Chapter 17.08
ADMINISTRATION
Sections:
17.08.020 Adverse possession lawsuit – Consent or judgment required.
17.08.030 Dedication of land or granting of an easement to a public agency.
17.08.040 Exemptions – Subdivision and short subdivision.
17.08.050 Recording map and legal descriptions.
17.08.060 Review for conformity with other codes, plans and policies.
17.08.070 Determining and maintaining legal status of a lot.
17.08.080 Determining innocent purchaser status.
17.08.090 Public street rights-of-way.
17.08.100 Limitations within future road corridors.
17.08.105 Lot layout and design.
17.08.110 Affidavit of correction.
17.08.120 Vertical and horizontal survey controls.
17.08.130 Financial guarantees.
17.08.160 Minimum subdivision and short subdivision improvements.
17.08.170 Violations and enforcement.
17.08.180 Circumvention of zoning density prohibited.
17.08.185 Land segregation fees.
17.08.190 Interpretation and conflicting regulations.
17.08.010 Scope of chapter.
This chapter contains provisions general to the administration of land segregation. Any segregation of land is subject to the provisions of this title except as stated herein. (Ord. 1188 § 2 (part), 2003).
17.08.020 Adverse possession lawsuit – Consent or judgment required.
Applications for segregation allowed by this title concerning lands on which there is a pending lawsuit for adverse possession will not receive final approval without the consent of the adverse possession claimant or until a trial court judgment settling the lawsuit is entered. (Ord. 1188 § 2 (part), 2003).
17.08.030 Dedication of land or granting of an easement to a public agency.
The dedication of land or granting of an easement to a public agency for road, access, and utility purposes shall not be considered a segregation of land. (Ord. 1188 § 2 (part), 2003).
17.08.040 Exemptions – Subdivision and short subdivision.
Consistent with RCW 58.17.040, the subdivision and short subdivision provisions of this title shall not apply to:
A. Divisions of lands for cemeteries and other burial plots while used for that purpose.
B. Divisions of land made by testamentary provisions or laws of descent.
C. Divisions of land into lots or tracts consistent with RCW 58.17.040(7), for which a condominium binding site plan has been recorded in accordance with the binding site plan provisions set forth in this title.
D. An adjustment of boundary lines in accordance with the provisions of this title.
E. Divisions of land for the purpose of lease when no residential structures other than mobile homes are permitted to be placed upon the land and for which a binding site plan for the use of the land as a mobile home park has been approved by the director.
F. Divisions of land by binding site plan into lots or tracts classified for industrial or commercial use consistent with the binding site plan provisions of this title.
G. A division for the purpose of leasing land for facilities providing personal wireless services while used for that purpose. (Ord. 1188 § 2 (part), 2003).
17.08.050 Recording map and legal descriptions.
The final recording map and legal description of a plat, short plat, boundary line adjustment or binding site plan shall be prepared by a land surveyor in accordance with Chapter 58.09 RCW and Chapter 332-130 WAC, Surveys and Recording, and be recorded with the King County office of records and elections as required by this title. (Ord. 1188 § 2 (part), 2003).
17.08.060 Review for conformity with other codes, plans and policies.
Applications for approvals pursuant to this title shall be reviewed in accordance with the applicable procedures of any combination of this title and NBMC Title 20, Administration of Development Regulations. Furthermore, applications for subdivisions, short subdivisions, lot line adjustments and binding site plans may be approved, approved with conditions or denied in accordance with the following adopted county and state rules, regulations, plans and policies including, but not limited to:
A. Chapter 43.21C RCW (SEPA);
B. Chapter 58.17 RCW (Subdivisions);
C. Chapters 36.70A and 36.70B RCW (Growth Management and Project Review);
D. NBMC Title 13, Water and Sewers;
E. NBMC Title 14, Environmental Protection;
F. Chapter 15.16 NBMC, Fire Prevention;
G. Chapter 15.40 NBMC*, Floodplain Management;
H. Chapter 15.44 NBMC, Shoreline Management;
I. NBMC Title 18, Zoning;
J. NBMC Title 19, Development Standards;
K. King County board of public health rules and regulations;
L. North Bend approved utility comprehensive plans;
M. North Bend comprehensive plan;
N. King County county-wide planning policies; and
O. This title. (Ord. 1464 § 1 (Exh. A (part)), 2012; Ord. 1188 § 2 (part), 2003).
*Code reviser’s note: Floodplain management provisions are now codified in Chapter 14.12 NBMC.
