(A) Application. This section shall apply to both major and minor subdivisions.
(B) Preparation of final plat and installation of improvements.
(1) Upon approval of the preliminary plat, the subdivider may proceed with the preparation of the final plat, and the installation of or arrangement for required improvements in accordance with the approved preliminary plat and the requirements of these regulations. Prior to approval of a final plat, the subdivider shall have installed the improvements specified in these regulations or guaranteed their installation as provided herein. The final plat shall constitute only that portion of the preliminary plat that the subdivider proposes to record and develop at that time. The portion shall conform to all requirements of these regulations and shall depict the subdivision, or portion thereof, in substantially the same form and layout as that approved in the preliminary plat. Otherwise, the final plat may not be approved. Only that portion of the subdivision proposed for final plat approval and recordation in the Deeds Office shall be shown on the final plat.
(2) The subdivider shall submit the final plat to the Administrator no later than 24 months after the approval of the preliminary plat, unless a greater time period was stipulated originally in the preliminary plat approval. Otherwise, approval of the preliminary plat shall expire and become null and void. A nonrefundable fee, in accordance with a fee schedule most recently adopted by the City Council, shall accompany each final plat submitted.
(3) Notwithstanding, the subdivider may submit a request to the Administrator for a time extension for up to 12 months for the preliminary plat. The request must be submitted to the Administrator prior to the original plat expiration date. No more than one extension may be granted by the Administrator. The subdivider may submit a final plat for only a portion of the subdivision given preliminary plat approval. Any submission shall be accompanied by the applicable final plat submittal fee. The submission shall extend the expiration date for the remaining portion(s) of the subdivision for an additional 24 months past the date of the final plat approval.
(C) Improvements guarantees.
(1) Agreement and security required. In lieu of requiring the completion, installation and dedication of all improvements prior to final plat approval, the city may enter into an agreement with the subdivider whereby the subdivider shall agree to complete all required improvements. Once the agreement is signed by both parties and the security required herein is provided, the final plat may be approved by the City Council, if all other requirements of these regulations are met. To secure this agreement, the subdivider shall provide to the City Council either one, or a combination of the following guarantees. The amount of the guarantee shall be equal to one and twenty-five one-hundredths times the cost of installing all required improvements. All guarantees shall be subject to the approval of the City Council (based on recommendations from the city’s Director of Public Works and Utilities) and shall be made payable to the city.
(a) Surety performance bond(s). The subdivider shall obtain a performance bond(s) from a surety bonding company authorized to do business in the state. The duration of the bond(s) shall be until a time as the improvements are accepted by the City Council.
(b) Cash or equivalent security.
1. The subdivider shall deposit cash, an irrevocable letter of credit or other instrument readily convertible into cash at face value, either with the city or in escrow with a financial institution designated as an official depository of the city.
2. If cash or other instrument is deposited in escrow with a financial institution as herein provided, the subdivider shall then file with the City Council an agreement between the financial institution and himself or herself guaranteeing the following:
a. The escrow account shall be held in trust until released by the City Council and may not be used or pledged by the subdivider in any other matter during the term of the escrow; and
b. In case of a failure on the part of the subdivider to complete the improvements, the financial institution of an engineer’s estimate of the amount needed to complete the improvements, immediately either pay to the city the funds estimated to complete the improvements, up to the full balance of the escrow account, or deliver to the city any other instruments fully endorsed or otherwise made payable in full to the city.
(2) Default. Upon default, meaning failure on the part of the subdivider to complete the required improvements in a timely manner as spelled out in the performance bond or escrow agreement, then the surety, or the financial institution holding the escrow account, shall, if requested by the City Council, pay all or any portion of the bond or escrow fund to the city up to the amount needed to complete the improvements based on the estimate by the Director of Public Works and Utilities. Upon payment, the City Council, in its discretion, may expend a portion of the funds, as it deems necessary to complete all or any portion of the required improvements. The city shall return to the bonding firm any finds not spent in completing the improvements. Should the amount of funds needed to complete the installation of all required improvements exceed the amount in the bond or escrow account, the subdivider shall nonetheless be responsible for providing the funds to cover the costs. The subdivider shall at all times bear the financial burden for the installation of all required improvements.
(3) Release of guarantee security. The City Council may authorize the City Manager to release a portion of any security posted as the improvements are completed and approved by the city. The funds shall then be released within ten days after the corresponding improvements have been so approved.
(D) Submission procedure.
(1) At least eight complete copies and a digital copy of the final plat shall be submitted to the Administrator.
(2) One of these copies shall be on reproducible material; the remaining copies shall be black or blue line paper prints. The copies shall only be considered complete if they contain all of the information required by § 153.387 of these regulations.
(3) The Administrator shall have the authority to review and approve any final plat except one that involves improvement guarantees as outlined in division (C) above of these regulations. The Administrator, at his or her discretion, may receive comment from the TRC and/or transmit a final plat to the Planning Board for their review and approval. The Planning Board shall have the authority to approve any final plat except one that involves improvement guarantees as outlined in division (C) above of these regulations. The Planning Board and City Council shall have the authority to approve a plat with modifications per § 153.378.
