Chapter 16.12
SHORT PLATS AND SHORT SUBDIVISIONS
Sections:
16.12.020 Processing/application fee.
16.12.030 Application and contents.
16.12.040 Land survey requirements.
16.12.050 Improvement requirements.
16.12.060 Review and determination.
16.12.070 Notice of action on short plat application.
16.12.080 Short plat recording form contents.
16.12.090 Approval of short plats.
16.12.100 Filing of short plats.
16.12.110 Short plat—Decision appeals.
16.12.120 Short plat amendment.
16.12.140 Payment of services.
16.12.010 Administration.
A. The administrator is vested with the duty of administering and interpreting the short plat provisions of this title and with the authority to summarily approve, approve with conditions, disapprove or return for modification proposed short plats;
B. The administrator shall prepare and require the use of such forms as deemed necessary to administer this title; and
C. It shall be within the administrator’s power to grant minor deviations from literal compliance with a requirement of this chapter insofar as the applicant can establish to the administrator’s satisfaction all conditions enumerated in Section 16.12.060, Review and determination. (Ord. 449 Ch. III(A), 1995)
16.12.020 Processing/application fee.
An application for short subdivision shall be accompanied by a nonrefundable processing fee as specified in the adopted town fee resolution. Upon determination by the administrator that the application is complete, the administrator shall request payment of the application fee, provided that the amount of the processing fee shall be subtracted from the amount of the application fee. No application shall be processed until the application has been deemed complete and the application fee paid. (Ord. 449 Ch. III(B), 1995)
16.12.030 Application and contents.
An application for a short subdivision shall be submitted to the administrator on a form provided by the administrator including a legibly drawn representation with dimensions of the parcel to be divided and the lot lines to be created in carrying out the short plat. The application form shall contain, but not be limited to, the following information: name, address and phone number of land owner(s) and surveyor; comprehensive plan and zoning for the subject property; shoreline environmental designation if appropriate, source of water and method of sewage disposal. A copy of any existing or proposed covenants for the property and a title report or supplemental title certificate shall also be included with the application information. If necessary to clearly show the required information, a larger drawing may be attached and referenced in the application form. The submitted drawing shall include:
A. The entire lot, tract, parcel, site or division constituting the parent parcel and its legal descriptions;
B. The parcel number or numbers as assigned to applicant’s land by the county assessor, together with their legal descriptions and the names or recording numbers of any contiguous subdivisions or short subdivisions;
C. Lines marking the division of the property into the proposed four or fewer lots, tracts, parcels, sites or divisions, along with the name of the subdivision, dimensions and area of each lot, designation of each lot by numbers or letters, proposed street addresses for each lot and an arrow pointing north;
D. Location of existing interior and abutting roads or streets, or existing deeds or easements with their auditor’s file numbers, together with designation of “public” or “private” regarding the road and the beneficiary of the easement;
E. Location of any roads, rights-of-way and/or easements proposed to serve the short plat with a clear designation of their purpose and nature, including whether they will be dedicated public roads, rights-of-way or easements or remain private;
F. Right-of-way for public roads of a width to be determined by the street design and construction standards ordinance and the public works director; not to exceed that required for long plats. Right-of-way shall be dedicated if the short subdivision contains two or more lots which are contiguous to:
1. An existing subdivision where partial street right-of-way has been dedicated,
2. An existing partial right-of-way deeded for public road purposes, and
3. A location where an ordinance, or long- range road program, or comprehensive plan, indicates the need for a future road or street;
G. Certification by a PLS (professional land surveyor) if required under Section 16.12.040, Land survey requirements;
H. The name of the proposed short subdivision;
I. The names and addresses of all property owners within two hundred (200) feet of the exterior boundaries of the proposed short plat;
J. Existing and proposed utilities serving the short subdivision including water and sewer and any rights-of-way and/or easements for any utility proposed to serve the proposed plat. (Ord. 449 Ch. III(C), 1995)
16.12.040 Land survey requirements.
A. A proposed short plat of land not previously platted or short platted shall be prepared by or under the supervision of a registered land surveyor of the state of Washington as a result of a land survey.
B. A land survey by a registered land surveyor is not required for proposed short plats of land previously platted or short platted unless the administrator determines that a survey is necessary to clearly establish property boundaries. Proposed short plats not requiring a land survey may be prepared by the landowner or his authorized agent.
C. A short plat involving a dedication, public easement or right-of-way shall be prepared as a result of a land survey.
D. All proposed short plats requiring a land survey shall be referenced from two monumented section or quarter section corners or to two other suitable permanent control monuments.
