CHAPTER 17-5. SUBDIVISIONS

The purpose of this chapter is to provide for the orderly growth and harmonious development of the town in accordance with the general plan and other adopted plans and ordinances; to create high quality neighborhoods and ensure adequate traffic circulation through coordinated street systems, transit, bicycle and pedestrian systems with relation to major thoroughfares, adjacent subdivisions, and public facilities; to achieve individual property lots of reasonable utility and livability; to secure adequate provisions for water supply, drainage, sanitary sewerage, and other health requirements; to ensure consideration of adequate sites for schools, recreation areas, and other public facilities; to promote the conveyance of land by accurate legal description and plat; and to provide logical procedures for the achievement of this purpose.

17-5-2 Procedure

A. Overview.

1. Except as provided otherwise elsewhere in this code, the preparation, submittal, review and approval of subdivision plats shall proceed through the following progressive steps:

a. Pre-application meeting with the town.

b. Preliminary plat submittal, review, and administrative approval.

c. The submittal of engineering plans for the required subdivision improvements (submittal and review may occur during preliminary plat review).

d. The approval of engineering plans for the required subdivision improvements (must occur prior to final plat approval).

e. Final plat submittal, review, and approval by the council.

f. Recordation of the approved final plat with the county recorder.

2. The following shall be processed in accordance with section 17-5-5:

a. Land splits.

b. Minor land divisions.

3. Subdivisions of ten or fewer lots shall proceed through the following steps:

a. Pre-application meeting with the town.

b. The submittal and approval of engineering plans for improvements as deemed necessary by the town engineer and planning manager prior to final plat approval.

c. Final plat submittal and review, and approval by the council.

d. Recordation of approved final plat with the county recorder.

B. Pre-application meeting

1. The pre-application meeting provides an opportunity for the town and the applicant to review and exchange information regarding a proposed subdivision prior to the preparation and formal submittal of a subdivision plat application.

2. All applications for subdivision plats shall be prepared and processed in accordance with procedures and requirements defined in the preliminary plat application checklist, which town staff will provide to the applicant at the pre-application meeting.

C. Preliminary plat

1. The applicant shall submit a preliminary plat application in accordance with the preliminary plat application checklist.

2. Town staff and appropriate review agencies will review the plat in accordance with the checklist and for compliance with legal and regulatory requirements.

3. Preliminary plat approval constitutes authorization for the applicant to proceed with preparation and submittal of the final plat, landscape plan, and engineering improvement plans and specifications.

4. Preliminary plat approval is subject to the following conditions:

a. Changes in conditions such as the land's physical attributes, title conditions, ownership and similar changes that make development of the affected land in accordance with the approved plat infeasible shall require the submission of a new or revised preliminary plat.

b. A preliminary plat expires two years from the date of approval unless:

i. A final plat has been submitted for all or a portion of the property included in the preliminary plat, or

ii. The town grants an extension.

c. The applicant may submit a written request for a two-year extension of a preliminary plat approval, which shall be reviewed and considered as follows:

i. The planning manager and the town engineer shall evaluate whether the preliminary plat and supporting documents remain in compliance with all applicable town standards and requirements.

d. Preliminary plat approval shall be automatically extended for a period of two years upon submission of a final plat application for any portion of the land area shown on a preliminary plat.

e. Once a final plat has been approved for a portion of the land area included within an approved preliminary plat, the approval of the preliminary plat shall be extended for the balance of the land area for a period of two years from the date of council approval of the final plat.

f. If a preliminary plat expires prior to the submittal of an application for a final plat or prior to the submittal of a request for an extension of the preliminary plat approval, the preliminary plat shall be resubmitted as a new application. If the resubmitted preliminary plat has substantially the same design and configuration as the previously approved plat and no substantive changes have occurred in the standards and requirements, the fees associated with the new application shall be 50% of the original application fees.

g. The preliminary plat shall not be recorded.

D. Final plat

1. Final plat submittal:

a. The applicant shall submit a final plat application in accordance with the final plat application checklist.

b. Town staff and appropriate review agencies will review the plat in accordance with the checklist and for compliance with legal and regulatory requirements.

c. Upon receipt of the final plat application, the planning manager shall check the plat for conformity to the approved preliminary plat, all applicable conditions of approval and compliance with the requirements for final plats as set forth in subsection 17-5-2D.2.

