(A) (1) No final plat shall be approved by the City Council without first receiving a report from the City Engineer certifying that the improvements described herein, together with the agreements and documents required herein, meet the minimum requirements of all applicable ordinances.
(2) Drawings showing all improvements as built shall be filed with the City Clerk.
(B) No final plat shall be approved by the City Council on land subject to flooding or containing poor drainage facilities and on land which would make adequate drainage of the streets and lots impossible. However, if the subdivider agrees to make improvements which will, in the opinion of the City Engineer, make the area completely safe for residential occupancy and provide adequate street and lot drainage and conform to applicable regulations of other agencies such as the U.S. Corps of Engineers or the Department of Natural Resources, the final plat of the subdivision may be approved.
(C) In addition, the plats may not be approved if the cost of providing municipal services to protect the floodplain area would impose an unreasonable economic burden upon the city.
(D) As a condition of final plat approval, the development agreement shall make provision in the manner hereinafter set forth for the installation, at the sole expense of the subdivider, of such improvements as shall be required by the city, which improvements may include, but are not limited to items included in division (G) below. The installation of said improvements shall be in conformity with city approved construction plans and specifications and all applicable city standards and sections of this code. The subdivider shall not commence with construction of improvements until financial assurances are provided as contained in the development agreement.
(E) Developer installed improvements.
(1) No owner or subdivider shall be permitted to start work on any improvements without providing the city a financial security, in a form acceptable to the city and consistent with city ordinance or policy as adopted by the City Council, guaranteeing the improvement will be installed in accordance with all laws, rules, regulations, and policies as approved by the city. The amount of the financial security shall be 125% of the engineer’s estimate of the total cost of the improvements to be installed, as verified by the City Engineer and set forth in the development agreement. In the event the required improvements are not completed within the specified timeline, all amounts held in the development agreement as security may be drawn upon by the city and applied by the city to the cost of completing the required improvements. If the available securities are not sufficient to complete the required improvements, the necessary additional cost to the city shall be assessed against the subdivision.
(2) Securities may be reduced from time to time prior to improvement acceptance upon submission of formal request by the owner or subdivider. No reduction of security shall be authorized unless the improvements associated with the reduction request have been inspected by the city and found to be in compliance with this chapter and satisfactory evidence of contractor payment has been provided.
(3) Prior to any public improvement being accepted by the city, the owner or subdivider shall post a maintenance bond or other security in a form acceptable to the city naming the city as obligee in an amount deemed appropriate by the City Council to insure the maintenance of the improvements for a period of 24 months from the date of acceptance or approval by the city.
(4) The owner or sudivider shall continue to be responsible for defects, deficiencies, and damage to improvements during development of the subdivision. No inspection approval of release or reduction of funds from the security as to any component or category shall be deemed to be city final approval of the improvements or otherwise release the owner or subdivider of its obligation relating to the completion of the improvement within the final subdivision until a release on all improvements and maintenance is issued by the City Council declaring that all improvements have in fact been constructed as required.
(5) The applicant shall provide to the city grading and utility as-built drawings of all improvements.
(6) The owner or subdivider engaged in the development of lands and properties may request city participation in the payment of the costs of certain improvements. City participation shall be negotiated with the subdivider and established by the City Council pursuant to entering into a development agreement. The Council shall on a case-by-case basis determine infrastructure impact on areas outside the subdivision. City required oversizing of infrastructure beyond the appropriate standard residential or commercial equivalent shall be eligible for funding by the city. Source of city funding shall not be a determinate of financial participation.
(7) Nothing in this section shall prohibit or prevent the city from establishing a fee, charge, or assessment against the subsequent subdivider/developers which benefit from the prior improvements for the purpose of maintaining or upgrading the public improvements.
(8) All of the required improvements to be installed under the provisions of this subchapter shall be inspected during the course of their construction by the City Engineer. All of the inspection costs pursuant thereto shall be paid by the owner or subdivider in the manner prescribed in § 152.100(C).
(9) The city shall have the right to install any or all of the required improvements as it may elect and upon such terms and conditions as it may deem appropriate under the circumstances.
(F) City installed improvements.