E. All lot corners determined as a result of a land survey shall be established by the placement of permanent survey monuments. (Ord. 449 Ch. III(D), 1995)
16.12.050 Improvement requirements.
A. Street, utility, lighting and pedestrian access improvements are required for each short subdivision and shall be consistent with the size, nature and availability of existing improvements which serve adjacent lots and lots in the immediate vicinity of the proposed short subdivision. Utility and lighting improvements shall be made in accordance with Chapter 16.28, Improvements, and may need to meet the requirements of the westernization ordinance. Street and pedestrian access improvements shall be in accordance with the street design and construction standards ordinance.
B. Improvement requirements for each short subdivision shall be established by the administrator in conformance with subsection A of this section. The administrator shall provide a written determination of improvements which will be required pursuant to the provisions of this title. Appeal of the administrator’s determination of required improvements may be had in the same manner as provided for by Section 16.12.110, Short plat—Decision appeals.
C. In the event the required improvements for a short subdivision are of a lesser size, quality, or availability than those improvements which would be required of a long subdivision pursuant to Chapter 16.28, Improvements, then each lot in the short subdivision shall be committed on the face of the short plat as an obligation or covenant running with the land, to participate in future local improvement districts for the construction of improvements, in compliance with Chapter 16.28, Improvements, Chapter 16.32, Design Standards, and the street design and construction standards ordinance as they exist at the time the local improvement district is formed. (Ord. 449 Ch. III(E), 1995)
16.12.060 Review and determination.
The administrator shall, after deeming the application is complete, send a copy of the application and related information to the following officials as appropriate: town staff and planning commission, any affected irrigation or other utility district or company, county planning, public works, assessor and health district, and any state or federal agencies having an interest in the proposed short subdivision. The administrator shall determine within thirty (30) days of receipt of a submittal deemed complete, whether the short plat should be approved, approved with conditions, disapproved or returned to the applicant for changes in light of the following criteria and requirements:
A. The proposed short subdivision is in conformity with the comprehensive plan and any applicable zoning requirements or other land use controls which may exist;
B. The proposed short subdivision provides access in accordance with the standards set forth in Chapter 16.28, Design Standards, and the street design and construction standards ordinance or has received a deviation made by the administrator;
C. The proposed short subdivision meets the requirements of this title and all lots have been determined to be buildable or have been designated on the face of the plat and in the property deed as nonbuildable lots;
D. The public use and interest will be served by permitting the proposed division of land;
E. The proposed short subdivision has access to adequate urban services;
F. Bonding for required improvements;
G. Comments from commenting agencies and planning commission can be adequately addressed. (Ord. 449 Ch. III(F), 1995)
16.12.070 Notice of action on short plat application.
The administrator shall prepare a letter to the applicant that includes findings of fact indicating:
A. Alternatively:
1. That the short plat is approvable as submitted. The decision must include a finding that adequate urban services are available,
2. That the short plat is approvable subject to certain specified conditions which must be met, or
3. That the short plat cannot be approved for specified reasons;
B. That in the case of subsection (A)(1) or (2) of this section, a short plat recording form completed properly, together with appropriate fees and evidence of compliance with all required conditions, may be submitted to the administrator by the applicant within one year of the date of the notice without further review;
C. That the specific certification(s), such as required for any affected utility (irrigation, water, sewer, electrical, telephone etc.), must be completed within thirty (30) days and be included as part of the short plat filing form submittal;
D. That the applicant or an affected party may file an appeal of the decisions and/or conditions of the administrator in accordance with Section 16.12.110, Short plat—Decision appeals. (Ord. 449 Ch. III(G), 1995)
16.12.080 Short plat recording form contents.
A. The short plat recording form shall be completed by or under the supervision of a professional land surveyor of the state of Washington, if required under Chapter 16.12.040, Land survey requirements, and shall be based on a survey of the property. The survey shall be in compliance with the requirements of the Survey Recording Act, RCW 58.09 as it now exists or is hereafter amended, including the establishment of monuments such that short plats must show all existing or established section corners and quarter section corners pertaining to the location of all lot corners of the short plat.
B. The short plat submitted for filing with the county auditor shall be in accordance with the conditions specified in the notice of action on short plat application at the conclusion of the administrator’s review of the short plat submittal.
C. In the event private roads are used to serve the proposed short plat, whether exterior or interior, the following statement shall appear on the face of the short plat:
The Town of Winthrop has no responsibility to build, improve, maintain, or otherwise serve any private road for this short plat.
D. Utility easements shall serve each interior lot. Utility easements may be included within the access easement and may serve as a joint use easement with the access easement. Any easements and their purpose shall be clearly shown on the face of the short plat.
