A. Submission Required:
1. After approval of a preliminary plat or if the requirement for preliminary plat has been waived by the city council, the owner or owner's representative shall file with the department of neighborhood and development services an application for final plat on a form provided by the city, along with the final plat and supporting materials set forth below. Said final plat must be submitted to the city clerk within twenty four (24) months of approval of the preliminary plat, unless an extension has been approved by the city council. This submission must include accurate and complete information as set forth in subsections B and C of this section.
2. The department of neighborhood and development services will check the application for accuracy and completeness. A "complete application" shall mean the following:
a. A final plat with accurate measurements and dimensions, and with easements correctly identified;
b. An accurate legal description;
c. All required legal documents and accompanying instruments as specified in subsections B and C of this section;
d. Construction plans according to the specifications of the city engineer.
3. The applicant will be notified of deficiencies and/or discrepancies or if an application is incomplete. If an application is found to be incomplete, the city will inform the applicant and reserves the right to discontinue staff review until a complete and accurate application is filed. The start date for any applicable time limitations for the application under review will be the date when a complete application is submitted.
4. Upon approval by the city, a final plat may include only a portion of the development illustrated on the preliminary plat if that portion can function as a separate development, including access and utilities, and if no essential public infrastructure extensions are delayed. Whether or not said infrastructure is essential in nature shall be determined by the city.
5. The applicant shall note any variations from the approved preliminary plat. Requests for minor changes that do not constitute substantive changes may be approved administratively without requiring an amendment to the preliminary plat. Substantive changes, including, but not limited to, the layout and location of streets, lots, and outlots, changes to the proposed uses of the various lots and outlots, and other similar changes that would result in a substantive change to the character of the subdivision may result in the necessity to file an amended preliminary plat.
B. Specifications: The final plat shall meet the following specifications:
1. The plat shall be drawn to the scale of one inch to fifty feet (1" = 50'); provided, however, if the resultant drawing would be of larger dimension than twenty four inches by thirty six inches (24" x 36"), the plat shall be submitted at a scale of one inch to one hundred feet (1" = 100').
2. The final plat shall be submitted showing the following information:
a. Accurate property boundary lines, with dimensions and bearings or angular dimensions, which provide a land survey of the tract, closing with an error of not more than one foot (1') in ten thousand feet (10,000').
b. Accurate references to known permanent monuments, giving the bearing and distance from some corner of a lot or block in the city to some corner of the congressional division of which the city or the addition thereto is a part.
c. Accurate locations of all existing and recorded streets intersecting the property boundaries of the tract.
d. Accurate legal description of the property boundaries.
e. Street names and street right of way widths.
f. Complete curve notes for all curves included in the plat.
g. Street centerlines with accurate dimensions in feet and one-hundredths of feet with bearings or angular dimensions to street, alley and lot lines.
h. Lot numbers and lot line dimensions. For lots where the lot width is different from the lot frontage, the lot width must be indicated on the plat.
i. Block numbers, if used.
j. Accurate dimensions for any property to be dedicated or reserved for public, semipublic or community use.
k. Location, type, material and size of all markers.
l. Name and street address of the owner and subdivider.
m. Name and street address of owner's or subdivider's attorney, names of persons who prepared the plat and the date of preparation.
n. North point, scale and date.
o. Certification of the accuracy of the plat by a registered land surveyor of the state.
p. Location and width of easements for utilities.
q. Certification by the utility companies that utility easements are properly placed for the installation of utilities.
r. A signature block for endorsement by the city clerk certifying the city council's approval of the plat.
s. A note on the plat stating:
Notes on this plat are not intended to create any vested private interest in any stated use restriction or covenant or create any third party beneficiaries to any noted use restriction or covenant.
3. Once the final subdivision plat has been approved by the city council, a final copy of the digital version of the plat shall be submitted to the department of public works. Said final digital copy shall be compatible with the Johnson County geographic information system and city of Iowa City mapping system. Specific formats, procedures, and methods needed to meet this requirement will be updated as changes in technology occur.
C. Accompanying Documents: The final plat shall also be accompanied by the following documents:
1. Owner's Statement: An acknowledged statement from the owner and the owner's spouse, if any, that the subdivision as it appears on the plat is with their free consent and is in accordance with the desires of the proprietor and the proprietor's spouse. This statement may include the dedication to the public.
2. Dedications: Dedication of streets and other public property, including perpetual easements for the installation, operation and maintenance of city utilities.
3. Mortgage Holder's Or Lien Holder's Statement: An acknowledged statement from mortgage holders or lien holders that the plat is prepared with their free consent and in accordance with their desire, as well as a release of mortgage for any areas dedicated to the public.
