(A) General provisions. A subdivision of land shall be classified by the City Clerk as a deed approval subdivision if:
(1) An existing lot, tract, site or parcel of land is not subdivided into more than three lots, tracts, sites or parcels. The subdivision shall include all processes related to the conveyance of title by:
(a) Deed by metes and bounds description;
(b) Deed described by reference to an unapproved plat; and/or
(c) Deed resulting from the adjustment of lot lines in an approved plat.
(2) The subdivision does not involve or include the dedication or abandonment of public rights-of-way and/or easements, provided however that for a parcel that abuts a section line the applicant must provide a 50 foot right-of-way dedication to the city allowing use for future roadways, utilities, drainage, and other municipal uses; or
(3) The subdivision can satisfy these subdivision regulations and other applicable ordinances and statutes without the construction of streets, water facilities, storm drainage facilities or other improvements, except as necessary to directly serve the created lots and to provide a direct connection to an existing and approved system; it is the intent of this provision to limit this classification to those cases where the improvements required by these subdivision regulations have been provided and all such improvement requirements, except for the extension of service to individual lots, have been satisfied.
(B) Classification as deed approval subdivision not construed to waive requirements. The classification of a subdivision as a deed approval subdivision shall not be construed as a waiver of any requirements of these subdivision regulations nor the provisions of any other ordinance or statute pertaining to the property.
(C) Deed approval subdivision procedure. Processing a deed approval subdivision shall be primarily administrative, as follows:
(1) Application for deed approval review shall be filed with the Office of the City Clerk.
(2) The City Clerk, Building Inspector and/or City Manager shall review the application and may submit it for review and comment to other agencies and/or departments as necessary. Within ten days of the official date of application, the Planning Commission Chairperson or Community Development Director shall act on the application for deed approval by approving or denying and shall notify the applicant of the decision. The applicant may waive this requirement and consent to an extension of this period. If the application is not approved by the Planning Commission Chairperson or Community Development Director, the applicant may apply to the Planning Commission for public hearing.
(D) Delegation of authority for administrative approval of deed. The Planning Commission Chairperson or Community Development Director has the authority to approve deeds either for lot split or metes and bounds approval under the following conditions:
(1) Pre-existing deeds. The property conveyed by the deed submitted for review existed in its present configuration prior to its annexation to the city or prior to 6-7-1973 (adoption date of the original subdivision regulations ordinance).
(2) Exempted deeds. Those deeds in which:
(a) The configuration of the property to be conveyed was created by a court decree or by an action of other governmental authority; documentation of such court decree or governmental action shall be required;
(b) The property to be conveyed is bound on all sides by properties which have previously received deed approvals by the Planning Commission or by the Planning Commission Chairperson;
(c) The deed submitted is exempted from the requirements of Planning Commission approval by any provision of state law (documentation of such shall be required);
(d) The property to be conveyed existed in its present configuration prior to 6-7-1973, and meets the following criteria:
1. It is in compliance with all drainage ordinance requirements and regulations;
2. Properties must front on approved streets;
3. All applicable zoning ordinance provisions and regulations are met, including those regulations concerning non- conforming uses;
4. All current health ordinances and regulations are met;
5. All current drainage ordinances and regulations are met;
6. No more than three total lots, parcels, or tracts are being created from a presently platted lot, parcel or tract. The three-lot limitation shall not apply to the minor subdivision of any commercially-zoned, platted lot greater than five acres, subject to site plan review of the total parcel;
7. Instruments for the dedication of all necessary public easements are submitted. This shall mean, in cases where public or private easements are required that the applicant must submit certified copies of the instrument(s) filed of record with the appropriate County Clerk;
8. The applicant has submitted a written agreement to extend all sanitary sewer lines and water mains and has agreed that no improvement shall be constructed on the property which would in any way affect the construction of these sanitary sewer lines and water mains until these lines and mains are in place and meet the standards of the city; where such extensions of sanitary sewer lines and water mains are not reasonable, the applicant may submit a written authorization for the use of individual sewage disposal facilities from the state’s Department of Environmental Quality; in all cases where sanitary sewer and/or water facilities are not available and the extension of facilities are not required, the deed submitted for approval shall have affixed to its face:
“NOT SERVED BY PUBLIC SEWER
AND/OR WATER AS OF THIS DATE”
in all cases where improvements or extension of improvements are required, the provisions regarding assurance of completion; and
9. Approval of the deed submitted shall not create a substandard lot on adjoining property. The deed submitted may be approved if the substandard lot created on the adjoining property is combined with other property to create a standard lot. Both deeds must be approved simultaneously.
(3) Authority. No further delegation of the Planning Commission’s authority for the approval of lot splits or deed approvals is hereby granted or implied.
(E) Paving. The city shall require the installation of proper street paving with the approval of all deeds, if that paving does not already exist; except that, the Planning Commission Chairperson may vary that requirement under the following conditions:
(1) The residential lot is on an approved private road;
(2) The residential lot is on a hard surfaced, but not necessarily curbed, road;
(3) The residential lot is on an unpaved road when it is determined that the entire area is rural in nature and that paving should not be installed;
(4) The residential lot is on an approved public street; or
(5) When it would be impractical to require paving because the property is abutting a street included within an approved street bond program or where such paving can be best accomplished through an assessment district.
(F) Sanitary sewer. The city shall require the extension and installation of sanitary sewer lines to serve all subdivided property if such property is, as determined by applying current professional standards of planning and civil engineering, reasonably accessible to a sanitary sewer main. If a subdivided tract is not reasonably accessible to sanitary sewer, this requirement may be waived and a septic system utilized under the following conditions:
(1) Percolation test results approved by the state’s Department of Environmental Quality;
(2) The septic system is proposed for soil which is not classified by the Soil Conservation Service as severe for septic tank filter fields. This may be waived if satisfactory information is provided to the Planning Commission Chairperson indicating the inclusion of adequate soils on the property for septic tank filter fields;
(3) The septic system shall be installed and inspected as required by the state’s Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ); and
(4) Minimum lot sizes shall meet the requirements of the city’s zoning ordinance and the state’s Administrative Code § 252:641, App. A.
(G) Water. The city shall require extension and installation of water mains consistent with the city’s utility extension policies, to serve all subdivided property if such property is determined by applying current professional standards of planning and civil engineering to be reasonably accessible to an existing water main. If the subdivided tract is not reasonably accessible to an existing water main, this requirement may be waived and a private water well utilized under the following conditions:
(1) Proper approval of water well drilling by the state’s Water Resources Board and the state’s Department of Environmental Quality is obtained; and
(2) Locational criteria, if water well and septic tank are both used, are met.
(H) Force of approval. Once the initial deed or any subsequent deed has been approved by the Planning Commission, such approval relates back to the original lot split and covers all future conveyances using the same legal description. However, no more than three deed approvals or lot splits shall be approved based on the initial deed or any subsequent deed unless such property has been duly conveyed to another person.
(I) Platting required. Platting or replatting may be required by the Planning Commission under the following conditions:
(1) A previously platted lot, parcel or tract is being subdivided into more than three lots;
(2) The design of a subdivision is significantly altered by the creation or deletion of lots;
(3) The dedication of any street is involved;
(4) The creation of a statutory private road subdivision is involved, and the lots are two acres or less in size; or
(5) Property is to be re-zoned.
(2002 Code, § 153.007) (Ord. 230, passed 9-8-1986; Ord. 477, passed 5-21-2002; Ord. 651, passed 10-26-2009; Ord. 922, passed 9-12-2022)