Chapter 16.44
SHORT PLATS
Sections:
16.44.020 Building or development restrictions.
16.44.030 Conformance to development plans.
16.44.040 Streets and roadways.
16.44.050 Minimum lot size and density.
16.44.060 Further division of property.
16.44.070 Filing--Administrative fee.
16.44.080 Standards for submittal.
16.44.084 Planning commission--Ability to regulate.
16.44.110 Final approval--Recording.
16.44.010 Filing required.
A. Prior to any property owner selling a portion of his property, or dividing it into two or more parcels for building or other purposes, except as otherwise exempted, he shall file with the city clerk, and record with the county auditor, according to the terms of this chapter, a short plat.
B. The short plat shall consist of only two, three, or four parcels, lots or tracts which are to be divided from the original tract; which comprise the entire original tract, and of which one or more are proposed to be sold, leased or built upon. (Ord. 15-05 §1 (Exh. 2) (part): Ord. 1161 §1(part), 1984).
16.44.020 Building or development restrictions.
A. No building or development upon property within the city shall be allowed unless the property has been properly divided according to the terms of this chapter, or comes within one of the following exemptions:
1. Each of the resulting lots or tracts contains five acres or more, inclusive of roads;
2. Repealed by Ord. 1450;
3. The tract is a lot of prior record, having been sold or leased prior to the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter, as evidenced by a valid earnest money contract, real estate contract, lease or deed, and has not been further subdivided;
4. Divisions made by testamentary provision or the laws of descent;
5. Lots or tracts within a previously recorded subdivision or short plat which are combined in whole or in part to create building sites which conform to current zoning requirements;
6. Alteration, change, shift or correction of lot or property lines that do not create an additional building lot. Where such changes in property lines affect property which has been built upon, no yard shall be diminished below its then legal requirement.
B. Although some lots are exempted from the platting and recording provisions by subsections (A)(5) and (6) of this section, the owner or developer is required to provide the city clerk-treasurer with an accurate, scaled and dimensioned drawing of the proposed changes. (Ord. 15-05 §1 (Exh. 2) (part): Ord. 1450 §§1, 2, 1999; Ord. 1161 §1 (part), 1984).
16.44.030 Conformance to development plans.
The plat shall conform to the general developmental plans of the city as provided in its comprehensive plan, and ingress and egress must be in such a manner as will not conflict with the general street plans and traffic plans in the area. If the plat abuts upon a street right-of-way which is not improved or being improved by the owner, the owners shall execute a covenant running with the land, binding the property to pay a proportionate share of any development of said street or utilities thereon, if, when and as said street is developed or utilities constructed thereon. (Ord. 15-05 §1 (Exh. 2) (part): Ord. 1161 §1 (part), 1984).
16.44.040 Streets and roadways.
A. Any street traversing the short plat to serve other property, and any other street within the subdivision, not exempted from dedication by the short plat administrative committee, shall be dedicated as a public way and conveyed to the city as such by separate deed. Every such street shall be improved to standards governing pavement, surfacing and width, except as qualified by subsection C of this section, as required in this chapter.
B. The short plat administrative committee may exempt a private roadway from the requirement of dedication upon determining that exceptional circumstances, including its length, the number of lots it serves, and its relationship to the street plan element of the comprehensive plan, warrant excluding it from the system of public ways within the city. Exemption shall not occur unless the roadway is wholly contained within, and is only designed to serve, one or more lots within the plat. As mandatory conditions for exemption the owner shall, if the roadway serves one lot, provide all utilities to it from the nearest street from which they are available, or if the roadway serves more than one lot, provide easements for utilities to points of distribution approved by the city engineer. No exemption shall be granted unless the owner undertakes, on behalf of himself and his successors, full responsibility for the roadway’s maintenance and repair, and incorporates within the short plat or by a separate recorded instrument covenants which run with the land and obligate the owner and his successors to assume full and continuous responsibility for maintenance and repair.