4. Encumbrance Certificates: If there is no consent from the mortgage holders or lien holders as specified in subsection C3 of this section, and if the land being platted is encumbered in the manner set out in the code of Iowa, as amended, a certificate shall be filed with the Johnson County recorder showing an encumbrance bond in an amount double the amount of the encumbrance and approved by the recorder and clerk of the district court. The bond shall run to the county for the benefit of the purchasers of the land subdivided.
5. Attorney's Opinion: An opinion from an attorney at law showing that the fee title is in the owner and that the land platted is free from encumbrance or if encumbered, listing the encumbrances and the bonds securing the encumbrances.
6. Construction Plans: A complete set of construction plans for all public improvements, meeting city specifications, must be submitted to the city engineer's office.
7. County Treasurer's Certificate: A certified statement from the county treasurer that the land being platted is free from taxes.
8. County Auditor's Certificate: A certified statement from the county auditor approving of the name or title of the subdivision as succinct and unique to Johnson County.
9. Subdivider's Agreement:
a. An agreement executed by the subdivider which agrees, as a covenant running with the land, that the city shall not issue a building permit for any lot in the subdivision until the subdivider installs the public improvements, except sidewalks, according to plans and specifications approved by the city engineer and until the city engineer approves subdivision erosion control measures. If the subdivider desires a building permit prior to installing the improvements, the owner must deposit with the city finance department an escrow equal to the cost of improvements plus ten percent (10%) thereof in cash or an irrevocable letter of credit payable to the city in a form approved by the city attorney. At the city's discretion, this escrow may be divided by the number of lots in the subdivision and collected on a per lot basis prior to the issuance of a building permit. Subdivider must further agree, as a covenant running with the land, that subdivider will install sidewalks abutting each lot in the subdivision as set forth in this title, that the obligation to install the sidewalks remains a lien on the lots abutting the sidewalk until released by the city and that, in the event subdivider fails to install the sidewalks, the city may install the sidewalks and assess the total cost against the property without meeting the requirements of notice, benefit or value required by state law for assessing improvements.
b. The subdivider's agreement shall state that the subdivider, including its grantees, assignees and successors in interest, agrees that public services, including, but not limited to, street maintenance, snow and ice removal and solid waste collection, will not be extended to such subdivision until the pavement is completed and accepted by the city council by resolution.
c. The subdivider's agreement shall state:
Plat notes and surveyor's notes on plats serve to provide notice of how a subdivision is expected to develop. Said notes are not intended to create any vested private interest in any stated use restriction or covenant, or create any third party beneficiaries to any noted use restriction or covenant. The City reserves the right, in its sole discretion, subject to any applicable public notice and approval process required by law, to alter or amend any plat note, or to sell or vacate any right-of-way, street, alley, park, easement, open area or other land set apart and dedicated for public use within the plat. The City further reserves the right, upon request of the owner or successor in interest, to vacate the plat and/or relocate any easement, alter lot boundaries or allow said land to be replatted subject to any applicable public notice and approval process required by law.
d. The subdivider's agreement may include other conditions peculiar to the subdivision as allowed by law.
10. Iowa Department Of Transportation Permits: Approved IDOT permits must be submitted, if required.
11. Neighborhood Plan: Where subject to Article 14-2H (Form-Based Zones And Standards), a neighborhood plan shall be submitted that complies with the standards in 14-2H-1E (Neighborhood Plan) and includes the full geographic scope of the area being platted.
D. Review; Approval Or Disapproval:
1. Upon the filing of the final plat as set forth above, the department of neighborhood and development services shall distribute copies of the final plat and the application to the appropriate city departments for review as designated by the city manager.
2. Said designee(s) shall examine the application, the plat, the construction plans, and the legal documents to ensure compliance with the requirements of this code, state law, and the preliminary plat.
3. The costs of engineering examination of final plat and construction plans shall be paid by the subdivider and shall be the actual costs of the engineering examination and review as incurred by the city.
4. Upon completion of said review staff shall recommend approval or disapproval of the plat within forty five (45) calendar days of the date the city received a complete application, or the final plat shall be deemed to be approved by the staff. The owner or subdivider may, however, agree in writing, to an extension of time.
5. Following staff evaluation, the owner or owner's representative shall submit copies of the revised final plat as requested by the city with the signatures of the surveyor and the respective utility companies to the city clerk.
6. After receipt of the recommendation of the staff or after the time of any extension, the city council shall, by resolution, approve or disapprove the final plat. The city council must take action on the final plat within sixty (60) calendar days of submission of a complete application for a final plat to the city clerk. If the city council does not approve or disapprove the plat within sixty (60) calendar days, the final plat shall be deemed approved. The owner or subdivider may, however, agree in writing, to an extension of time. (Ord. 08-4313, 8-26-2008; amd. Ord. 21-4866, 11-16-2021)