A. Subdivision defined. A subdivision is any land, vacant or improved, which is divided or proposed to be divided into two or more lots, parcels, sites, units, plats, condominiums, tracts, or interests for the purpose of offer, sale, lease, or development, whether immediate or future, either on the installment plan or upon any other plans, terms, and conditions. Subdivision includes the division or development of residentially and non-residential zoned land, whether by deed, metes and bounds description, devise, intestacy, lease, map, plat, or other recorded instrument. Subdivision includes re-subdivision, but does not include condominiums regulated by I.C. 32-25-1 et seq.
B. Exempt subdivisions. The following divisions of land shall not be considered subdivisions in the usual sense of the word and are therefore exempt from the requirements associated with the division of land for residential purposes.
1. The division of land into parcels, or tracts, of five acres or more in size which do not involve the construction of any new streets or easements of access;
2. The sale or exchange of parcels of land between adjoining or contiguous land not creating any additional building sites;
3. The conveyance of parcels of land, or interests therein, for their use as right-of-way for railroads or other public utility facilities and do not involve any new streets or easements of access;
4. The division of land for federal, state, or local government to acquire street right-of-way;
5. The conveyance of land for highway roadbed or other public purposes or grants of conveyance relating to the dedication of land for public use or instruments relating to the vacation of land impressed with a public use;
6. The conveyance of land to correct descriptions in prior conveyances of land;
7. The distribution of land by court order, primarily in the settlement of an estate but also for any other court action relative to the distribution of land.
In all cases, the proper legal descriptions, both superseded and new, and the legal authorization for the action taken, shall be provided for the Commission's file.
C. Advisory plan considerations. In order to make the most of the opportunities related to the subdivision and to conserve time, effort, and expenses, the owner or subdivider should consult with the Commission and other public or utility officials prior to the preparation of the tentative plan of the subdivision. The Comprehensive Plan of the city shall be reviewed to determine how the proposed plan will fit into the Comprehensive Plan requirements for major and minor streets; school and recreational sites; shopping centers; community facilities; sanitation facilities; water supply facilities and adequacy of water source; appropriate drainage systems, and the relationship to other developments, existing and proposed, in the vicinity, and downstream from the proposed subdivision.
The applicant shall be provided with a copy of the Columbia City Subdivision Checklist of a current date, and as shown in Figure 3-1, and a list of Checkpoint Agencies in Figure 3-2 to assist the applicant in meeting the requirements of the Ordinance.
The Executive Director or staff member of the Planning and Building Department shall provide the applicant with a schedule of dates for an Advisory Plan, Primary Plat and Secondary Plat Approval public hearing said dates reflecting the steps necessary in the quest for a Certificate of Approval for the plat.
The Advisory Plan shall be submitted to the Planning Department at least one week prior to the date of the hearing. The purpose of the advisory hearing is to provide the applicant with commentary by the Planning Commission relative to the proposed plan. No official action on the Advisory Plan shall be taken at this time. The applicant shall submit primary plat and secondary plat petitions according to the deadline schedule prepared annually for the regularly scheduled meeting dates of the Plan Commission prior to the regularly scheduled meeting date of the Planning Commission.
COLUMBIA CITY SUBDIVISION
CHECKLIST
[ ] File the application and pay the filing fee.
[ ] Contact Surveyor and have Primary Plat prepared.
[ ] Place legal advertisement in the newspaper (Notice of Public Hearing)
[ ] Notify adjacent property owners (Affidavit of Notice of Public Hearing to Adjacent Property Owners.)
[ ] Complete Agent's Statement. (If applicable.)
[ ] Submit the following items to the Planning & Building Department at least ten days prior to the date of the scheduled hearing:
[ ] Primary Plat
[ ] Proof of Publication (if not already forwarded to the Plan Commission Staff by the newspaper.)
[ ] Completed Notice to Adjacent Property Owners Form (with any green receipt cards.)
[ ] Comment letters from the Health Department, gas company, electric company, or City Utilities, and telephone company.
[ ] Restrictive Covenants.
FIGURE 3-1 SUBDIVISION CHECKLIST
COLUMBIA CITY CHECKPOINT AGENCIES
1. County Engineer Highway Department
2. County Soil and Water Conservation District
3. County Board of Health
4. City Board of Public Works and Safety
5. City/Township Fire Chief
6. Electric Company
7. Telephone Company
8. Gas Company
9. Cable TV Co.
10. City Park Director
Note: Not all of the above agencies need to be contacted; consult with Planning Department Staff for applicability.
