Chapter 14.15
SHORT SUBDIVISION—PROCEDURE
Sections:
14.15.010 Preliminary application for short subdivision—Requirements.
14.15.020 Criteria for approval.
14.15.030 Preliminary application—Time limitation.
14.15.040 Public notice of short plat application.
14.15.050 Administrator’s approval/disapproval.
14.15.060 Findings and conclusions.
14.15.070 Final short plat—Time limitation.
14.15.080 Land survey requirements.
14.15.090 Final short plat contents.
14.15.100 Approval of short subdivision—Recording.
14.15.110 Resubdivision restricted.
14.15.120 Short plat amendment/alteration.
14.15.010 Preliminary application for short subdivision—Requirements.
A. An application for a short subdivision may be made by an owner or owners of land, or by an authorized agent, or by a duly authorized representative of any governmental agency if the short subdivision is sought for a governmental purpose and such application shall be filed with the planning division.
B. Each application for a short subdivision shall include the following:
1. A written application on a form provided by the planning division and signed by the landowner or an authorized agent.
2. A legible and reproducible drawing at a scale of one inch equals one hundred feet or larger of the entire contiguous tract owned by the applicant, which shall show:
a. Name and address of owner(s) whose property is shown on the map.
b. North arrow.
c. Date of preparation.
d. The name, location and width of all streets and alleys abutting the property.
e. Tract and lot identification, lot lines, and dimensions of each lot.
f. Approximate location of existing improvements, buildings and permanent structures.
g. Size and location of water, sewer, and utility easements proposed to serve the lots to be created and their point of connection with existing services.
h. If requested by the administrator, contour lines at two-foot elevation intervals for slopes less than ten percent. Elevations shall be based on city of Yakima datum if available.
i. Contour lines at five-foot intervals shall be required for slopes greater than ten percent. Elevations shall be based on city of Yakima datum if available.
3. A nonrefundable application fee according to the current fee schedule as adopted by city council. (Ord. 2011-08 § 1 (part), 2011: Ord. 98-65 § 2 (part), 1998).
14.15.020 Criteria for approval.
The administrator shall approve the short subdivision and short plat if, and only after making written findings and conclusions that:
A. The application complies with the general requirements for short subdivision approval as specified by this chapter.
B. The proposed short subdivision appropriately provides for the public health, safety and general welfare, for open spaces, drainage ways, streets or roads, alleys and 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 walk to and from school. The administrator may determine that other considerations are appropriate to evaluate as criteria for approval.
C. The short subdivision and any associated dedication will serve the public interest. (Ord. 2011-08 § 1 (part), 2011: Ord. 98-65 § 2 (part), 1998).
14.15.030 Preliminary application—Time limitation.
Upon receiving a short subdivision application, the administrator shall have twenty-eight days to determine if the application is complete. Only those preliminary applications deemed complete will be processed further. Incomplete preliminary applications will be returned to the applicant together with a notice of deficiencies. (Ord. 2011-08 § 1 (part), 2011: Ord. 98-65 § 2 (part), 1998. Formerly 14.15.040).
14.15.040 Public notice of short plat application.
Within ten calendar days after the short subdivision application is determined to be complete, notice of the application shall be sent by first class mail to all owners, as shown on the records of the Yakima County assessor, of land located within three hundred feet of either (1) the land proposed to be subdivided, or (2) any land adjacent to the land proposed to be subdivided which is also owned by an owner of the land proposed to be subdivided. The notice of application will follow the notice requirements of Yakima Municipal Code Chapter 16.05 and may be either a postcard format or letter size paper. (Ord. 2011-08 § 1 (part), 2011: Ord. 2010-31 § 1, 2010: Ord. 98-65 § 2 (part), 1998. Formerly 14.15.050).