17.08.070 Determining and maintaining legal status of a lot.
A. A property owner may request that the department determine whether a lot was legally segregated.
B. In requesting a determination, the property owner shall submit evidence, deemed acceptable to the department, such as:
1. Recorded subdivisions or division of land;
2. North Bend documents indicating approval of a short subdivision;
3. Recorded deeds or contracts describing the lot or lots either individually or as part of a conjunctive legal description (e.g., Lot 1 and Lot 2); or
4. Historic tax records or other similar evidence, describing the lot as an individual parcel. The department shall give great weight to the existence of historic tax records or tax parcels in making its determination.
C. Once the department has determined that the lot was legally created, the department shall continue to acknowledge the lot as such, unless the property owner reaggregates or merges the lot with another lot or lots in order to:
1. Create a parcel of land that would qualify as a building site; or
2. Implement a deed restriction or condition, a covenant or court decision.
D. The department’s determination shall not be construed as a guarantee that the lot constitutes a building site as defined in NBMC 17.04.060.
E. Reaggregation of lots after January 1, 2000, shall only be the result of a deliberate action by a property owner expressly requesting a permanent merger of two or more lots.
F. The cost of determining the legal status of the lot shall be borne by the property owner, and based on the city’s fee ordinance. (Ord. 1464 § 1 (Exh. A (part)), 2012: Ord. 1188 § 2 (part), 2003).
17.08.080 Determining innocent purchaser status.
A. An innocent purchaser of a parcel divided in violation of North Bend subdivision requirements who files a notarized affidavit of innocent purchase with the department on forms approved by the director may seek to establish the parcel’s eligibility for city development approvals and for lawful future conveyance; provided, that nothing herein is intended to exempt development on innocent purchaser lots from compliance with development standards of the city’s zoning code.
B. All contiguous parcels divided in violation of this title that are under common ownership at the time of application for innocent purchaser status shall be recognized only as a single lot.
C. Innocent purchaser status shall not be granted to any individual or group more than once for a given subdivision, short subdivision, binding site plan, or lot line adjustment. (Ord. 1464 § 1 (Exh. A (part)), 2012: Ord. 1188 § 2 (part), 2003).
17.08.090 Public street rights-of-way.
Dedication or deeding to the city of right-of-way or a portion thereof for public streets shall be required within or along the boundaries of all binding site plans, subdivisions and short subdivisions or of any lot or lots within them, under the following circumstances, where facts support that such dedication is reasonably necessary as a result of the impact created by the proposed development:
A. Where the six-year capital improvement plan or transportation needs report indicates the necessity of a new right-of-way or portion thereof for street purposes;
B. Where necessary to extend or to complete the existing or future neighborhood street pattern;
C. Where necessary to provide additions of right-of-way to existing city right-of-way;
D. Where necessary to comply with city road standards and North Bend road plans;
E. Where necessary to provide a public transportation system that supports future development of abutting property consistent with the North Bend comprehensive plan or North Bend zoning code; provided, that the right-of-way shall:
1. Provide for vehicular and pedestrian circulation within and between neighborhoods;
2. Provide local traffic alternatives to the use of arterial streets; and
3. Reduce potential traffic impacts to existing streets. (Ord. 1464 § 1 (Exh. A (part)), 2012; Ord. 1188 § 2 (part), 2003).