C. The short plat administrative committee may authorize relaxation of standards governing right-of-way and roadway widths and cul-de-sac diameters and design with respect to any dedicated street or private roadway which is wholly contained within and is designed to only serve a lot or lots within a short subdivision; provided, in no event shall the standards be relaxed in excess of the following:
1. Right-of-way widths may be reduced to a minimum of thirty feet;
2. Surfaced widths may be reduced to a minimum of sixteen feet;
3. Cul-de-sac rights-of-way may be reduced to a minimum diameter of seventy feet;
4. Cul-de-sac surfacing may be reduced to a minimum diameter of fifty feet, or may incorporate a "hammerhead" or "T" shaped turnaround, where a minimum fifty-foot-long private strip is laid out perpendicular to and centered on the end of the roadway. (Ord. 15-05 §1 (Exh. 2) (part): Ord. 1161 §1(part), 1984).
16.44.050 Minimum lot size and density.
Each lot of a short plat shall meet the minimum lot size and density as provided by such other applicable Colfax Municipal Code titles. (Ord. 15-05 §1 (Exh. 2) (part): Ord. 1161 §1(part), 1984).
16.44.060 Further division of property.
Property divided pursuant to this chapter, or any part thereof, shall not be further divided in any manner for a period of five years, without the filing of a final plat pursuant to the terms of the subdivision ordinance of the city. (Ord. 15-05 §1 (Exh. 2) (part): Ord. 1161 §1(part), 1984).
16.44.070 Filing--Administrative fee.
Ten copies of the proposed short plat shall be filed with the city clerk. The city clerk shall then transmit one copy to each member of the short plat administrative committee and forward one copy to the city attorney. The preliminary application shall meet all of the requirements of the final short plat, except for the requirement of the mylar or other approved reproducible material tracing, and the signatures of the approving officials. (Ord. 15-05 §1 (Exh. 2) (part): Ord. 1384 §3, 1995; Ord. 1161 §1(part), 1984).
16.44.080 Standards for submittal.
After the short plat administrative committee has given its preliminary approval, there shall be filed with the city clerk an original mylar or other approved reproducible material tracing and ten prints, which shall meet the following standards:
A. The short plat shall be numbered as designated by the Whitman County auditor;
B. Drawn in ink to a scale not smaller than one inch equals one hundred feet on mylar, or other approved reproducible material, a sheet of eighteen inches by twenty-four inches;
C. The short plat shall show the legal description, the boundary and dimensions of the original tract, including its assessor’s parcel number, and all adjoining public or private roads and identifying names of such;
D. A vicinity map drawn to a scale of four inches equals one mile of sufficient detail to orient the location of the original tract;
E. Name and address of the owner of record of the original tract, scale of the drawing, and north directional arrow;
F. The tract(s) or lot(s) of land proposed to be sold, leased or built upon, each of which is designated by numerical designation; dimensions of each tract or lot;
G. Width and location of access to all short platted lots;
H. The location and use of all buildings on the original tract (may be eliminated in the final plat);
I. Space on a second eighteen-inch by twenty-four-inch sheet shall be reserved for covenants, restrictions, comments and signatures of the appropriate owner, city and county officials;
J. Surveys shall be required for all short plats; provided, that if there is sufficient existing survey monumentation, which means that at least two of the boundaries were included in a previous survey and one corner is monumented, then the short plat committee may waive this requirement. (Ord. 15-05 §1 (Exh. 2) (part): Ord. 1161 §1(part), 1984).
16.44.084 Planning commission--Ability to regulate.
The planning commission shall have the ability to consider short plats submitted under this chapter and is authorized to give preliminary short plat approval and recommend final approval to the city council. This commission shall act upon a short plat submission within thirty days of submission by recommending approval, disapproval, or amendments to the city council. The planning commission may require changes in the format of the short plat in accordance with the contents of this chapter and the requirements of the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of the city and for the protection of the integrity of the adjoining properties. (Ord. 15-05 §1 (Exh. 2) (part))
16.44.090 Administrative committee--Membership.
Repealed by Ord. 15-05. (Ord. 08-05 §4: Ord. 1161 §1 (part), 1984).
16.44.100 Administrative committee--Duties.
Repealed by Ord. 15-05. (Ord. 1161 §1 (part), 1984).
16.44.110 Final approval--Recording.
Upon final approval of the council, its approval will be shown by the affixing of the signatures of the mayor and the city clerk-treasurer to the appropriate mylar sheet, and the mylar drawing(s) shall be recorded with the auditor of Whitman County at the expense of the owner, developer or applicant. (Ord. 15-05 §1 (Exh. 2) (part): Ord. 1161 §1 (part), 1984).