2. Final plat requirements:

a. Each final subdivision plat shall comply with the requirements of the zoning district within which it is located.

b. The planning manager shall submit the final plat application together with the staff recommendations to the council.

c. The final plat shall substantially conform to the approved preliminary plat, and shall be in compliance with all appropriate town standards, codes, specifications, and requirements.

d. All necessary engineering improvement plans shall be approved prior to the council meeting.

e. Any information required as part of the final plat submittal shall be shown on the plans in a manner consistent with standard engineering practice and town standards.

i. Statement and acknowledgment of the dedication of all streets, alleys, tracts, drainageways, utility easements, and other easements for public use by the persons holding title of record, by persons holding title as vendees under land contract, and by spouses of said parties, if jointly owned. If lands dedicated are mortgaged, the mortgagee shall also approve the plat (consent to dedicate by separate instrument may be necessary). Dedications shall include a written location by section, township, and range of the tract. The dedication shall include direct wording identifying the town as the new owner of any tracts or parcels being dedicated. If the plat contains private streets, provisions shall be made so that the public utilities reserve the right to install and maintain utilities above, on, and below such private streets or ways shall be reserved to the public utilities.

ii. The following certifications must be included on the final plat:

a) Certification by a registered land surveyor preparing the plat that the plat is correct and accurate, and that the monuments described in it have been located as described.

b) Certification of a registered civil engineer, if engineering information is represented on the plat.

c) Certification of plat approval by the planning manager, town engineer (or designated representative), town clerk and council.

d) Certification of plat approval by the authority responsible for providing wastewater management to the subdivision.

e) Certification of plat approval by the authority responsible for certifying an assured water supply.

iii. For subdivisions located within the town's water service area, the following note must be included on the final plat: "NOTE: This subdivision is located within the town of Marana water service area, which has been designated as having an assured water supply under A.R.S. § 45-576." For subdivisions not located within the town's water service area, consult with the town engineer and water director for the appropriate statement of assured water supply.

iv. The location of appropriate vehicular no access easements shall be included on the plat.

v. When the plat contains amended development standards or other requirements, they shall be included in the notes of the plat. This includes such items as the maximum building envelope containing minimum building setbacks and maximum lot coverage permitted, conservation easements, etc. Sufficient typical examples must be included to avoid possible misinterpretation of irregular, nonstandard lots.

vi. Items identified in the final plat review checklist.

3. Final plat approval:

a. An application for approval of a final plat shall not be filed unless there is an approved, signed, preliminary plat for the proposed subdivision as provided for in subsection 17-5-2 D of this chapter.

b. In addition to the requirements of the preceding paragraphs, the applicant shall provide to the town any additional information, documents, or other material relevant to the application that planning manager or town engineer reasonably believes is necessary in order for the council to evaluate, analyze, and understand the subject matter of the application.

c. An application for final plat approval shall not be deemed to have been filed or properly submitted until all of the above listed requirements have been complied with. The planning manager shall determine compliance.

d. Consideration of approval, amendment, or denial of the final plat by the council shall take place in a public meeting, but may be on the consent portion of the agenda.

i. Approval:

a) If the council approves the plat, the town clerk shall certify the council's approval on the plat, after determining that the other required certifications and dedications have been duly signed and acknowledged.

b) After council approval of a final plat and compliance with subsection 17-5-3 B, the subdivider shall pay to the town the fee charged by the county recorder for the recordation of the plat, and the town clerk shall then promptly record the plat with the county recorder, pursuant to A.R.S. § 9-463.01(J).

ii. Amendment: If the council finds that the plat requires revisions, the application shall be tabled until the revisions can be satisfactorily accomplished and the application rescheduled for council action.

iii. Denial: If the council denies the plat, the minutes shall state the reasons for the denial. The final plat application may be re-filed at any time if revisions can resolve the reasons for the denial.