17.08.100 Limitations within future road corridors.
In order to allow for the development of future road corridors that would complete the public circulation system or that would provide a sole source of access for an abutting property, the city may limit improvements within specific areas of a proposed binding site plan, subdivision or short subdivision. These limitations may preclude the construction of buildings, driveways, drainage facilities or other improvements within the specified areas. (Ord. 1188 § 2 (part), 2003).
17.08.105 Lot layout and design.
The following standards shall be applied to the layout and design of subdivisions and short subdivisions:
A. Lots shall front to a public street, a park or a common open space tract owned by the city or the applicable homeowners association, unless infeasible due to the shape of existing lot lines or the presence of topographic constraints.
B. A shared driveway shall not be used to serve more than four residences. Where access to more than four residences is needed, a public street shall be provided, constructed to the applicable minimum planning/design street standard in Chapter 19.01 NBMC.
C. Lots with double frontages (where streets other than an alley exist on opposing property lines) are permitted only when all of the following circumstances apply:
1. When such lots are adjacent to a collector or arterial street or where necessary due to topography or other site limitations;
2. When limited to a maximum of 250 linear feet of double frontage for all applicable lots along such collector or arterial street;
3. When subject to a landscape buffer as provided in subsection D of this section.
D. If rear lot lines within a subdivision face a street, a minimum 15-foot landscape buffer shall be required between the rear lot line and the adjacent street right-of-way or easement. Said landscape buffer shall consist of Type 2 landscaping per the landscape regulations in Chapter 18.18 NBMC and, when provided for a subdivision, shall be placed in a tract owned and maintained by the applicable homeowners association or otherwise in collective ownership and maintenance of all homeowners within the development.
E. Subdivisions shall additionally meet the following lot size and width variation criteria:
1. Lot Width. No more than three adjacent residential lots shall have the same width. Variation shall be not less than 10 feet.
2. Lot Size. SF lot sizes shall vary. Not more than three adjacent lots shall be of the same size (“same size” is defined as within 500 square feet in area relative to each other). (Ord. 1666 § 18, 2018: Ord. 1540 § 1 (Exh. A (part)), 2014; Ord. 1363 § 2, 2009).
17.08.110 Affidavit of correction.
A. Any map page or document on file with the King County records and elections division under the provisions of this title that contains an error in fact or omission may be amended by an affidavit of correction. The following types of errors may be corrected by affidavit:
1. Any bearing, distance or elevation omitted from the recorded document;
2. An error in any bearing, distance or elevation shown on the recorded document;
3. An error in the description of the real property shown on the recorded document;
4. An error in the field location of any shown easement; or
5. Any other error or omission where the error or omission is ascertainable from the data shown on the recorded document.
B. Nothing in this section shall be construed to permit changes in courses, distances or elevations for the purpose of redesigning lot or tract configurations.
C. The affidavit of correction shall contain the seal and signature of the land surveyor making the correction.
D. The affidavit of correction shall set forth in detail the corrections made and show the names of the present fee owners of the property materially affected by the correction. The notarized signatures of the owners shall be required, if deemed necessary by the department.
E. The affidavit of correction form, as provided by the department, shall be submitted to the department for review and approval and shall include signatures of the development engineer, the director of the department, the King County assessor and the manager of the King County division of records and elections. After department approval, the affidavit shall be recorded with the records and elections division. Submittals shall include payment of applicable fees.
F. Should a nonsurvey-related error occur on the recorded document as a result of information required to be placed on the document by the department, the department’s responsible land surveyor may prepare the affidavit providing the original land surveyor has no objections. The seal and signature of the department’s responsible land surveyor making the correction shall be affixed to the affidavit. A copy of the affidavit shall be mailed by the department to the original land surveyor following recording. (Ord. 1188 § 2 (part), 2003).
17.08.120 Vertical and horizontal survey controls.
A. Vertical Requirements. The vertical datum on all engineering plans, plats, binding site plans and short plats shall be the North American vertical datum of 1988 and shall be tied to at least one King County Survey Control Network benchmark, one WSDOT benchmark or a city of North Bend benchmark. GPS methods may be used as long as at least one physical benchmark is observed within one mile of the subject property as a check against systematic and random error. GPS methods must follow then-current Washington State Department of Natural Resources GPS Guidebook procedures for vertical control with a statement attesting so. Benchmarks shall be shown or otherwise referenced on the plans. An alternate vertical datum may be used with the approval of the development engineer.
