(A) Requirements.
(1) Extent of plat. The final plat may include all or only a part of the approved preliminary plat.
(2) Format. The original drawing of the final plat of the subdivision shall be drawn to a scale of 50 feet to one inch; however, if the resulting drawing would be over 36 inches in shortest dimension, a scale of 100 feet to one inch may be used or a scale as recommended by the City Engineer or the Commission. Ten black or blue line prints shall be submitted with the original final plat.
(3) Engineering plans. Detailed engineering drawings and construction plans, prepared by and certified to by a registered professional engineer, in accordance with the provisions of the latest revision of the city’s standard specifications and standard drawings for construction and including the standards of improvements contained herein, shall be submitted to the city for review. The engineering plans shall be approved by the Public Works Director or the Director’s designee. The approval must be obtained prior to construction of the improvements.
(4) Data on plat. The following basic information shall be shown on the final plat:
(a) Accurate exterior boundary lines of the subdivision and the lots, with dimensions and bearings which provide a survey of the same closing with and error of not more than one foot in10,000 feet for the subdivision and one foot in 5,000 feet for any lot;
(b) Accurate distances and bearings from the subdivision to some corner of the congressional division of which the addition is a part. Reference corners shall be accurately described on the plat;
(c) Accurate distances and bearings of all existing, recorded or proposed streets and alleys intersecting or within the boundaries of the subdivision;
(d) Identification of all adjoining properties by subdivision name or name of property owner;
(e) Signature blocks for the approval signature of the Mayor and City Clerk, the Chairperson of the Planning Commission and the utility companies;
(f) Street names;
(g) Complete curve notes for all curves in the subdivision including radius, central angle, tangent, length of curve, length of chord and chord bearing information;
(h) Street and alley lines with accurate dimensions in feet and hundredths of feet, with angles to street, alley and lot lines;
(i) Lot numbers, dimensions and areas (in acres);
(j) The purpose of, accurate location of and any limitation on easements for utilities including streetlights;
(k) Drainage easements.
1. Drainage easements shall be provided for all conduits and those bypass channels where the 100-year runoff exceeds one cubic foot per second.
2. Whenever any stream or water course is located in an area that is being subdivided, the subdivider shall dedicate a public right-of-way or drainage easement conforming substantially with the lines of the stream or water course and shall include the additional area adjoining both edges of the stream or water course that has been affected by damaging flood waters and/or inundated by the 100-year flood waters, as determined by the City Engineer. Maintenance of the stream and banks shall be the responsibility of the landowners upon which the stream is located. This maintenance responsibility shall be clearly defined in a recorded document. The subdivider shall also provide reasonable public easements for access.
3. It shall be noted on the final plat, “Owners of lots on which a drainage easement has been established as a stormwater passageway shall maintain the easement as a lawn, planted in grass and free of structures, fences, fill, bushes, trees, shrubs or other landscaping that would impede the flow of water.” In the event that the area established as a drainage easement is reshaped or otherwise restricted for use as a drainage easement, the city will cause the restrictions to be removed at the expense of the parties causing the restrictions;
(l) The application shall be accompanied by a filing fee (certified check or money order) payable to the city in the amount of $250. A review fee shall also be charged to compensate the city for actual time and material costs incurred to review and approve the final plat. The City Administrator shall have the right to waive the filing fee for a 501(c)(3), non-profit entity;
(m) Building setback lines and dimensions;
(n) Location, type, material and size of all monuments and markers;
(o) The subdivision name and number designated in bold letters at the top of each plat;
(p) The name and address of the owner and subdivider;
(q) The north point, scale (illustrated by a bar scale), date and acreage of the tract;
(r) Certification by a state registered land surveyor that the plat is a true and correct representation of the lands surveyed, the certification being accompanied by the surveyor's signature, seal and registration number;
(s) Private restrictive covenants and their period of existence, which may be attached thereto and by reference be made a part thereof; and
(t) The accurate outline, dimensions and purposes of all property which is offered for dedication or is to be reserved for acquisition for public use or is to be reserved by deed covenant for the common use of the property owners in the subdivision.