(1) Any person desiring to have improvements installed may request the city to install the improvements, if the request is accompanied by a written petition signed by 100% of the landowners pursuant to M.S. Ch. 429, as it may be amended from time to time, and a waiver of assessment appeal. Acceptance of the request shall be discretionary on the part of the City Council, based on the benefit to the property owners, and subject to the following conditions and as authorized by state law.
(2) (a) Prior to the making of such required improvements, the City Council shall require the owner or subdivider to pay to the city an amount equal to a minimum of 25% and up to 100% of the estimated total cost of the improvements, including not only construction but all indirect costs.
(b) The actual percentage to be determined by the city in each case based on its review of the following:
1. The financial background of the developer;
2. The normalcy of the unit charge for putting in the improvement;
3. An evaluation of the cost recovery potential through the sale of the land;
4. The likelihood of success of the development; and
5. Developer default on any outstanding assessment payment in the past 12 months.
(3) This payment must be made to the city prior to the City Council adopting the resolution ordering the project.
(4) If approved by the City Council, the city may cause the improvements to be made and special assessments for all costs of the improvements to be levied on the benefitted land, except any land which is or shall be dedicated to the public. The total project cost, less the deposit, will be assessed 100% against the benefitted property payable in not more than ten annual installments with interest at a rate of at least 1.5% (rounded up to the nearest 0.25%) over the rate paid on bonds issued to finance the improvements or, if financed internally, over the then equivalent rate the city determined it would have to pay on bonds issued at that time; provided, however, at the entire assessment balance outstanding against a given parcel is to be paid in full prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy permit for principal use of new construction on that parcel or within 180 days after a building permit for new construction is issued, whichever comes first.
(5) Water, sanitary sewer, and storm sewer lateral lines shall be assessed 100% against the benefitted property within the proposed subdivision. These assessments shall be made on a residential housing unit basis.
(6) Water, sanitary, and storm sewer trunk fees will be due at the time of platting or in cases where properties have already been platted, applicable trunk fees will be collected at such time a new building permit is issued.
(7) (a) The cost of constructing permanent streets, including curb and gutter, will be 100% assessed against benefitted property based on front footage. Corner lots shall be assessed for frontage only with no charge made for the long side lot footage. Costs resulting from intersections and side lot footage shall be included in the total amount to be assessed and apportioned over the net assessable footage.
(b) In the case of odd-shaped lots, the footage shall be measured at the building setback line; however, in no event shall the assessable footage be less than the minimum lot width as required by the city.
(8) In the event a building permit is applied for prior to completion of installation of the improvements, an escrow payment to the city shall be deposited in an amount equal to 125% of the estimated total assessment.
(9) Upon completion of the project and determination of the actual cost to be assessed, any overcharge will be refunded and any additional cost will be due the city within 30 days of notification of the additional cost. If, for any reason, subsequent to having made the advance payment to the city the developer should withdraw from the project, the city is entitled to retain an amount equal to the city’s cost related to the project to that time, and the balance shall be refunded to the developer.
(10) At the request of the owner or subdivider, the city may agree to spread all of the assessments against the subdivision on a per lot or residential housing unit basis rather than on the various methods set forth in divisions (F)(5), (F)(6), or (F)(7) above.
(11) In all cases, the procedure for local improvements prescribed in M.S. Ch. 429, as it may be amended from time to time, shall be followed.
(12) The requirements of this subchapter are intended to be compatible with the assessment policy in this division (F).
(G) Minimum improvements.
(1) It is hereby the policy of the city to, as soon as practicable after the approval of the proposed plat, require the installation of all of the following improvements within the subdivision.
(2) In addition to those below, additional improvements may be required by development agreement:
(a) Trunk and lateral sanitary sewer;
(b) Trunk and lateral water main;
(c) Storm drainage facilities;
(d) Stormwater maintenance;
(e) Streets;
(f) Concrete curb and gutter;
(g) Street traffic control devices;
(h) Lot grading;
(i) Trail development;
(j) Sidewalk development;
(k) Electricity (within one-fourth mile);
(l) Natural gas (within one-fourth mile);
(m) Communications (within one-fourth mile);
(n) Water shut-off boxes;
(o) Street striping and signing;
(p) Streetlights;
(q) Landscaping;
(r) Monuments;
(s) As-built plans; and
(t) Easement and deeds