Chapter 16.16
SHORT PLATS AND SUBDIVISIONS
Sections:
16.16.030 Short subdivision procedures/approval process.
16.16.040 Resubdivision restricted.
16.16.050 Short subdivision specifications.
16.16.060 Short subdivision requirements.
16.16.070 Short subdivision design and development standards.
16.16.010 Scope.
Every division of land within the city which is made for the purpose of lease, sale or development into two or more but less than five lots shall be referred to as a short subdivision or short plat and shall proceed in compliance with the provisions of state law and this title, except as specifically exempted below. (Ord. 469 § 2 (part), 1984)
16.16.020 Exemptions.
The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to those items described in Section 16.04.010(D)(2). (Ord. 469 § 2 (part), 1984)
16.16.030 Short subdivision procedures/approval process.
Subject to the exception for contingent sales and escrows in RCW 58.17.205, when a short subdivision is proposed, the subdivider shall apply and secure approval of the proposed short subdivision in accordance with the following procedures before the sale of any lot and before the issuance of any permit for the erection of a structure within the proposed short subdivision.
A. Application Review. Prior to filing the required documents, the subdivider shall have the city planner review the application for completeness. The city shall, within twenty working days of receiving an application, mail or provide in person a written notice to the applicant, stating either: that the application is complete; or that the application is incomplete and what is necessary to make the application complete. The application shall not be accepted for formal filing and shall vest no rights until approved for completeness by the city planner.
B. Application Requirements. The applicant shall file the following documents with the city clerk:
1. Two completed short subdivision applications on forms available at the office of the city planner;
2. Five copies and one reproducible copy each of the short plat map, supplementary map, utility and/or road plan, profile and cross-section drawings in accordance with currently adopted short subdivision specifications;
3. Two copies of the short plat certificate in accordance with currently adopted short subdivision specifications;
4. The names and addresses, (on gummed labels), of the owners of record of property contiguous to the proposed short plat;
5. Property which is not served by sanitary sewer shall include a written statement from the county health district which certifies those lots suitable for a sewage disposal system using septic tanks or other methods of sewage disposal approved by the county health district;
6. Payment of the appropriate filing fee as established by city council resolution; any city engineering or inspection time incurred after tentative approval has been granted as part of the review and approval of the short subdivision shall be paid prior to final approval based upon the fees established by city council pursuant to such periodic resolution as council from time to time updates and approves.
C. Receipt of Application. Upon receipt of a complete application, the city planner shall provide a copy to the Mukilteo water district, the Olympus Terrace sewer district if the short plat is located within that special purpose district, the county health district if the proposed short plat is located outside a special area and would therefore require a septic tank, and the city engineer for review and comments. The city planner may provide copies to the building official, police chief, fire chief and/or other city officers if needed. The city planner shall notify in writing contiguous property owners of the application and provide a reasonable time for comments prior to approval.
D. Approval. Within thirty days of the date of filing the application for a short subdivision, unless an extension is granted in writing by the applicant, the applicant shall be notified in writing of one of the following:
1. That final approval has been granted;
2. That tentative approval has been granted;
3. That the application is returned due to certain omissions, problems, deficiencies, or noncompliance with short plat requirements; or
4. That the application has been disapproved. Provided, that all time expended to complete required environmental review under the State Environmental Policy Act for those short subdivisions which are not categorically exempt, including, but not limited to, time expended by the responsible official in reviewing the proposal and issuing a threshold determination, time spent in preparing and issuing a final environmental impact statement, and time spent in processing appeals allowed under the city’s SEPA regulations, shall be excluded from the thirty-day time limitation provided by this section. Tentative approval under this section means the approval of a short subdivision application subject to the satisfactory completion of improvements, conditions, and/or requirements specified by the city planner. The city planner, in rendering a decision regarding the short subdivision application, shall consider comments from the city engineer, the Mukilteo water district, the Olympus Terrace sewer district if involved, citizen comments, comments from other departments and affected agencies or jurisdictions; compliance with the city’s zoning code; compliance with the adopted comprehensive plan, park and recreation plan, transportation plan, and storm drainage plan; environmental documents and review; and the requirements and standards for short subdivision development. The city planner shall prepare a written report of the decision made with supporting facts and reasons. A copy of the written decision with all conditions, if any, shall be mailed in three working days of the decision to the applicant and other persons who have made a written request for notice of the decision.
