returned to the applicant with a letter stating that the short plat must be corrected and returned to the building official. In such an event, unless otherwise prohibited by law, the date of filing shall be deemed to have occurred only when an acceptable set of documents has been filed with the building official. (Ord. 1348 §7, 1994).
16.20.080 Field checks.
(a) The subdivider shall, for identification purposes only, cause markers of a type approved by the city to be placed upon each of the approximate road frontage corners of the subject property and maintain them thereon during the period extending from the time of the application to the time of final action for the purpose of permitting field checks of the proposed short subdivision. Where other data or where identification markers are found necessary by any relevant agency to assist it in making its determinations, such data and markers shall be placed upon the land and maintained thereon during the period extending from the time of application to the time of final action for the purpose of permitting field checks by applicable agencies.
(b) Short plats shall be approved, disapproved or returned to the applicant for modification or correction within thirty days from the date of filing a complete application, unless the applicant gives a written consent to the extension of such time period. (Ord. 1348 §8, 1994).
16.20.090 Application--Contents.
(a) The application shall be on a form provided by the building official and shall contain such information as may be reasonably established and required by the building official including but not limited to, the following information:
(1) The name, address and telephone number of the subdivider and any authorized representative;
(2) A certification by the subdivider showing the entire contiguous land in which there is an interest by reason of ownership, contract for purchase, earnest money agreement, or option by any person, firm or corporation in any manner connected with the development, and the names, addresses and telephone numbers of all of such persons, firms or corporations;
(3) The existing zoning classification;
(4) The square footage computation of each lot or parcel sufficiently accurate to show that each such lot or parcel contains at least sufficient footage to meet minimum zoning and health requirements. The square footage of land contained in access panhandles shall not be included in the lot size computation;
(5) The source of water supply and, if a public system is used, if the supplier is not the city, the name and address of the supplier;
(6) The method of sewage disposal and, if sanitary sewer is used, if other than the city, the name of the municipal corporation having management over the system;
(7) The names and addresses of all of the owners of land adjacent to and within three hundred feet of the exterior boundary of the proposed short plat if more than four lots are to be created. If the applicant has an interest in the adjoining land which is subject to disclosure pursuant to subsection (a)(2) of this section, the threehundred-foot distance shall be measured from the outside of the disclosed properties. Names and addresses for such property owners shall be as shown on the latest records of the county assessor;
(8) The assessor's parcel number(s) of the parcel(s) being short subdivided;
(9) To the extent required by the provisions of this chapter, a certification that the survey has been completed, the monuments placed upon the property, and that a copy is attached to application.
(b) A preliminary map of the proposed short plat shall be submitted for preliminary short plat approval.
The preliminary map need not be based upon a survey and may be of either of the following dimensions: eight and one-half inches by eleven inches or eighteen inches by twenty-four inches. The preliminary map shall contain the following information:
(1) The date, scale and north arrow;
(2) The boundary lines to scale of the tract to be subdivided and each lot contained therein;
(3) The number assigned to each lot;
(4) The location and widths of any easements (including common easements over private roads) and rights-of-way for public services or utilities within the area contained within the short subdivision;
(5) The location of existing structures (with notation as to the type of structure) within the short subdivision and the approximate location of all existing structures within twenty-five feet of the external lot lines of the subdivision;
(6) The boundaries of all lands reserved in the deeds for the common use of the property owners of the short subdivision;
(7) The location of permanent features outside the land to be subdivided which will have an impact upon the short subdivision, such as all existing or platted streets or alleys adjacent to the short subdivision, watercourses, railroad rights-of-way, all utility rights-of-way or installations, and adjacent plats and short plats;
(8) The location of any areas proposed to be significantly altered by fill or excavation or having fill presently in space which could significantly impact plat development.
(c) The following documentation shall accompany each application for approval of a short plat:
(1) A vicinity sketch clearly identifying the location of the property being short subdivided;
(2) A title report or plat certificate showing restrictions, if any, presently encumbering the land as well as any financial encumbrances which may be applicable to all or part of the subject land;
(3) Copies of restrictions, if any, proposed to be imposed upon the use of the land. Such restrictions, if required by the city, must be recorded either prior to or simultaneously with the moment the short plat becomes effective;
(4) If lots are to be substantially graded, a plan showing the nature of cuts and fills and information on the character of the soil;
(5) If more than four lots are to be created or the property occurs within an environmentally sensitive area, an environmental checklist;
(6) A legal description of the boundaries of the parcel being short subdivided, which has been prepared and certified by a title company or a registered land surveyor. In addition, a legal description of the contiguous land for which the subdivider has made a disclosure pursuant to subsection (a)(2) of this section, unless waived by the building official. (Ord. 1348 §9, 1994).
