(A) Construction work shall not occur on a proposed subdivision until the Town Council has given conditional approval of the preliminary plat. Construction work undertaken prior to the preliminary plat approval subjects the subdivider to the possibility the work will have to be redone or removed. In addition, MCA § 76-4-121 regulates subdivision activities.
(B) Except as noted below, a final subdivision plat must be filed for record with the County Clerk and Recorder before title to the subdivided land can be sold or transferred in any manner. After the preliminary plat of a subdivision has been approved or conditionally approved, the subdivider may enter into contracts to sell lots in the proposed subdivision if all of the following conditions are met:
(1) Under the terms of the contracts, the purchasers of lots in the proposed subdivision make any payments to an escrow agent, which must be a bank or savings and loan association chartered to do business in the state;
(2) Under the terms of the contracts and the escrow agreement, the payments made by purchasers of lots in the proposed subdivision may not be distributed by the escrow agent to the subdivider until the final plat of the subdivision is filed with the County Clerk and Recorder;
(3) The contracts and the escrow agreement provide that if the final plat of the proposed subdivision is not filed with the County Clerk and Recorder within two years of the preliminary plat approval, the escrow agent shall immediately refund to each purchaser any payments made under the contract;
(4) The contracts contain the following language conspicuously set out therein: “The real property which is the subject hereof has not been finally platted, and until a final plat identifying the property has been filed with the County Clerk and Recorder, title to the property cannot be transferred in any manner”;
(5) The County Treasurer has certified that all real property taxes and special assessments assessed and levied on the land to be divided, have been paid; and
(6) A copy of the contracts and escrow agreement described above must be submitted to the Planning Board (or Subdivision Administrator) within ten days of the last signature.
(C) The Town Council or its designated agent(s), or affected agencies identified during the pre-application meeting, may investigate, examine, and evaluate the site of the proposed subdivision to verify information provided by the subdivider, and to subsequently monitor compliance with any conditions if the preliminary plat is approved conditionally. The submission of a subdivision application constitutes a grant of permission by the subdivider for the Town Council, its agents, and affected agencies to enter the subject property. This consent applies to members of the public attending a noticed public meeting for a site visit.
(D) Prior to submittal of a subdivision application, the subdivider shall request a pre-application meeting with the Subdivision Administrator. The meeting shall occur within 30 days after the subdivider submits a written request for the meeting to the Subdivision Administrator.
(E) At the time of the pre-application meeting request, the subdivider shall provide to the Subdivision Administrator a sketch of the proposed subdivision showing the layout of the proposed features in relation to existing site conditions, and pre-application fee set by resolution.
(F) The sketch may be a freehand sketch drawn directly on a print of a topographic map of the area proposed for division, at a scale of one inch to 400 feet or larger, that is adequate to show the property and must include the following:
(1) Information on the current status of the site, including:
(a) Location;
(b) Approximate tract and lot boundaries of existing tracts of record;
(c) Description of general terrain;
(d) Natural features on the land, including water bodies, floodplains, geologic hazards, and soil types;
(e) Existing structures and improvements;
(f) Existing utility lines and facilities serving the area to be subdivided;
(g) Existing easements and rights-of-way;
(h) Existing zoning or development regulation standards;
(i) Existing conservation easements;
(j) Existing covenants or deed restrictions; and
(k) Existing noxious weeds.
(2) Documentation on the current status of the site, including:
(a) Ownership information, such as a deed, option to buy, or buy-sell agreement, including permission to subdivide;
(b) Water rights, including location of agricultural water user facilities;
(c) Any special improvement districts; and
(d) Rights of first refusal for the property.
(3) Information on the proposed subdivision, including:
(a) Tract and proposed lot boundaries;
(b) Proposed public and private improvements;
(c) Location of utility lines and facilities;
(d) Easements and rights of way; and
(e) Parks and open space, and proposed conservation easements.
(G) The Subdivision Administrator shall identify, for informational purposes, the state laws, local regulations, and growth policy provisions that may apply to the subdivision review process including, but not limited to, zoning regulations and floodplain regulations.
(H) The Subdivision Administrator shall provide the subdivider with a list of public utilities, local, state, and federal agencies, and any other entities that have an interest in the proposed subdivision and that may be contacted for comment by the Subdivision Administrator or Planning Board on the subdivision application. The Subdivision Administrator shall also identify the timeframes that the public utilities, agencies, and other entities, are given to respond.
(I) The Subdivision Administrator may identify particular additional information he or she anticipates will be required for review of the subdivision application. This does not limit the ability of the Subdivision Administrator to request additional information at a later time.
(J) Unless the subdivider submits a subdivision application within six months of this pre-application meeting, the subdivider must request a new pre-application meeting prior to submitting the subdivision application.
(Prior Code, § 11-4-7)
Statutory reference:
General procedures for preliminary plats before construction, see MCA § 76-3-303