E. Tentative Approval. The tentative approval period for a proposed short subdivision that received tentative approval on or before December 31, 2014, shall be seven years from the date of tentative approval. The tentative approval period for a proposed short subdivision that received tentative approval on or after January 1, 2015, shall be five years from the date of tentative approval. If the applicant for a preliminary short subdivision that received tentative approval on or after January 1, 2015, files a written request for extension with the city’s planning department at least thirty days before the expiration of said initial tentative approval period, the applicant shall be granted a one-time one-year extension within said initial effective period of approval. If all specified requirements are not completed or bonded as specified below within the tentative approval period, tentative approval shall expire and a new application in conformity with then current regulations shall be required. Any short subdivision not submitted for final plat approval within the period of time set forth in this subsection is null and void and the subdivider is required to resubmit a new preliminary short plat for approval, subject to all then current zoning and subdivision regulations.
F. Final Approval.
1. a. Approval Criteria. Within thirty days of submittal for a complete final application, the city planner shall determine if appropriate provisions are made for, but not limited to, the public health, safety, and general welfare, for open spaces, drainage ways, streets or roads, alleys, other public ways, transit stops, potable water supplies, sanitary wastes, parks and recreation, playgrounds, schools and school grounds, and shall consider all other relevant facts, including sidewalks and other planning features that assure safe walking conditions for students who only walk to and from school; and whether the public interest will be served by the subdivision and dedication. If the city planner finds that appropriate provision is made for the specified items and that the public interest will be served by the platting of the subdivision and dedication, then it shall be approved. If the proposed plat does not make such appropriate provisions or if the public use and interest will not be served, then the proposed plat shall be disapproved. A final plat may not be approved unless the applicant has provided appropriate documentation to the city that the parcels to be created by the proposed plat can be served by water and sewer at the time of final plat approval, or, if a performance bond has been filed, upon the expiration of such time period provided by ordinance for completion of improvements.
b. Dedication of land to the city, provision of public improvements to serve the subdivision, and/or impact fees imposed pursuant to state law and city ordinances may be required as a condition of short subdivision approval. Dedication shall be clearly shown on the final plat.
2. Title Certificate. Every short plat or short subdivision filed for record must contain a certificate giving a full and correct description of the lands divided as they appear on the short plat, including a statement that the short subdivision has been made with the free consent and in accordance with the desires of the owner or owners. If the short plat includes a dedication, the certificate shall also contain the dedication of all streets and other areas to the public, and individual or individuals, religious society or societies or to any corporation, public or private, as shown on the short plat and a waiver of all claims against any government authority which may be occasioned by damages to the adjacent land as a result of construction of, drainage from and maintenance of any road. The certificate shall be signed and acknowledged before a notary public by all parties having any interest in the land subdivided. Every short plat filed for record must be accompanied by a current short plat certificate confirming that the title of the lands as described and shown on the short plat is in the name of the owner signing the certificate.
3. Survey. Every short plat or short subdivision submitted for final approval shall be accompanied by a record of survey prepared by a registered land surveyor according to the procedures and requirements set forth in Chapter 58.09 RCW, the Survey Recording Act.
4. Completion or Bonding. Final approval of a short subdivision shall require the signature of the city engineer stating that all improvements specified as part of the tentative approval have been satisfactorily completed. Alternatively, final approval may be granted by the city council in cases of unusual circumstances or extreme hardship by taking an appeal under subsection G of this section. If such an appeal request is granted, it shall be subject to subdivider’s filing of a performance bond or other suitable surety in a form approved by the city attorney and in an amount equal to one hundred fifty percent of the estimated cost of the improvements as determined by the city engineer. The surety shall provide that the specified improvements must be completed within one year from the date of approval or that the city may, after ten days’ written notice to the subdivider, execute on the bond or surety. The city may also, but shall not be obligated to, complete all or any part of the specified improvements which are not completed within one year and may execute upon the bond or other surety in order to pay the cost of such completion. The subdivider shall be liable for any cost of completion in excess of the bond or surety amount. The performance bond required by this section shall remain in effect until released in writing by the city. The performance bond shall not be released until the city engineer is satisfied that all improvements have been satisfactorily completed and until the subdivider files a maintenance bond or other suitable surety, in a form approved by the city attorney and in an amount equal to fifteen percent of the actual construction cost of the improvements, as determined by the city engineer, guaranteeing the repair or replacement of any improvement or any landscaping which proves defective or fails to survive within two years after final acceptance of the improvements or landscaping by the city. The maintenance bond or surety shall be executed upon, and the subdivider shall be liable for repair costs in excess of the maintenance bond or surety, in the same manner as set forth above with respect to the performance bond or surety.
5. Planner Certification. The city planner shall evidence that every requirement as set forth in this chapter has been satisfactorily met and shall evidence final approval of the short subdivision by placing his or her signature on the face of the short plat. All plats shall require written findings that appropriate provisions have been made for the public health, safety and general welfare, including open spaces, drainage ways, streets or roads, alleys, other public ways, transit stops, potable water supplies, sanitary wastes, parks and recreation, playgrounds, schools and school grounds and all other relevant facts, including sidewalks and other planning features that assure safe walking conditions for students who only walk to and from school.