A.R.S. § 9-463.01, paragraph I provides in relevant part: "If the subdivision is comprised of subdivided lands, as defined in section 32-2101, and is within an active management area, as defined in section 45-402, the final plat shall not be approved unless it is accompanied by a certificate of assured water supply issued by the director of water resources, or unless the subdivider has obtained a written commitment of water service for the subdivision from a city, town or private water company designated as having an assured water supply by the director of water resources pursuant to section 45-576 or is exempt from the requirement pursuant to section 45-576.”

17-5-3 Subdivision requirements

A. Design and documentation requirements. The layout and design of all subdivisions and engineering plans and the content of all required documentation shall be in accordance with Arizona revised statutes, this title, any applicable rezoning or specific plan, and adopted town standards.

B. Improvement requirements. The following improvements shall be installed to town standards in every subdivision at no expense to the town:

1. Streets. Streets shall be graded and paved, with all accessory drainage improvements or as adopted in the town street standards and details.

2. Sanitary sewers or septic systems. Off-site and on-site sewer lines or individual septic systems to serve each lot individually.

3. Water mains. Off-site and on-site water mains to serve each lot individually.

4. Curb and gutter. All streets shall be bordered by an approved curb and gutter or as adopted in the town street standards and details.

5. Sidewalks. Sidewalks shall be provided as required in the adopted town street standards and details.

6. Multi-use paths. In subdivisions with 30 or more lots and in all subdivisions connecting to existing multi-use paths, multi-use paths shall be provided for access to nearby existing or future parks, schools, playgrounds, shopping centers, public transportation, and other community facilities.

7. Stormwater drainage and retention facilities. Off-site and on-site drainage facilities as required in chapter 17-15.

8. Traffic control devices. Street name signs, street lights, signals and other traffic control devices.

9. Fire hydrants. Fire hydrants as required by town specifications and the fire district serving the site.

10. Landscaping and irrigation. Landscaping and irrigation in accordance with sections 17-11-7 and 17-11-10.

11. Recreational paths: Planned path segments as shown in the most recently adopted park, trail, and open-space system master plan and located within or adjacent to the subdivision shall be provided.

12. Recreational area.

a. Requirement: New residential subdivisions (including re-subdivisions) with 30 or more lots and whose average lot size is 16,000 square feet or less shall comply with the recreational area requirements of this subparagraph 17-5-3 B.12.

b. Area:

i. General: The minimum area (in square feet) of a subdivision's recreational areas shall be as follows:

a) Apartment or condominium: 100 square feet per unit

b) Town home or patio home: 140 square feet per unit

c) Single-family residential:

1) For subdivisions with an average lot size of 4,000 square feet or less: 500 square feet per unit

2) For subdivisions with an average lot size of 6,000 square feet or less but larger than 4,000 square: 400 square feet per unit

3) For subdivisions with an average lot size of 8,000 square feet or less but larger than 6,000 square feet: 300 square feet per unit

4) For subdivisions with an average lot size of 16,000 square feet or less but larger than 8,000 square feet: 200 square feet per unit

5) For subdivisions whose average lot size is larger than 16,000 square feet: None.

ii. Specific plan exception: If an adopted specific plan includes a subdivision recreation requirement with a different square footage per unit than set forth in subparagraph i. above, the minimum area of recreational areas for subdivisions located in the specific plan shall be calculated using the specific plan's subdivision recreation requirement.

iii. Golf courses excluded: Golf courses do not count toward a subdivision's minimum required recreational area.

c. Location:

i. Recreational areas shall be located and designed to maximize proximity to the largest number of homes and to maximize accessibility and visibility from the front of surrounding and nearby residences.

ii. Neighborhoods shall be designed around recreational areas and open spaces. Recreational areas shall not be located on remnants of land remaining upon completion of the lotting layout of the subdivision.

iii. At least one recreational area shall be located within a reasonable walking distance of each lot of the subdivision, approximately 2,000 feet measured not as the crow flies but along the most direct route traversable by a pedestrian over neighborhood sidewalks, paths, and trails.

iv. All recreational areas shall be within the boundaries of the subdivision, except as otherwise provided in a development agreement entered into pursuant to subparagraph 17-5-3 B.12.g below (in-lieu option).