16.20.100 Application--Distribution of copies.
(a) The building official shall distribute copies of the preliminary short plat application to the following:
(1) Montesano public works department (three pies);
(2) Montesano fire department;
(3) Montesano police department;
(4) Grays Harbor county assessor;
(5) Grays Harbor county treasurer;
(6) Montesano School District;
(7) Appropriate telephone company;
(8) Public Utility District No. 1;
(9) Cascade Natural Gas;
(10) Any other federal, state or local agencies, and community groups, as may be relevant;
(11) All of the property owners adjacent to and within three hundred feet of the exterior boundary of the subject property, if the preliminary short plat application proposes to create more than four lots.
(b) The building official shall then set a date for return of findings and recommendations from each reviewing party. If the findings and recommendations are not so returned, the building official may make such findings as he deems just. (Ord. 1348 §10, 1994).
16.20.110 Application--Review and consideration.
The building official shall consider and review the proposed short subdivision with regard to:
(1) Its conformance to the requirements of the city's zoning code, general purposes of the comprehensive plan, and planning standards and specifications as adopted by the laws of the state and the city, whether in the form of rule, regulation, or written departmental policy;
(2) Whether appropriate provisions are made in the short subdivision for drainage ways, streets, alleys, other public ways, water supplies, and sanitary wastes;
(3) The physical characteristics of the short subdivision site and whether, it is necessary to disapprove the application because of the risk of flood or inundation, or swamp conditions. The final approval may require construction of protective improvements as a condition of approval;
(4) All other relevant facts to determine whether the public use and interest will be served by approval of the short subdivision. (Ord. 1348 §11, 1994).
16.20.120 Application--Approval--Appeals.
(a) The building official may:
(1) Approve the preliminary short subdivision with or without conditions;
(2) Return the preliminary short plat to the applicant for correction or for applicant's construction of improvements in a manner consistent with the building official's findings;
(3) Disapprove the short subdivision and the short plat thereof;
(4) Submit the preliminary short subdivision application to the planning commission for its consideration, together with the building official's recommendation. The planning commission shall hear the application in accordance with the procedures for long plat, and with such notice as is required for hearings on preliminary plat applications.
(b) Any person aggrieved by the decision of the building official may appeal that decision to the city council. Such appeal must be made in writing, within fifteen calendar days from the date the building official's written decision was made and mailed to the applicant and such other persons or entities who or which have filed a written request for a copy of the decision. Such appeals shall be filed with the office of the clerk-controller in writing and shall contain a brief description of why error is assigned to the building official's determination and shall be accompanied by a filing fee of one hundred dollars. The appeal shall be heard pursuant to Chapter 17.48 of this code, and notice shall be given in the manner as is provided for hearings on preliminary plat applications. Any appeal from a decision of the city council shall be taken within ten days of the issuance of its decision, such decision to be issued in writing at a regular council meeting or extension thereof.
(c) When the preliminary short subdivision approval is contingent upon meeting of conditions, construction of improvements or corrections, or time is necessary for obtaining of required certifications, then the approval action shall be conditional approval which shall, at the option of the approving body, be conditioned upon fulfillment within one year from the date of the action. When the approval is conditioned upon fulfillment within one year, then upon written application within the time period and upon good cause shown, the approving body may grant, in writing, additional one-year time periods up to a maximum of two such periods; provided, that any extension beyond two years from the end of the initial one-year period must be granted by the city council. If the conditions have not been satisfied within the applicable time period or any approved extension thereof and thus no final approval has been granted, the preliminary approval shall be deemed to have lapsed and the land shall automatically revert to the condition, as to platting and subdivision, or lack thereof, existing prior to the submission. (Ord. 1348 §12, 1994).
16.20.130 Application--Final approval--Conditions.
(a) Final approval of the short plat shall not be given until:
(1) A final short plat map has been filed with the building official. This map shall contain certification by a licensed professional land surveyor that all lot lines have been established and monumented upon the land;
(2) There is compliance with the requirements of the county health department and city department of public works as evidenced by the signatures of said departments on the plat map;
(3) The county treasurer has certified, on the plat map, that all taxes on the land have been fully paid and discharged;
(4) The building official has examined the short subdivision, found compliance with all conditions of approval, and certified the plat map;
(5) The construction of all required improvements has been completed or secured in accordance with bonding provisions satisfactory to the director of public works;
(6) The other certifications required by the subsequent provisions of this section are provided.