(4) Material and drawing medium for the reproducible copy shall be in accordance with the Standards of Practice for Land Surveying in North Carolina, where applicable, and the requirements of the County Register of Deeds.
(5) The final plat shall be 18 inches by 24 inches in size and shall be at a scale of not less than one inch equals 100 feet, unless each lot in the proposed subdivision is more than three acres. In that case, the scale shall not be less than one inch equals 200 feet. Maps may be placed on more than one sheet with appropriate match lines.
(6) (a) The Administrator shall have 21 days from the date at which the plat was submitted to:
1. Approve the plat;
2. Disapprove the plat; or
3. Submit the final plat to the Planning Board for their review and decision.
(b) If the Administrator takes none of these actions during the 21-day period, the plat shall automatically be submitted to the Planning Board for its review and decision.
(7) If the final plat is disapproved, the Administrator shall instruct the subdivider concerning the resubmission of a revised plat and the subdivider may make changes as will bring the plat into compliance with these regulations. The subdivider shall have 21 days from the date of denial to resubmit his or her plat for approval.
(8) If a revised plat is not submitted within the period, any future resubmittal of the plat will require the payment of an additional filing fee. The resubmitted revised plat shall be reviewed in the same manner as any other final major subdivision plat. The Administrator shall retain at least one copy of any disapproved plat along with the reasons for disapproval as part of the city’s official records. A copy of the reasons and any remaining copies of the plat shall also be transmitted to the subdivider.
(9) If the final plat is approved, the Administrator shall send a certified notice of the approval to the subdivider. The subdivider shall have 21 days from the date of final approval to have the plat recorded in the Deeds Office. Otherwise, the approved final plat shall be null and void.
(10) If the final plat is approved, the approval shall be shown on the reproducible copy of the plat by the following signed certificate:
(a) Certificate of Approval for Recording.
Certificate of Approval for Recording
I hereby certify that the subdivision plat shown hereon has been found to comply with the subdivision regulations of the City of Lincolnton, North Carolina and that this plat has been approved by ____________ on_________for recording in the Lincoln County Deeds Office.
________________________________ __________________
Administrator Date
City of Lincolnton, North Carolina
(b) Certificate of Ownership and Dedication.
Certificate of Ownership and Dedication
I hereby certify that I am the owner of the property shown and described hereon, which is located in the planning jurisdiction of the City of Lincolnton and that I hereby adopt this plan of subdivision with my free consent, establish minimum building setback lines, and dedicate all streets, walks, parks, and other sites and easements to public or private use as noted. Furthermore, I hereby dedicate all sanitary sewers to_____________, all storm sewer systems to_____________and all water lines to_____________.
__________________________ __________________________
Date Owner
(c) Certificate of Survey and Accuracy.
1. In accordance with the Standards of Practice for Land Surveying in North Carolina.
2. On the face of each map prepared for recordation for there shall appear a certificate acknowledged before an officer authorized to take acknowledgments and executed by the person making the survey or map including deeds and any recorded data shown thereon. The certificate shall include a statement of error of closure calculated by latitudes and departures. Any lines on the map that were not actually surveyed must be clearly indicated on the map and a statement included in the certificate revealing the source of information.
3. The certificate shall take the following general form.
Certificate of Survey and Accuracy
I,_________________certify that this map was (drawn by me) (drawn under my supervision) from (an actual survey made by me) (an actual survey made under my supervision) (deed description recorded in Book________, Page________, etc.) (Other); that the ratio of precision as calculated by latitudes and departure is 1:______, (that the boundaries not surveyed are shown as broken lines plotted from information found in Book_____, Page_____; that this accordance with G.S. § 47-30, as amended. Witness my hand and seal this_______day of___________A.D. 20____.
_________________________
Registered Land Surveyor
OFFICIAL SEAL _________________________
Registration Number
I, (officer authorized to take acknowledgments) do hereby certify that (name of registered surveyor) personally appeared before me this day and acknowledged the due execution of this certificate. Witness my hand and (where an official seal is required by law) official seal this the_________day of_______, 20_____.
___________________________
Signature of Officer OFFICIAL SEAL
(d) Certificate of Approval of the Design and Installation of Streets, Utilities and Other Required Improvements.
Certificate of Approval of the Design and Installation of Streets, Utilities and Other Required Improvements
I hereby certify that all streets, public utilities and other required improvements have been installed in an acceptable manner and according to North Carolina Department of Transportation specifications and standards in the______________Subdivision or as otherwise provided for in these regulations, or that guarantees of the installation of the required improvements in an amount and manner satisfactory to the City of Lincolnton has been received, and that the filing fee for this plat, in the amount of $________has been paid.
____________________________ __________________
Administrator Date
(Prior UDO, § 17.15) (Ord. O-1-2024, passed 1-4-2024) Penalty, see § 153.999