d. Design and facilities: The design of recreational areas and the recreational facilities included in them shall conform to the most recent version of the town of Marana subdivision recreational area design manual.

e. Prohibited locations. Recreational areas shall avoid the following:

i. Land unsuitable for recreation purposes, such as peaks, ridges, land fragments, land restricted by town policy, condition or ordinance, and land determined unusable for recreational purposes by planning manager.

ii. Known archeological and historical sites.

f. Construction timing:

i. A subdivision's recreational areas shall be completed or assured before 50% of the building permits are issued.

ii. For purposes of the preceding paragraph, "assured" means that the subdivider has posted with the town engineer cash, a performance bond, or a letter of credit securing completion of the recreational areas.

iii. The performance bond or letter of credit shall be in a form approved by the town attorney and shall be in a face amount of at least 115% of the anticipated cost to complete the recreational areas, as reasonably determined by the town engineer.

g. In-lieu option: Subdivisions may satisfy the requirements of this subparagraph 17-5-3 B.12 by entering into a development agreement with and enforceable by the town which, as determined by the town council, provides for recreational area and recreational facilities equivalent to those otherwise required in the subdivision under this subparagraph 17-5-3 B.12.

13. Permanent survey monuments. Permanent survey monuments shall be installed in each subdivision, and their location shall be shown on the final plat. All corners of the subdivision and all lot corners in the subdivision shall be marked. The permanent survey monuments shall be indicated on the final plat and shall consist of the state plane coordinate system, Arizona central zone, north American datum of 1983-high accuracy reference network (HARN), 1993 adjustment. Modified grids and/or constant combined factors are not allowed.

14. Environmental hazards. The subdivision layout shall make adequate provision for natural drainage channels and floodways, which should be retained in a natural state and left undisturbed where possible. All other environmental hazards must be eliminated or adequately restricted as directed by the town.

15. Underground utilities. All new and existing utilities within or contiguous to the subdivision, including electric power (except electrical transmission lines carrying 48 kV or more), telephone lines, cable television, and fiber optics, shall be located underground, except where the subdivider can demonstrate to the planning commission that underground installation is not technically feasible. For purposes of this subsection, economic feasibility is not considered. All underground installations shall be constructed prior to surfacing the street. Service stubs shall be placed in a way that avoids disturbance of street improvements when service connections are made. Aboveground transformers, cabinets, etc., shall be screened.

16. Public safety hazards. The subdivision plat shall make adequate provision for protection of the public from adjacent irrigation canals, railroads, airport runways, mines, gravel pits, electrical substations, and pumps or other stationary equipment that are in existence at the time of approval of the preliminary plat, where they constitute a significant hazard to public safety as determined by the town engineer. Such provision may include, but shall not be limited to, adequate boundary walls or fences.

17. Irrigation lines and ditches. All irrigation channels and ditches within or adjacent to the subdivision, within perimeter easements or the nearest half of a street or alley right-of-way, shall be reconstructed for the purposes of enclosure in accordance with a plan and schedule approved by the town engineer, the subdivider, and the owner of the irrigation facilities.

C. General requirements

1. Streets. All streets shall comply with the following requirements:

a. Be dedicated for public use or designated as a private street to be maintained by the applicable association.

b. Conform to the subdivision street standards.

c. Conform to the adopted road network map in the most recently adopted general plan.

d. Provide for continuation of the street network onto adjacent properties, as the town may designate.

e. Be arranged to discourage the use of local streets by through traffic.

f. Be configured to minimize cuts and fills, to produce streets of reasonable gradient, and to facilitate adequate drainage.

2. Half streets. The dedication of half streets in any subdivision is prohibited, except in one of the following circumstances:

a. The road is depicted on the road network map in the most recently adopted general plan.

b. The town engineer determines that the adjacent property owner will likely dedicate the remaining half of the street.