B. Horizontal Requirements. The horizontal component of all plats, binding site plans and short plats shall have the North American datum of 1983/91 as its coordinate base and basis for bearings. All horizontal control for these projects shall be referenced to a minimum of two King County or WSDOT horizontal control monuments. If two horizontal control monuments do not exist within one mile of these projects, GPS methods may be used as long as at least one physical horizontal control monument is observed within two miles of the subject property as a check against systematic and random error. GPS methods must follow then-current Washington State Department of Natural Resources GPS Guidebook procedures for horizontal control with a statement attesting so. (Ord. 1618 § 1, 2017: Ord. 1464 § 1 (Exh. A (part)), 2012; Ord. 1188 § 2 (part), 2003).
17.08.130 Financial guarantees.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, the director is authorized to require all applicants issued permits or approvals under the provisions of this title to post financial guarantees consistent with the provisions of NBMC Title 19. (Ord. 1464 § 1 (Exh. A (part)), 2012: Ord. 1188 § 2 (part), 2003).
17.08.140 Conceptual review.
Prior to proceeding through the subdivision/short plat/binding site plan process, an applicant shall attend a mandatory preapplication meeting. At that time, the department will perform a conceptual review based upon the information provided by the applicant. (Ord. 1464 § 1 (Exh. A (part)), 2012: Ord. 1188 § 2 (part), 2003).
17.08.150 Application requirements for preliminary plats, preliminary short plats and preliminary binding site plans.
The following application requirements shall be required in addition to those application requirements described in NBMC 20.02.002:
A. A title report issued within 30 days of application, showing all persons having an ownership interest, a legal description describing exterior boundary of application site and listing all encumbrances affecting the site.
B. A map prepared by a land surveyor showing the following:
1. Location of all physical and legal description encroachments affecting the boundary between the application site and the adjoining parcels. Encroachments may be from the application site onto the adjoining parcels or from the adjoining parcels onto the application site;
2. Contours based upon topographic field survey. Contour intervals shall be at two-foot intervals when slopes are 15 percent or less and five-foot intervals for slopes exceeding 15 percent. The preliminary map shall contain notes indicating that contours are based upon field survey. A field topographic base map shall accompany the application. If approved by the department, field survey may be waived for large areas of open space or extensive sensitive area tracts. Two temporary benchmarks must be shown within the application site along with the appropriate elevation and datum;
3. A legal description of application site as shown in the title report;
4. The proposed layout of lots, tracts, rights-of-way and easements, along with existing utilities and areas of proposed dedications;
5. The purpose of any tracts and dedications proposed within the application site;
6. All easements, listed in the title report, capable of being plotted on the map;
7. Field-verified survey of location of all known sensitive areas including, but not limited to, streams, wetlands and steep slopes that may affect the proposal. Show the approximate 100-year floodplain, floodway or river channel migration zone, where applicable;
8. Name of proposal;
9. North arrow, scale and date of map and revisions when applicable;
10. Location of adjoining parcels and buildings within 100 feet of the site shall be shown and delineated by dashed lines. The zoning of the parcels shall also be identified;
11. Name and location of all existing adjoining rights-of-way along with the name and location of any adjoining or internal right-of-way proposed to be vacated with the proposal; and
12. A vicinity map.
C. An engineered preliminary drainage plan and preliminary stormwater technical information report.
D. Proof of sewer and water availability, including any water rights, in the form of a certificate of water availability and certificate of sewer availability.
E. A proposed binding site plan shall be deemed to have satisfied the requirements of subsection B of this section when the binding site plan is based on a recorded final planned unit development, building permit, as-built site plan for developed sites, or a site development permit for the entire site and proof of sewer and water availability (pursuant to subsection D of this section) and traffic concurrency has been provided.