(B) Documents to be submitted with final plat. When the final plat is submitted to the Council, it shall be accompanied by the following instruments, which will be current within 30 days prior to the date of the Council’s approval:
(1) An attorney’s legal opinion placing the fee title, free from encumbrances, in the owner. The attorney shall also identify the name or holder of any mortgage lien, judgment or other encumbrances on the land being platted. No dedication of public way shall be accepted by the city until the persons identified in the attorney’s certificate to the city has either agreed to release any encumbrance on the land to be dedicated, or the owner submits an irrevocable bond payable to the city in an amount equal to twice the value of the encumbrance, to guarantee the release of the encumbrance at the time the city chooses. Utility easements shall not be construed to be encumbrances for the purpose of this section. In the event the subdivision plat contains no land for public use other than utility easements, the Treasurer’s certificate listed in division (B)(4) below need not include a statement on special assessments;
(2) A statement from the mortgage holders and lien holders, if any, that the plat is prepared with their free consent and in accordance with their desires, signed and acknowledged before an officer authorized to take the acknowledgment of deeds. In lieu of consent, the owner may provide an affidavit and bond as provided in the Iowa Code § 354.12. When a mortgage or lien holder consents to the subdivision, a release of mortgage or lien shall be recorded for any areas conveyed to the city or dedicated to the public;
(3) A certificate by the owner by the owner of the property and spouse, if any, that the subdivision as it appears on the plat is with free consent, and is in accord with the desire of the owner and spouse, dedicating the streets and other public ways shown on the plat, agreeing to abide by the setbacks required in the city code at the time any building permit is obtained, declaring the limitation on easements and providing for and restrictive covenants needed of requested;
(4) A certificate from the County Treasurer that the land is free from certified taxes and that the certified special assessments are secured by a bond in compliance with the Iowa Code § 354.12;
(5) One of the following:
(a) A certificate bearing the approval of the City Engineer, stating that all improvements and installations to the subdivision required by this section have been made or installed in accordance with specifications;
(b) 1. With the exception of subdividers constituting political subdivisions of the State of Iowa, a performance bond or bonds with the city, which will ensure the city that the subdivision improvements will be completed by the subdivider within two years after Council acceptance of the plat.
2. The form and type of a performance bond or bonds shall be approved by the City Attorney and the City Administrator, and the amount of any bond shall not be less than the estimated cost of the improvements, and the amount of any performance bond shall be approved by the City Engineer. If the improvements are not completed within the specified time, the Council may use the bond or bonds or any necessary portion thereof to complete the improvements;
(c) A waiver to the Council to provide the subdivision improvements required with the final plat and to assess the cost thereof against the subdivided property in accordance with the law regarding special assessments. However, the subdivider or property owners shall be responsible for any difference between the cost of the improvements and the amount that can be legally assessed by the city against the subdivided property, and they shall furnish the necessary waivers to permit the assessment of the entire cost of the improvement. Notwithstanding the assessment waiver, the subdivider or property owner may elect to construct the subdivision improvements, in which case all their contractors shall file with the city a performance bond or bonds as set forth in division (B)(5)(b)2. above;
(6) A certificate from a registered land surveyor, including an accurate metes and bounds description of the addition;
(7) A resolution and certificate for approval by the Council;
(8) The application shall be accompanied by a filing fee (certified check or money order) payable to the city in the amount of $250. A review fee shall also be charged to compensate the city for actual time and material costs incurred to review and approve the final plat. The City Administrator shall have the right to waive the filing fee for a 501(c)(3), non-profit entity; and
(9) The application shall be made with an appropriate application form provided by the city.
(C) Referral to Commission; action by Commission; Council action. Upon receipt of the final plat by the clerical staff of the Engineering Department, it shall be referred to the Commission for its review and recommendations. The recommendation shall be in writing and referred to the Council by the clerical staff of the Engineering Department. If the Commission does not approve the final plat of the subdivision, the Council may approve the plat only by a three-fourths vote of the entire membership pf the Council. Council approval of the final plat shall be by resolution. The Council shall direct the Mayor and the City Clerk to certify the resolution and affix it to the final plat. If the Council rejects the final plat, it shall state, in the Council minutes, wherein the final plat is objectionable. The Council shall act on a final plat within 60 days of the filing of all required final plat, engineering plans and legal instruments with the clerical staff of the Engineering Department.
(D) Record plat. Within 60 days following the approval of the final plat by the City Council, the applicant must record the final plat with the County Recorder. A filing fee of $250 will be required for any final plat that is not recorded within the 60-day requirement that needs reapproval by the City Council.
(E) Filing copy of recorded plat. Within 60 days following the approval of the final plat by the City Council, applicant shall file with the city a copy of the recorded final plat and also file one original size reproducible copy of the final plat. Failure to so file a plat shall constitute a municipal infraction punishable by civil penalty.
(F) Replats; notification of adjacent property owners. The city shall provide mailed notice to each person owning property adjacent to or within 200 feet of the ground subject to replat, the notice to be mailed at least five days prior to the meeting of the Planning Commission wherein the application for replat will be considered. The cost of any mailed notice shall be charged in addition to the application fee, pursuant to guidelines established by resolution of Council.
(Ord. 2389, passed 10-28-2008; Ord. 2489, passed 3-26-2013; Ord. 2536, passed 4-12-2016; Ord. 2556, passed 10-24-2017) Penalty, see § 10.99