(b) The action approving a short plat shall become effective if, within twenty-eight calendar days following issuance of final approval, the applicant shall have filed for record with the county auditor the final short plat thereof. The final short plat, upon recording, shall be processed in accordance with procedures established regarding plats. (Ord. 1348 §13, 1994).
16.20.140 Final map.
(a) The subdivider shall submit ten dark line prints and one stable base polyester film or other approved material (hereafter referred to as mylar) to the building official.
(b) The survey of the proposed short subdivision and preparation of the final map shall be made by or under the supervision of a registered land surveyor who shall certify on the map that it is a true and correct representation of the lands actually surveyed.
(c) The map shall be prepared on a sheet of reproducible material having dimensions of eighteen inches by twenty-four inches and at a horizontal scale between two hundred feet to the inch and fifty feet to the inch.
The following shall be shown on the final short plat map:
(1) Title block, preferably located in the lower right-hand corner, to contain:
(A) Section, township and range,
(B) Date of preparation, datum, scale and north arrow,
(C) Legal descriptions of the original tract,
(D) Basis of bearing, which shall be the coordinate system approved by the city engineer;
(2) Vicinity sketch clearly identifying the location of the property;
(3) Plat representation, to contain:
(A) The boundary lines of the property to be divided,
(B) The development status of contiguous land, including the name of any adjacent plats and rights-of-way,
(C) The layout, dimensions, and number of each lot in the short subdivision with bearings or deflection angles, radii, arcs, points of curvature, and tangent bearing,
(D) The names, locations, and widths of all existing streets, rights-of-way, easements, other public ways, watercourses, and major transmission facilities rights-of-way within and adjacent to the proposed development,
(E) The locations and dimensions of all parcels of land intended to be dedicated or reserved for public use, or to be reserved in the deeds for the common use of the property owners of the subdivision with the purpose, conditions, or limitations of such dedications or reservations clearly indicated,
(F) The locations of all existing structures within the short subdivision,
(G) Existing monuments or other such identifying markers,
(H) Lot numbers beginning with the number "1" and numbered consecutively without omission or duplication throughout the short plat. The numbers shall be solid, of sufficient size and thickness to stand out, and so placed as not to obliterate any figure;
(4) Acknowledgements and certificates, preferably located along the bottom of the map, as follows:
(A) The following restrictions shall show on the face of the short plat map:
(i) The following shall be required when the short plat contains a private street:
"The cost of construction and maintaining all streets not herein dedicated as public streets shall be the obligation of all of the owners, and the obligation to maintain shall be concurrently the obligation of any corporation in which title of the streets may be held."
"All landscaped areas in public rights-of-way shall be maintained by the owner and his successor(s) and may be reduced or eliminated if deemed necessary for or detrimental to city street purposes."
"Community tracts shall be owned and maintained in common for the benefit of all lot owners. All lots have an undivided interest in the ownership and maintenance of community areas. The ownership interest in each community tract shall be stated in the deed to each lot." (Required only when the short plat contains commonly owned tracts.)
(ii) The following shall be required when the installation of required improvements has not been completed prior to recording:
"Pursuant to City Ordinance, the City of Montesano may deny the issuance of building or occupancy permits for any structure within this short plat until street, sidewalk, or other required plat improvements have been installed."
(iii) Any additional conditions as established or approved by the building official.
(B) The completed short plat shall further contain the following certificates: who platted the property, that the plat is based on an actual survey of the land in question, that the map is a true and correct map, and that monuments have been set and lot and block corners staked on the ground.
(C) The completed short plat shall further contain certificates of approval from the city engineer, the health officer, the county assessor, the county treasurer (as previously indicated), the director of public works, the county auditor, and the owner.
(d) The following documentation shall accompany each application for final approval of a short plat:
A current title report or plat certificate confirming that the title of the lands as described and shown in the plat is in the name of the owners signing the declaration of short subdivision and showing financial obligations or restrictions encumbering the land.
(e) The surveyor preparing the plat shall submit a street monumentation plan to the public works department for approval prior to setting any permanent street monuments. The public works department shall determine the number and location of permanent control monuments in streets within and leading into the short plat, if any. All street monuments shall conform to the standard specifications of the American Public Works Association or as amended by city standard plans. (Ord. 1348 §14, 1994).
16.20.150 Valid land use--Length of time.
Any lots in a short subdivision shall be a valid land use notwithstanding any change in zoning laws for a period of five years from the date of recording. (Ord. 1348 §15, 1994).