14.15.050 Administrator’s approval/disapproval.
Following the notice of application, the administrator shall approve, disapprove, or return for modification all preliminary short subdivision applications. In reaching the conclusion to approve or disapprove short subdivisions, the administrator shall determine whether the requirements of this title have been satisfied and make a formal written finding of fact as to whether the short subdivision is consistent with the standards of the city of Yakima zoning ordinance and urban area comprehensive plan. (Ord. 2011-08 § 1 (part), 2011: Ord. 98-65 § 2 (part), 1998. Formerly 14.15.040).
14.15.060 Findings and conclusions.
The administrator shall not approve a preliminary short plat and short subdivision unless written findings are made that the criteria for approval from YMC 14.15.020 along with all applicable laws and regulations have been met. A preliminary short plat may be appealed under the provisions of YMC Chapter 14.50. A final short plat cannot be recorded during the appeal period. (Ord. 2011-08 § 1 (part), 2011: Ord. 98-65 § 2 (part), 1998. Formerly 14.15.030).
14.15.070 Final short plat—Time limitation.
Following preliminary short plat approval the applicant will have five years in which to comply with the conditions of approval and submit the final short plat. This approval may be extended up to one additional year by action of the administrator. Requests for extension must be in writing to the planning department and must be received prior to the expiration date of initial approval. (Ord. 2011-08 § 1 (part), 2011: Ord. 98-65 § 2 (part), 1998. Formerly 14.15.060).
14.15.080 Land survey requirements.
A. The final short plat of land 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. All proposed short plats shall be referenced either from/to two monumented section or quarter section corners, or from/to two other suitable permanent control monuments.
C. Each lot corner established by a land survey shall be marked by a permanent survey monument, as defined in YMC 14.10.020. (Ord. 2011-08 § 1 (part), 2011: Ord. 98-65 § 2 (part), 1998. Formerly 14.15.070).
14.15.090 Final short plat contents.
A final short plat shall be legibly drawn, printed, or reproduced by a process guaranteeing a permanent record in black on Mylar, or equivalent, and shall be eighteen inches by twenty-four inches in size. It shall show:
A. All lots or parcels, which include land, proposed to be divided.
B. The taxation parcel number or numbers assigned by the Yakima County assessor to land proposed to be divided.
C. The house address for each lot shown upon the short plat.
D. The names or recording numbers of any contiguous subdivisions or short subdivisions.
E. Lot corners and lines marking the division of the land into nine or fewer lots.
F. Location, size, purpose and nature of existing roads, streets, rights-of-way, and easements adjacent to, or across, the land proposed to be divided.
G. Location of any roads, rights-of-way, or easements proposed to serve the lots within the proposed short plat with a clear designation of their size, purpose and nature.
H. North arrow and scale.
I. The acknowledged signatures of all fee simple owners and other parties having interest in the lands being subdivided as enumerated in subsections (I)(1)(b) and (2)(b) of this section, as well as the acknowledged signatures of all property owners over which access or utility easements pass unless such easements are previously or simultaneously recorded by separate instrument in the County auditor’s office, certifying the following:
1. In the case of a short subdivision not containing a dedication:
a. A full and correct legal description of the land proposed to be divided as it appears on the short plat.
b. A statement of free consent in substantially the following form; provided, that the reference to easements be omitted when not applicable:
Know all persons by these presents that ______________________________ are the fee simple owners of the land hereon described; have with their free consent and in accordance with their desires caused the same to be surveyed and short platted as shown hereon; and do hereby dedicate the easements as shown hereon for the uses indicated hereon.
________________________________________
(Name)
________________________________________
(Name)
2. In the case of a short subdivision containing a dedication:
a. A full and correct legal description of the land to be divided as it appears on the short plat;
b. A statement of free consent and waiver of claims for damages in substantially the following form:
DEDICATION AND WAIVER OF CLAIMS
Know all persons by these presents that _____________________________________ are the owners and all other parties having any interest in the land hereon described; have with their free consent and in accordance with their desires caused the same to be surveyed and short platted as shown hereon; do hereby dedicate those roads and/or rights-of-way shown as public dedications hereon to the use of the public; do hereby waive on behalf of themselves and their successors in interest all claims for damages against the City of Yakima and any other governmental authority which may be occasioned to the adjacent land by the established construction, drainage and maintenance of said dedicated roads and/or rights-of-way; and do hereby dedicate the easements as shown hereon for the uses indicated hereon.