FIGURE 3-2 CHECKPOINT AGENCIES
D. Classification of land divisions. It should be noted in discussing the subdivision of the land that a lot or parcel is “created” on the date of its recording with the County Recorder and a principle-use building is defined as that building in which the principle-use of the lot or parcel is conducted. Standards recognized by the Indiana Administrative Building Council shall be used to determine whether a given building constitutes one or more buildings in cases where ambiguities exist. All land to be divided shall be categorized as follows:
1. Major subdivisions. A major subdivision is one which requires new streets and/or extensions of existing streets and also substantially affects other local governmental facilities or causes the creation of any public improvements. Major subdivisions require the preparation of an Advisory Plat, a Primary Plat, and a Secondary Plat.
2. Phased subdivision application. A phased subdivision application is for subdivision approval submitted pursuant to a Master Primary Plat, or at the option of the subdivider, pursuant to a specific plan in which the applicant proposes to immediately subdivide the property but will develop it one or more individual phase(s) over a period of time. A phased subdivision application may include an application for approval of, nonresidential development projects, planned unit developments, mixed-use projects, and residential developments.
3. Planned unit development (PUD). A planned unit development is a development constructed on a tract of minimum size, initially under single ownership, planned and developed as an integral unit, consisting of a combination of residential and non-residential use of the land.
4. Non-residential subdivision. It is recognized that the subdivider, in creating a non-residential subdivision, faces problems of lot design not normally encountered in residential subdivisions. For this reason, the initial emphasis of the Planning Commission shall be upon street layout and block arrangement.
a. Procedural requirements. The procedural requirements for primary and secondary approval of non-residential subdivision are as provided in this ordinance. Nonresidential subdivisions may be either major or minor plats, as defined. However, in any case, the subdivider need show only the proposed street and block layout, and not lot locations, on the primary plat. Subsequently, as prospective buyers or users express interest in lots sized to their specifications, the subdivider shall then submit, to the Executive Director, a secondary plat or plats in phases upon which lot lines are shown. Streets or other public facilities may not be changed from the approved primary plat unless approved by the Planning Commission or the Executive Committee.
b. Site plan approval. Site plan approval, as required by the Zoning Ordinance, and the non-residential plat approval may proceed simultaneously provided all standards of both ordinances are met.
c. Non-residential subdivision standards. The standards for non-residential subdivisions are as follows:
(1) Non-residential subdivisions must be appropriately zoned for business, industry or multi-family (motel/hotel) dwelling prior to the proposal for a subdivision.
(2) All non-residential sub- divisions shall be served by approved water and sewer facilities, by individual wells, on-site sewage disposal facilities, or some combination thereof as specified in §§ 4.04, Water Services, and 4.06, Sanitary Sewers, of this ordinance. By reference, Columbia City Code, § 51.05, Sewage Disposal Regulated, and § 51.06, Private Disposal Facilities Permitted, are a part of this ordinance.
(3) All applicable design standards of this ordinance shall be met.
(4) All applicable standards of the Zoning Ordinance, Chapter 10, Off-Street Parking and Loading Requirements. Due to the nature of this subdivision category, which addresses large development of a commercial and/or industrial nature, buffer zones shall be accordance with § 4.10F. of this ordinance and fire lanes shall be in accordance with § 4.17H.(20) of this ordinance.
d. Construction and design requirements. If access will be required for large trucks and/or heavy loads, the Planning Commission may increase the design and construction requirements. Section 4.16, Streets: Layout Design, of this ordinance based on the recommendation of the City Street Superintendent/Engineer. Roads serving primarily non-residential traffic, especially truck traffic, shall not normally be extended to the boundary of adjacent tracts used or zoned for residential purposes, nor shall primarily residential roads be used for access to industrial subdivisions.
e. Multi-family dwellings. Multi- family (motels, hotels and apartment complexes) dwellings shall be designed to discourage traffic from using streets designed and constructed for single-family residential use.
f. Buffer areas for non-residential subdivisions. Commercial, industrial, and multi-family subdivisions shall contain landscaped buffer areas of at least 20 feet in depth along all lot lines abutting land zoned for single-family or two-family residential use. The subdivision plans must show the planting details, including the type(s) and height of vegetation and the caliper of trees to be planted. Such landscaped buffer shall be at least six feet in height and shall consist of materials which will form a dense screen, or an opaque fence shall be constructed to accomplish this purpose. The design and the materials of such fence shall be shown on the plans.
g. Traffic patterns. In non-residential subdivisions, the streets and other accessways shall be planned in connection with the grouping of buildings, location of rail facilities, and the provision of alleys, truck loading and maneuvering areas, and walks and parking areas so as to minimize conflict of movement between various types of traffic, including pedestrian. A peripheral street shall be provided when large parking lots have a customer access street immediately adjacent to the place of business, said street shall have not less than two traffic islands described in Chapter 10, Off-Street Parking Requirements, of the Columbia City Zoning Ordinance.
E. Minor subdivision. A minor subdivision does not require new streets and/or additional local government facilities.
(1980 Code, Ch. 154, § 3.01) (Ord. 2001-4, passed 3-27-2001)