Chapter 19.01
ADMINISTRATION
Sections:
19.01.030 Compliance required.
19.01.070 Administration—Interpretation.
19.01.010 Title reference.
This title shall be known as the “subdivision ordinance.” (Ord. 2158 § 1 (part), 2005).
19.01.020 Authority.
The ordinance codified in this title is adopted pursuant to Chapter 58.17 RCW for “subdivisions” and “short subdivisions” and also includes regulations for “large lot subdivisions,” “boundary line adjustments” and “binding site plans.” (Ord. 2158 § 1 (part), 2005).
19.01.030 Compliance required.
No division of land shall be made within the corporate limits of the city of Centralia, Washington, or outside the corporate limits as provided by law, except in full compliance with the provisions of this title and Chapter 58.17 RCW as it now exists or is hereafter amended. (Ord. 2158 § 1 (part), 2005).
19.01.040 Purpose.
The controls as set forth in this title are enacted in the exercise of the police power of the city of Centralia and are deemed necessary in order to:
A. Accomplish the orderly development of land within the city through regulations and standards governing subdivisions, short subdivisions, large lot subdivision, boundary line adjustments, and binding site plans which includes condominium developments;
B. Promote the public health, safety and general welfare;
C. Promote the safe and convenient travel by the public on the roads, streets, alleys and highways;
D. Facilitate adequate provision for potable water supplies, sanitary wastes (sewerage), drainageways, roads, streets, alleys and other public ways, transit stops, open spaces, parks and recreation areas, playgrounds, schools and school grounds, and other features that assure safe walking conditions for students who walk to and from school;
E. Coordinate development with public facilities and services and provide standards for construction of new services;
F. Provide for adequate and safe ingress and egress to and from property;
G. Promote the conservation of energy and resources through energy efficient land use and design;
H. Ensure that the general taxpaying public is not burdened with those developments that are more appropriately the responsibility of the original developer and safeguard the interests of the public, the developer and future property owners;
I. Prevent overcrowding of land by providing adequate open spaces and balanced, attractive communities;
J. Improve land records and boundary monumentation by requiring uniform monumenting of land subdivisions and conveyances by accurate legal description;
K. Further the goals and objectives of the city of Centralia comprehensive plan and all its elements; and
L. Define requirements for subdivisions, short subdivisions, large lot subdivisions, boundary line adjustments and binding site plans and the layout and design requirements for each; provide for appeals, filing fees, variances, and permit processing, and establishing penalties for violations of this title. (Ord. 2158 § 1 (part), 2005).
19.01.050 Conflicts.
The provisions of this title shall be minimum requirements. Whenever any of these provisions are at variance with any of the requirements of any other lawfully adopted rules, regulations and ordinances, the most restrictive, or that imposing the higher standards shall apply. (Ord. 2158 § 1 (part), 2005).
19.01.060 Exemptions.
The provisions of this title shall not apply to:
A. Cemeteries and other burial plots when used for that purpose;
B. Division of land into lots or tracts not containing a dedication, in which the smallest lot created by the division is forty acres in area, or more, or that which is defined in the instrument of division as one-quarter of a quarter section of land; provided, that for the purpose of computing the size of any lot under this item which borders on a street or road, the lot size shall be expanded to include that area which would be bounded by the centerline of the road or street and the side lot lines of the lot running perpendicular to such centerline;
C. Any division made by testamentary provisions, or the laws of descent;
D. A division made for the purpose of lease when no residential structure other than manufactured homes or travel trailers are permitted to be placed upon the land in accordance with the city zoning ordinance and when a binding site plan for the use of the land has been approved;
E. A division not for the purpose of sale or lease in the present or future. For the purposes of this exemption, the following divisions shall be presumed, when considered by themselves in the absence of surrounding circumstances to the contrary, not to be for such purpose:
1. Administrative segregations in the Lewis County assessor’s office made solely for the purpose of levy, assessment, collection, payment or exemption of real property taxes pursuant to applicable state statutes;
2. Annexations and land vacations accomplished pursuant to and in accordance with all pertinent state and local rules and regulations governing the same;
3. Acquisitions of fractional parts of land being of insufficient area or dimension to meet minimum zoning requirements for width or area by public bodies for the purpose of future use as public highways or public utility ways; and
4. The sale or lease of a condominium apartment subject to the provisions of the Washington State Horizontal Regimes Act (Chapter 64.32 RCW). (Ord. 2158 § 1 (part), 2005).
19.01.070 Administration—Interpretation.
The director of community development shall have the responsibility of administering and interpreting all terms and provisions of this title. Formal interpretations shall be requested in writing. Issuance of a formal interpretation shall be considered an administrative decision, with appeals to be made to the hearing examiner. If the appellant is still aggrieved then the hearing examiner’s decision may be appealed to the superior court of Lewis County. (Ord. 2158 § 1 (part), 2005).
19.01.080 Consent to access.
The subdivider shall permit free access to the land being divided to all agencies reviewing the subdivision, large lot subdivision, short subdivision, boundary line adjustment, or binding site plan for the period of time extending from the time of application to the time of final action. (Ord. 2158 § 1 (part), 2005).