G. Appeal Procedures. The applicant or adjacent property owners aggrieved by a decision of the city planner may request a review of that decision by the city council. Such an appeal shall be made in writing to the council within ten days of the date of the city planner’s written decision. Upon receipt of an appeal, the city clerk shall set it on the next available council agenda in order that the council may set a hearing date before the council or its administrative hearing assistant. The applicant and appellant(s) shall be notified of the time and place of the hearing.
1. The city council at its sole discretion may appoint an administrative hearing assistant to conduct such hearing and develop a record and written recommendations for council review. The administrative hearing assistant shall be appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the city council. By contract, the council may provide for the use of an administrative hearing assistant for any particular case or controversy or upon such other contractual terms as it may provide. The designation and use of an administrative hearing assistant is not a delegation of any quasi-judicial responsibility, authority or power vested in the city council but, rather, is a designation of the use of such an assistant solely for the purposes of procedural regularity, technical assistance and in order to more expeditiously perform the council’s hearing function.
2. The administrative hearing assistant shall conform the hearing in all respects to procedural requirements set forth by law or ordinance and shall provide an audio tape transcription of the record of the proceeding and his/her written recommendations and proposed findings of fact and conclusions to the city council within ten working days following the hearing.
3. The council, in considering the appeal on a hearing before it or upon review of the record and recommendation of its administrative hearing assistant, may affirm or reverse, wholly or in part, the decision of the city planner and make such order or determination as appears proper. For cases for which an administrative hearing assistant has been designated, the city council may remand the matter for the taking of further evidence to the administrative hearing assistant or may set the matter for further hearing before it. Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to require the city council to hold an additional hearing nor to accept additional testimony. In all cases in which an administrative hearing assistant is used, the record developed before the assistant, along with any record developed by the city council, shall constitute the record of the proceeding.
4. The city planner shall notify the applicant in writing of the city council’s decision. In cases where an administrative hearing assistant has been designated, the administrative hearing assistant shall forward his written recommendations and proposed findings and conclusions to the appellant/applicant. The city council’s decision shall be final and conclusive unless, within ten days of mailing written notice to the appellant, an application for the appropriate extraordinary writ is made to the Snohomish County superior court.
H. Recording of Approved Short Subdivisions. After ten days have elapsed from the date of the final approval or cessation of all appeal periods, the city shall record the short plat, short plat certificate, and covenants with the county auditor. Recording fees shall be paid by the subdivider. The short subdivision shall be approved when all necessary documents have been recorded. The city shall mail one copy of the recorded short plat to the applicant for information purposes. (Ord. 1323 § 3, 2012; Ord. 1273 § 2, 2011; Ord. 829 §§ 4, 5, 1995; Ord. 716 § 3, 1992; Ord. 686 §§ 6, 7, 1990; Ord. 641 § 2, 1989; Ord. 649 § 1, 1989: Ord. 579 § 1, 1987; Ord. 469 § 2 (part), 1984)
16.16.040 Resubdivision restricted.
A. Land within an approved short subdivision shall not be resubdivided for a period of five years from the date of approval of the short subdivision without the submission and approval of a final subdivision pursuant to all provisions of this title concerning the subdivision of land into five or more lots, tracts, or parcels.
B. When the original short subdivision contains less than four lots, the stipulation described in subsection A of this section shall not apply to the creation of additional lots, not exceeding a total of four. In that case, a new application consistent with the then current short subdivision regulations shall be required. The application shall be submitted by the original applicant and shall include the same property included in the initial application. After five years, further division may be permitted when otherwise consistent with the then current regulations of the city.
C. Where there have been no dedications to the public and no sales of any lots in a short subdivision, nothing contained in this section shall prohibit a subdivider from completely withdrawing his entire short subdivision and thereafter presenting a new application. (Ord. 469 § 2 (part), 1984)
16.16.050 Short subdivision specifications.
Short subdivision specifications shall be established by city council resolution and may be periodically updated as the need arises. (Ord. 469 § 2 (part), 1984)
16.16.060 Short subdivision requirements.
Short subdivision requirements shall be established by city council resolution and shall be periodically updated as revisions in state law and circumstances warrant. (Ord. 469 § 2 (part), 1984)
16.16.070 Short subdivision design and development standards.
Short subdivision design and development standards shall be established by city council resolution and shall be periodically updated as circumstances warrant. (Ord. 469 § 2 (part), 1984)
16.16.080 Amendment.
This short subdivision chapter shall be amended only upon a public hearing held by the city council. Written notice of the time and place for the hearing shall be published at least once in the city’s official newspaper not less than ten days prior to the hearing. A copy of any proposed amendment shall be provided to interested persons upon request. (Ord. 469 § 2 (part), 1984)