Chapter 16.01
PURPOSE, TITLE, GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sections:
16.01.030 Authority and delegation.
16.01.040 Applicability of regulations.
16.01.060 Reference to State subdivision laws.
16.01.070 Violations, enforcement and penalties.
16.01.010 Purposes.
The purposes of this title are to regulate the dividing of land and to promote the public health, safety and general welfare in accordance with standards established by the State and Town to prevent the overcrowding of land; to lessen congestion in the streets and highways; to promote the effective and efficient use of land; to promote safe and convenient travel by the public on streets and highways; to provide for adequate light and air; to facilitate the adequate provision for water, sewerage, parks and recreation areas, sites for schools and school grounds and other public requirements; to provide for proper ingress and egress; to provide for the expeditious review and approval of proposed subdivisions which conform to zoning standards and the Comprehensive Plan as adopted under the Growth Management Act; to adequately provide for the housing and commercial needs of the citizens of the Town of Wilkeson; and to require uniform monumenting of land subdivisions and conveyances by accurate legal description. [UDC Ord. dated 7/21/1998].
16.01.020 Short title.
The regulations contained in this title shall hereafter be known, cited and referred to as the Subdivision Regulations of the Town of Wilkeson. [UDC Ord. dated 7/21/1998].
16.01.030 Authority and delegation.
Pursuant to the powers granted to municipalities by the State of Washington, the Town of Wilkeson is authorized to adopt and enforce subdivision regulations.
Pursuant to powers delegated to the Wilkeson Planning Commission as specified in the Wilkeson Municipal Code and this section, the Planning Commission is authorized to review and recommend for approval, disapproval or other action preliminary plats for subdivision of land within the corporate limits of the Town.
The Town Council hereby delegates to the Wilkeson Planning Director the authority and power to: administratively review and recommend to the Town Council short plats as more specifically provided in this title; administratively review and provide recommendations regarding preliminary plats and final plats; and to administer and enforce the provisions of this title. The Planning Director may prepare and require the use of such forms as are essential to their administration. [UDC Ord. dated 7/21/1998].
16.01.040 Applicability of regulations.
No person shall subdivide or develop land within the Town of Wilkeson except in accordance with the regulations contained in this title. It shall hereafter be unlawful for any person, by deed, map or other instrument, to sell, transfer, agree or negotiate to sell or subdivide any land until a final plat is approved by the Town Council, or short plat is approved by the Planning Director, as the case may be, and recorded in accordance with the provisions of this title and Chapter 58.17 RCW, unless specifically exempted from such provisions. [UDC Ord. dated 7/21/1998].
16.01.050 Exemptions.
The provisions of this title shall not apply to the following:
A. Cemeteries and other burial plots while used for that purpose.
B. Divisions of land into lots or tracts each of which is one-one-hundred-twenty-eighth (1/128) of a section of land or larger, or five (5) acres or larger if the land is not capable of description as a fraction of a section of land; provided, that such lots or tracts meet applicable zoning and land use regulations, the plat is recorded in the office of the County Auditor, the plat does not involve land to be publicly dedicated, and the Town is not obligated to issue building permits or other approvals should said lots or tracts fail to meet applicable Town regulations.
C. Divisions made by testamentary provisions, or the laws of descent.
D. Divisions of land into lots or tracts classified for industrial, commercial or institutional use when the Town Council has approved a binding site plan pursuant to WMC Title 17 for commercial, industrial and institutional uses (i.e., shopping center).
E. Divisions for the purpose of creating leaseholds for mobile homes, manufactured homes, and planned unit residential developments when the Town Council has approved a binding site plan pursuant to WMC Title 17 for such developments.
F. Divisions for the purpose of creating residential condominiums, when the Town Council has approved a binding site plan for such use of the land as a condominium pursuant to WMC Title 17.
G. Divisions made for the purpose of alteration by adjusting boundary lines, between platted or unplatted lots or both, which does not create any additional lot, tract, parcel, site or division nor create any lot, tract, parcel, site, or division which contains insufficient area and dimension to meet minimum requirements for width and area for a building site.
H. Assessors’ plats; provided, that they contain a survey of subdivision and contain permanent control monuments as required by Chapter 58.17 RCW and this title. [UDC Ord. dated 7/21/1998].
16.01.060 Reference to State subdivision laws.
The subdivision of land within the Town of Wilkeson shall comply, as applicable, with RCW Title 58, Chapter 58.17 RCW. [UDC Ord. dated 7/21/1998].
16.01.070 Violations, enforcement and penalties.
Whenever any parcel of land is divided and any person or agent thereof sells or transfers, or offers or advertises for sale or transfer, any such parcel without having an approved short plat or final plat approved and filed as required by this title, the Town Attorney shall commence an action to restrain and enjoin further subdivisions or sales, or transfers, or offers of sale or transfer and compel compliance with all provisions of this title. The costs of such action, including reasonable attorney’s fees, shall be awarded against the person improperly selling or transferring the property.
Should a plat or dedication be filed without approval by the Town as required by this title, the Town Attorney may apply for a writ of mandate in the Town’s name directing the County Auditor and County Assessor to remove from their files or records the unapproved plat or dedication of record.
No building permit, septic tank permit, or other development permit shall be issued by any Town official, and no water or sewer connection shall be permitted, for any lot, tract, or parcel of land divided in violation of this title unless the Town official authorized to issue such permit finds that the public interest will not be adversely affected thereby.
Any person who violates any provision of this title relating to the sale, offer for sale, lease, or transfer of any lot, tract or parcel of land, shall be guilty of a gross misdemeanor and each sale, offer for sale, lease or transfer of each separate lot, tract or parcel of land in violation of any provision of this title shall be deemed a separate and distinct offense.
Whenever land within a subdivision granted final approval is used in a manner or for a purpose which violates any provision of this title, or any term or condition of plat approval prescribed for the plat, then the Town Attorney may commence an action to restrain and enjoin such use and compel compliance with the provisions of this title. The costs of such action, including reasonable attorney’s fees, may be awarded against the violator.
Any person who violates any court order or injunction issued pursuant to this title shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each violation. Each improperly created lot, and every day that there exists the improperly created lot, constitutes a separate violation.
The Town Attorney may accept an assurance of discontinuance of any act or practice deemed in violation of this chapter from any person engaging in, or who has engaged in such act or practice. Any such assurance shall be in writing and filed with and subject to the approval of the superior court of Pierce County. A violation of such assurance shall constitute prima facie proof of a violation of this title. [UDC Ord. dated 7/21/1998].