E. An updated title and/or short plat filing certificate consisting of a report showing all parties having any interest in the land subdivided shall be submitted and accepted by the administrator prior to recording the short plat with the county auditor.
F. The short plat recording form shall consist of a legibly drawn, printed or reproduced by a process guaranteeing a permanent record in black on tracing cloth or equivalent and shall be eighteen (18) by twenty-four (24) inches in size.
G. The short plat filing form shall be signed by all parties having ownership interest in the land being short platted and their signatures shall be notarized.
H. Any easements previously filed shall be shown on the face of the short plat, and shall reference their auditor’s file numbers. (Ord. 449 Ch. III(H), 1995)
16.12.090 Approval of short plats.
A. A completed short plat meeting all of the requirements of this chapter shall be approved or approved with conditions by the administrator.
B. As part of the approval, the administrator will complete a written finding of fact that the proposed short subdivision is in conformity with all applicable zoning and land use controls of the town.
C. Prior to signing the face of the plat and thus granting approval, the administrator must be sure that the county treasurer and any owners with interest in the property being subdivided have signed the plat. (Ord. 449 Ch. III(I), 1995)
16.12.100 Filing of short plats.
Filing of short plats shall be done with the county auditor following certification by the county treasurer that applicable property taxes have been paid. The filing of the short plat, including payment of the filing fees, is the responsibility of the applicant. (Ord. 449 Ch. III(J), 1995)
16.12.110 Short plat—Decision appeals.
When a person feels aggrieved by a ruling or interpretation by the administrator of this title, they shall have the right to appeal said ruling in the following manner:
A. By notifying the administrator in writing within ten (10) working days of notification of said ruling or interpretation, of their desire to protest a ruling, in which case the planning commission shall provide their interpretation within forty-five (45) days of the date the applicant gives notice as specified above;
B. If the applicant is not satisfied with the interpretation of the planning commission, he may appeal to the town council by notifying the town clerk, in writing within ten (10) days of the planning commission’s decision, in which case the council shall make a determination within thirty (30) days of the date the town clerk received notice from the applicant;
C. A decision of the council will be final unless the applicant files an appeal, within thirty (30) days, to the Superior Court of the State of Washington, or pursues other proper judicial remedies. (Ord. 449 Ch. III(K), 1995)
16.12.120 Short plat amendment.
Once a short plat has been recorded with the county auditor, it can be amended or vacated in whole or part in a manner not involving a resubdivision into more than four lots from the original short plat. All proposed alterations or vacations, whether a public dedication is involved or not, shall be processed in accordance with RCW 58.17. The provisions of RCW 58.17 as they relate to plat vacations and alterations are adopted by reference. If the proposed alteration or vacation does not involve a public dedication, the altered short plat shall be processed in accordance with the following provisions:
A. The amended short plat must comply with the procedures and requirements of this chapter for original short plat approval. A new survey shall not be required except for new lines created by the amended short plat;
B. The title of the altered short plat shall be:
Short Plat No. _________________
Amending Short Plat No. _________;
C. The amended short plat shall show all of the land shown on the original short plat and shall bear the acknowledged signatures of all parties having ownership interest in the affected lots, tracts, parcels, sites or divisions within the original short plat as shown by a current title certificate; and
D. Minor errors not involving a change in lines may be corrected by the survey or upon approval of the administrator by recording an affidavit with the county auditor specifically referencing the short plat by number and the correction.
E. If the proposed alteration or vacation involves a public dedication, the altered short plat shall be processed in accordance with Chapter 16.20. (Ord. 449 Ch. III(L), 1995)
16.12.130 Resubdivisions.
A. Once property is subdivided into four lots in accordance with this chapter, no further division creating in any manner a greater number of lots, tracts, parcels, sites or divisions than contained in the short plat shall be made for a period of five years from the date of recording of the short plat, unless a long subdivision (final plat) has been approved and filed for record pursuant to this chapter.
B. In the case of a proposed redivision of land within a short plat or a long plat, either the short subdivision or long subdivision provisions of this title and RCW 58.17 shall be complied with dependent upon the number of divisions proposed within the property and/or the period of time that has elapsed since the recording of a prior short plat. (Ord. 449 Ch. III(M), 1995)
16.12.140 Payment of services.
When deemed necessary, the town may retain outside consultants to evaluate any phase of plat review and construction; the cost of such services shall be borne by the developer who shall be billed for the actual cost to the town. Billings shall be tendered and payable within thirty (30) days. If the developer (subdivider) believes the costs to be unreasonable, an appeal may be made to the town council for their review and determination. (Ord. 449 Ch. III(N), 1995)