(A) The purpose of this section is to carry out the provisions of the State Land Division Act (Public Act 288 of 1996, as amended, formerly known as the Subdivision Control Act), to prevent the creation of parcels of property which do not comply with applicable ordinances and the Act, to minimize potential boundary disputes, to maintain orderly development of the community, and otherwise provide for the health, safety, and welfare of the residents and property owners of the city by establishing reasonable standards for prior review and approval of land divisions within the city.
(B) For the purpose of this ordinance, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
APPLICANT. A natural person, firm, association, partnership, corporation, or combination of any thereof that holds ownership interest in land whether recorded or not.
DIVIDED or DIVISION. The partitioning or splitting of a parcel or tract of land by the proprietor thereof or by his or her heirs, executors, administrators, legal representatives, successors, or assigns, for the purpose of sale or lease of more than 1 year, or of building development, that results in 1 or more parcels of less than 40 acres or the equivalent and that satisfies the requirements of State Land Division Act, §§ 108 and 109. DIVIDE and DIVISION do not include a property transfer between 2 or more adjacent parcels, if the property taken from a parcel is added to an adjacent parcel; and any resulting parcel shall not be considered a building site unless the parcel conforms to the requirements of the State Land Division Act, or the requirements of the other applicable local ordinance.
EXEMPT SPLIT or EXEMPT DIVISION. The partitioning or splitting of a parcel or tract of land by the proprietor thereof, or by his or her heirs, executors, administrators, legal representatives, successors, or assigns, that does not result in 1 or more parcels of less than 40 acres of the equivalent.
(C) Land in the city shall not be divided without the prior review and approval of the city in accordance with this section and the State Land Division Act; provided that the following shall be exempted from this requirement. Any person who sells or agrees to sell any lot, piece, or parcel of land which has been split or divided from an existing parcel of land without final approval by the Assessor or the Assessor’s designee shall be subject to a fine not to exceed $1,000.00 in accordance with Section 26.430.264 of the State Land Division Act; provided that the following shall be exempt from this requirement:
(1) A parcel proposed for subdivision through a recorded plat pursuant to the State Land Division Act;
(2) A lot in a recorded plat proposed to be further divided in accordance with the State Land Division Act and Chapter 156 of this code; or
(3) An exempt split as defined in this section, or other partitioning or splitting that results in parcels of 20 acres or more if each is not accessible and the parcel was in existence on March 31, 1997 or resulted from exempt splitting under the Act.
(D) An applicant shall file an application for Land Division and all of the following information and documentation with the Assessor’s office; these applications shall be reviewed and approved by the following administrative officials before making any division either by deed, land contract, lease for more than 1 year, or for building development.
(1) Officials.
(a) The Assessor;
(b) The Road Department;
(c) The Water and Sewer Department;
(d) The Zoning Administrator;
(e) The Planning and Zoning Administrator; and
(f) The Controller Department.
(g) The City Treasurer;
(h) The County Treasurer.
(2) Information and documentation.
(a) A completed application on a form as may be provided by the City Assessor’s Office;
(b) Proof of fee simple ownership of the land proposed to be divided;
(c) A tentative parcel map drawn to scale, prepared by a registered civil engineer or a registered land surveyor, including an accurate legal description of each proposed division, and showing the boundary lines, approximate dimensions, and the accessibility of each division for vehicle traffic and public utilities; the drawing shall contain the following information.
1. All existing buildings and structures on the site, and building and structures located on abutting property within 50 feet of the lot to be divided with set backs.
2. Boundaries of any water body, floodplain, wetland, drainage way and woodlot.
3. Boundaries of all proposed divisions, with complete dimensions; area of each proposed resultant parcel.
4. Proposed locations and dimensions of any easements.
(d) Proof that all standards of the State Land Division Act and this ordinance have been met;
(e) Detailed information about the terms and availability of the proposed division rights transfer if a transfer of division rights is proposed in the land transfer; and
(f) A fee to cover the costs of review of the application and administration of this ordinance and the State Land Division Act. The amount of the fee shall be established and amended from time to time by resolution to the City Council.
(E) The following procedure for review of application for land division approval shall apply:
(1) The unanimous approval of all 8 city and county officials referenced in subparagraph (D) above shall be required to approve a land division;
(2) The city shall approve or disapprove the land division applied for within 15 business days after receipt of a complete application conforming to this ordinance’s requirements and the State Land Division Act, and shall promptly notify the applicant of the decision, and if denied, the reasons for denial;
(3) (a) Any applicant aggrieved by a denial of a lot split application may, within 30 days of the decision, appeal the decision to the City Council, which shall consider and resolve the appeal by a majority vote of the Council, or by the appellate designee, at its next regular meeting or session. The meeting or session shall be scheduled to afford sufficient time for a written notice to be sent to the applicant not less than 20 days prior to the meeting. The notice shall show the time, date, and place of the meeting and the appellate hearing;
(b) The City Council shall not have the authority to grant variances to the requirements of the zoning ordinance provision as they may relate to lot sizing and set back requirements.
(4) The City Assessor, under the direction of the Clerk, shall maintain an official record of all approved and accomplished land divisions or transfers;
(5) Approval of a division is not determination that the resulting parcels comply with other ordinances or regulations; and
(6) The city and the city’s officers, employees, and consultants shall not be liable for damages resulting from approval of a land division if building permits for construction on the parcels are subsequently denied because of inadequate water supply, sewage disposal facilities, requirements of this ordinance, and violations of other ordinance, or any other reason, and any notice of approval shall include a statement to this effect.
(7) All property taxes and bills due to the City or County Treasurer must be current before final approval will be given.
(F) Applications for a proposed land division shall be approved by the city if the following criteria are met:
(1) All parcels created by the proposed division(s) have a minimum width as specified by this ordinance for the zoning district in which the subject property is located, as amended from time to time;
(2) All those parcels shall contain a minimum area as specified by this ordinance for the zoning district in which the subject property is located, as amended from time to time; and
(3) For parcels greater than 1 acre in area, the ratio of depth to width of any parcel created by the division does not exceed a 4 to 1 ratio exclusive of access roads, easements, or non-development sites. For parcels equal to or less than 1 acre in area, the ratio of depth to width of any parcel created by the division does not exceed a 3 to 1 ration exclusive of access roads, easements, or non-development sites. The depth of a parcel created by a land division shall be measured as described in this ordinance. The width to depth ratio requirement may be appealed in accordance with the procedure described in subsection (E)(3) above in the following circumstances:
(a) Unusual shape or configuration or excessive depth of the parent parcel;
(b) Narrow or other unusual configuration of the parent parcel;
(c) Existing building placement or site improvements will not accommodate the required width to depth ratio;
(d) Unusual topographic, wetland, geologic, or other natural features make the required width to depth ratio impractical; or
(e) Any other feature(s) determined to be appropriate for consideration by the city’s representative.
(G) The following constitutes the consequences of noncompliance with land division approval requirements:
(1) Any division of land in violation of any provision of this section shall not be recognized as a land division of the city tax roll and no construction thereon which requires the prior issuance of a building permit shall be allowed. The city shall further have the authority to initiate injunctive or other relief to prevent any violation or continuance of any violation of this section; and
(2) An unlawful division or split shall also be voidable at the option of the purchaser and shall subject the seller to forfeiture of all consideration received or pledged therefore, together with any damages sustained by the purchaser, recoverable in an action at law.