(A) Exclusions determination. If a proposed division of land meets one or more of the exclusions under the definition of “subdivision” in Chapter 163, Definitions, the owner may submit to the City Planning and Inspections Department maps, deeds or other materials in sufficient detail to permit a conclusive determination by the Planning and Inspections Director or designee. For the purpose and intent of this chapter, where reference is made to the Planning and Inspections Director it shall also include his or her designee. An owner of land who wishes to record a plat of such a division of land shall obtain a Certificate of Exemption (see Appendix B) from the Planning and Inspections Director.
(B) Approval required.
(1) Date of compliance. After the effective date of the UDO and in accordance with G.S. § 160D-803(d), plats for the subdivision of land within the City Planning and Zoning Jurisdiction shall not be filed, accepted for recording, or recorded, nor shall the Clerk of the Superior Court order the recording of a plat until it has been submitted to and approved by the city.
(2) Coordination with other procedures. To lessen the time required to attain all necessary approvals and to facilitate the processing of applications, an applicant may start the subdivision approval process simultaneously with other applications for approvals required for the particular project.
(3) No subdivision without approval. No real property, including property declared under the State Condominium Act, G.S. §§ 47C-1 et seq., lying within the City Planning and Zoning Jurisdiction as now or hereafter fixed shall be subdivided except in conformance with all applicable provisions of this chapter. Violation of this section shall be enforced by any one or all of the procedures identified in § 162.04.
(4) Preliminary plats approved prior to the effective date of this UDO. Preliminary plats approved by the city prior to the effective date of this chapter shall be valid for 12 months from the date of approval of the plat unless a longer time period has been authorized through vested rights provisions.
(5) Decisions on approval or denial of subdivision plats. In accordance with the provisions of G.S. § 160D-801, decisions on the approval or denial of preliminary and final subdivision plats may be made only on the basis of standards explicitly set forth in this chapter. Whenever this chapter includes criteria for a decision that requires the application of judgment on the part of the approval authority, those criteria must provide adequate guiding standards for the approval authority.
(6) Recording of unapproved plats. The filing or recording of a plat of a subdivision without the approval of the legislative body or the Planning and Inspections Director as required by this chapter shall render the plat null and void.
(7) Penalties for transferring lots in unapproved subdivisions. Penalties for transferring lots in unapproved subdivisions are delineated in § 162.04(H).
(Ord. passed 7-25-2011; Ord. 21-O-04, passed 6-28-2021; Ord. 22-O-01, passed 1-24-2022)