(A) Upon receipt of an application for primary plan approval, the Plan Commission staff shall review the application for technical conformity with the standards fixed in this chapter. Within 30 days after receipt of the application, the staff shall announce the date for a hearing before the Plan Commission, and shall provide for notice in accordance with I.C. 36-7-4-706. After the staff has announced a date for a hearing before the Plan Commission, it shall:
(1) Notify the applicant in writing;
(2) Give notice of the hearing by publication in accordance with I.C. 5-3-1; and
(3) Provide for due notice to interested parties at least ten days before the date set for the hearing.
(B) The Technical Committee shall review the primary plat and make a report to the Commission within 15 days after the date the application was filed.
(1) If the Technical Committee finds that the primary plat has been prepared in accordance with the terms of this chapter, they shall forward a report so stating to the Commission for consideration.
(2) If the Technical Committee finds that the primary plat has not been prepared in accordance with the terms of this chapter, they shall return the plat to the subdivider with a written specification of the items of nonconformance and shall submit a copy of the same to the Commission.
(C) If, after the hearing, the Plan Commission determines that the application and plat comply with the standards in the subdivision control this chapter, it shall make written findings and a decision granting primary approval to the plat. As a condition of primary approval, the commission may specify:
(1) The manner in which public ways shall be laid out, graded and improved;
(2) A provision for water, sewage, and other utility services;
(3) A provision for lot size, number and location;
(4) A provision for drainage design; and
(5) A provision for other services, as specified in this chapter.
(D) If, after the hearing, the Plan Commission disapproves the plat, it shall make written findings that set forth its reasons and a decision denying primary approval. The Commission may also refer a plat back to the Technical Committee for review or study on a specific technical matter.
(E) Approval of a primary plat shall not constitute approval of a secondary plat. Rather, it shall be deemed an expression of approval to the layout submitted on the primary plat as a guide to the preparation of the secondary plat and shall permit the subdivider to proceed with construction or permanent improvements for which designs and specifications shall have been approved by the appropriate agencies. Approval of the primary plat will terminate two years after the date of approval unless further extended by the Commission upon written request of the subdivider, and by filing 60 days prior to the expiration of the approval and by payment of a filing fee established by the County Plan Commission.
(F) Subsequent approval will be required of the engineering proposals pertaining to water supply, storm drainage, sewerage and sewage disposal, grading and gradients, roadway widths, and the surfacing of streets by the County Board of Commissioners, where concerned, prior to the approval of the secondary plat by the Commission.
(G) Upon approval of the primary plat, the Commission will indicate upon each copy that it has been approved. One copy shall be returned to the subdivider along with a written statement indicating the action taken by the Commission. If approved with conditions, a written copy of the conditions shall accompany each copy of the approved plat. If disapproved, the Commission shall return to the subdivider three copies of the primary plat marked “Disapproved by the Hancock County Plan Commission,” along with a written statement indicating the reason or reasons for its disapproval.
(H) All subdivisions, business, or industrial use must comply with Chapter 154 Stormwater Drainage, Erosion and Sediment Control Regulations.
(’86 Code, § 7.1-27) (Ord. 1993-9G, passed 9-27-93; Am. Ord. 2015-10E, passed 10-20-15)