3. Lot access to street.

a. Each lot of a subdivision shall abut on one of the following:

i. A public or private street dedicated by the subdivision plat.

ii. An existing dedicated street constructed to town standards.

iii. A street constructed to town standards that has become public by right of use.

iv. An access easement providing ingress and egress to a parcel over another parcel through an area dedicated for such perpetual use.

b. Where a proposed subdivision abuts or contains an existing or proposed arterial or collector, the town may require limited access or reverse frontage with no-access easements or other restrictions along the arterial or collector.

4. Lot street frontage requirement. Each lot shall have a minimum 30 feet of street frontage, except in the following circumstances:

a. The underlying zoning allows a lot width of less than 30 feet (for example, in DT and BU-high).

b. Topographic or other natural features make a 30-foot street frontage impracticable and the town and all reviewing agencies determine that adequate access and utility service can be provided and public safety is not compromised.

5. Lot conformance. All lots must conform to the requirements set forth in this title and any applicable rezoning or specific plan.

6. Lot widths and depths. All lots shall conform to the lot standards for each zone district as set forth in chapter 17-4.

7. Residential corner lots. Residential corner lots shall be at least five feet wider than the minimum lot width of the zone to permit conformance with the required street side yard requirements and sight visibility triangles.

8. Double frontage residential lots. Residential lots with streets abutting the front and rear property lines shall be avoided except where the street abutting the rear property line is one of the following:

a. An arterial, and access from the lots is prohibited by use of a no-access easement or other restriction.

b. Separated from the buildable area of the lot by topographic features.

9. No-access easements. No-access easements shall be identified, showing where direct vehicular access to a street, common area or other area is prohibited.

10. Remnant. The subdivision shall not include property that does not conform to lot requirements or is physically unsuitable for improvement, unless it is dedicated to a homeowners' association, private utility, or other public purpose, as accepted by the town.

11. Solar. To the extent practicable, all subdivisions should be designed to facilitate solar access and energy efficiency.

12. Grade differences. Wherever practicable, all lots shall be graded in a way that avoids excessive or unnecessary grade differences between adjacent lots or between lots and adjacent streets.

13. School sites and other public spaces. The town may require land areas within a subdivision to be reserved for parks, recreational facilities, school sites and fire stations subject to the conditions set forth in A.R.S. § 9-463.01 (D).

14. Registrant. All engineering and surveying work must be done by or under the direction of a qualified professional registrant of the state of Arizona.

15. Developer responsibility for quality of construction. The developer shall be responsible for the quality of all materials and workmanship in the development of an approved subdivision.

16. As-builts. As-built plans shall be submitted and approved prior to the release of performance guarantees, showing the location, size, grade, and depth of all paving, grading, water and sewer mains, valves, manholes, and other subsurface utilities and facilities.

17. Monuments. All survey monuments and lot corners shall be installed prior to release of performance guarantees.

18. Amended plats. When material changes are made in the plat of a recorded subdivision, an amended subdivision plat shall be filed and approved in accordance with the requirements of this code. No change shall be made in an approved plat unless the change has been approved by the town. For purposes of this subparagraph "material change" shall be defined as provided in the Arizona department of real estate regulations.

D. Non-performance. If any portion of a subdivision remains undeveloped five years after the subdivision plat was approved by the council, the council may, after a public hearing and notice to the owner of the property according to current county assessor's records, vacate all or any part of the undeveloped portion of the subdivision by recording a revised plat eliminating the vacated portion. This remedy is in addition to the council's authority to use financial assurances to complete subdivision improvements under subsection 17-5-4 A. 1 below.

Ordinance 2022.006 amended Section 17-5-3 C.6

Ordinance 2024.014 amended Section 17-5-3 B.15, C.1, and C.1.a, and added Section 17-5-3 C.3.a.iv.

Disclaimer: This Code of Ordinances and/or any other documents that appear on this site may not reflect the most current legislation adopted by the Municipality. American Legal Publishing provides these documents for informational purposes only. These documents should not be relied upon as the definitive authority for local legislation. Additionally, the formatting and pagination of the posted documents varies from the formatting and pagination of the official copy. The official printed copy of a Code of Ordinances should be consulted prior to any action being taken. For further information regarding the official version of any of this Code of Ordinances or other documents posted on this site, please contact the Municipality directly or contact American Legal Publishing toll-free at 800-445-5588.

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