________________________________________
(Name)
________________________________________
(Name)
3. If an offer of dedication includes, or is required to include, a waiver of direct access to any street from any property, the appropriate certificate shall additionally recite said waiver.
J. A certificate by a registered land surveyor certifying to the accuracy of the survey and short plat in substantially the following form:
I, _____________________________________, Professional Land Surveyor, do hereby certify that the short plat as shown is based upon an actual survey in accordance with the requirements of the Survey Recording Act, that the distances, courses and angles are shown hereon correctly, and that the monuments and lot corners have been set on the ground as shown hereon.
_______________________________________
(Surveyor’s signature, seal and number)
K. The Yakima County treasurer’s office certificate in substantially the following form:
I hereby certify that all chargeable regular and special assessments collectible by this office that are due and owing on the property described hereon on the date of this certification have been paid. Dated this ___________ day of ________________________, 20________.
Yakima County Treasurer’s Office.
By: ____________________________________
L. If the short plat lies wholly or in part in an irrigation district, a statement evidencing irrigation water right-of-way in substantially the following form:
The property described hereon is wholly or in part within the boundaries of the ______________________ Irrigation District and all lots within the short plat are subject to the terms, conditions, reservations and obligations in the present and future concerning irrigation water rights-of-way and easements as may be imposed by said district in accordance with the law.
M. Administrator’s signature block.
N. City engineer’s signature block. (Ord. 2011-08 § 1 (part), 2011: Ord. 98-65 § 2 (part), 1998. Formerly 14.15.080).
14.15.100 Approval of short subdivision—Recording.
Each final short plat approved by the administrator shall be filed for record in the office of the Yakima County auditor and shall not be deemed approved until so filed. The owner(s) of the land proposed to be subdivided shall be responsible for payment of all filing fees. A copy of the recorded plat shall be provided to the city prior to the issuance of any additional residential building permits. (Ord. 2023-025 § 1 (Exh. A), 2023; Ord. 2011-08 § 1 (part), 2011: Ord. 98-65 § 2 (part), 1998. Formerly 14.15.180).
14.15.110 Resubdivision restricted.
Pursuant to RCW 58.17.060, land in an approved short subdivision may not be further divided in any manner within a period of five years without the filing of a final plat under the provisions of YMC Chapter 14.20, except that when the short plat contains fewer than nine parcels, nothing in this section shall prevent the owner who filed the short plat from filing an alteration within the five-year period to create up to a total of nine lots within the original short plat boundaries. (Ord. 2011-08 § 1 (part), 2011: Ord. 98-65 § 2 (part), 1998. Formerly 14.15.190).
14.15.120 Short plat amendment/alteration.
An approved and recorded short plat may be amended, altered, or vacated in whole or in part by recording an amended short plat in accordance with the following provisions:
A. The amended short plat must comply with procedures and requirements of this chapter for original short plat approval.
B. The title of the amended short plat shall be: “Amended City of Yakima Short Plat.”
C. The amended short plat shall show all of the land shown on the original short plat; shall show all deleted original lot lines as dashed lines; and shall bear the acknowledged signatures of all current fee simple owners and contract purchasers of the affected lots within the original short plat as shown by a current title certificate.
D. The amended short plat shall not increase the number of lots included in the original short plat unless the original short plat created fewer than the maximum allowable number of lots. Where fewer than nine lots were created, an amended short plat may increase the number of lots up to a final total of nine.
E. Minor errors not involving any change in lot lines may be corrected by the surveyor upon approval of the administrator by recording an affidavit with the Yakima County auditor which specifically references the affected short plat by number and sets forth the correction. (Ord. 2011-08 § 1 (part), 2011: Ord. 98-65 § 2 (part), 1998. Formerly 14.15.200).