F. A landscape plan prepared per Chapter 18.18 NBMC, Landscaping Regulations.
G. A significant tree survey and retention plan prepared per Chapter 19.10 NBMC, Clearing, Grading, Filling and Drainage.
H. A SEPA checklist, if required, per Chapter 14.04 NBMC.
I. A trip generation and distribution analysis, if required, per the public work standards. (Ord. 1801 § 1, 2023; Ord. 1777 § 1, 2022; Ord. 1464 § 1 (Exh. A (part)), 2012: Ord. 1338 § 1, 2008: Ord. 1188 § 2 (part), 2003).
17.08.160 Minimum subdivision and short subdivision improvements.
A. Prior to final recording of a plat or short plat, the following minimum improvements shall be constructed consistent with the approved plans, except that the director may allow posting of a financial guarantee and/or the execution of a delay of improvement agreement, based on a finding that the deferral of the required improvements is in the best interests of the city of North Bend:
1. Drainage facilities and erosion control measures consistent with Chapters 14.16 and 19.01 NBMC;
2. Water mains and hydrant installed and fire flow available, if required;
3. Roadways graded to all lots within the subdivision or short subdivision and capable of providing access by passenger vehicle;
4. Specific site improvements required by the preliminary plat approval ordinance or preliminary short plat approval decision, if the decision requires completion prior to plat recording;
5. Delineation of critical areas that are to remain undeveloped and protected by easement or placement in a separate tract pursuant to NBMC 14.05.135;
6. Temporary control monuments set by a land surveyor, located in conformance with this title, and in place at final inspection. Permanent monuments and control points shall be set and verified by a land surveyor within 90 days of the final lift of asphalt; and
7. Improvements without which the director determines a safety hazard would exist.
B. The director shall have right of entry onto any lot, tract, easement or parcel that is part of the final plat or short plat to ensure compliance with the minimum subdivision improvements required in subsection A of this section. (Ord. 1666 § 19, 2018: Ord. 1464 § 1 (Exh. A (part)), 2012; Ord. 1188 § 2 (part), 2003).
17.08.170 Violations and enforcement.
Any person or entity who violates any provision of this title shall, in addition to any remedies and sanctions provided for under state law, be subject to the enforcement provisions of Chapter 1.20 NBMC. (Ord. 1585 § 16, 2016: Ord. 1188 § 2 (part), 2003).
17.08.180 Circumvention of zoning density prohibited.
A legal lot, which has been subject to a boundary line adjustment or created through a legally recognized land segregation process and is of sufficient land area to be subdivided at the density applicable to the lot, may be further segregated. However, such further segregation of the lot shall not be permitted if the total number of lots contained within the external boundaries of the lots subject to the original boundary line adjustment or the total number of lots contained within the external boundary of the parcel subject to the original land segregation exceed the density or minimum lot size and dimensions allowed under current zoning. (Ord. 1188 § 2 (part), 2003).
17.08.185 Land segregation fees.
Fees, as established by the taxes, rates and fees schedule adopted by ordinance, shall apply to all land segregation applications governed by this title. (Ord. 1237 § 14, 2005).
17.08.190 Interpretation and conflicting regulations.
A. Where uncertainty exists with any language or provision of this title, and/or with any North Bend Municipal Code chapters relating to division of land, an administrative interpretation clarifying the uncertainty shall be made by the director.
B. Should language or provisions of this title, or of other North Bend Municipal Code chapters relating to division of land, or with other applicable land division regulations (including county, regional, state, federal, or other), the following guidelines shall dictate:
1. Where applicable, the most restrictive regulation shall typically apply;
2. The most recently adopted regulation shall typically apply;
3. Where applicable, preemptory regulations (e.g., state, federal) or guidelines shall apply; and
4. If the guidelines in subsections (B)(1) and (2) of this section conflict, an administrative interpretation shall be made by the director. (Ord. 1188 § 2 (part), 2003).