(a) Purpose. The purpose of the major subdivision process is to provide a method of review for any subdivision that exceeds the scope of a minor subdivision.
(b) Applicability. Any subdivision of land or replat of an existing subdivision that does not meet the applicability requirements of a minor subdivision in Section 1129.05(b), shall be subject to the requirements of this section.
(c) Major Subdivision Review Procedure.
(1) Step 1 - Pre-Application Meeting (Optional). An applicant may request to have a pre-application meeting with the Director of Community Development and/or Planning Commission to informally discuss the application and any concept plans. Such meeting shall be subject to Section 1129.02(f).
(2) Step 2 - Application and Filling of the Preliminary Plat.
A. The applicant shall submit an application, including a preliminary plat, in accordance with Section 1129.02: Common Review Requirements, and with the provisions of this section.
B. The preliminary plat shall be prepared, signed, and sealed by an engineer or surveyor who is qualified and registered in the State of Ohio.
(3) Step 3 - Administrative Staff Review and Transmission to the Planning Commission.
A. Upon determination that the application for a preliminary plan is complete, the Director of Community Development shall forward the application to the PC and may transmit copies of the application for review by applicable agencies including, but not limited to, the City Engineer and any other agencies having authority over streets, water, sewer, gas, or other utilities and other public improvements.
B. The Director of Community Development may consolidate any comments from the public received in advance of the meeting and comments from the Community Development Department or other departments and agencies into a report for the PC to review as part of Step 4.
(4) Step 4 - Review and Decision on the Preliminary Plat by the Planning Commission.
A. The Planning Commission shall review the preliminary plat application at its next regularly scheduled meeting, or at a special meeting, after the application is determined to be complete.
B. In making its decision, the Planning Commission shall approve, approve with conditions, or deny the preliminary plat. The Planning Commission may also continue the meeting if questions regarding the plat are not satisfactorily addressed by the applicant.
C. The Planning Commission shall make a decision within sixty (60) days of the filing of the preliminary plat (Step 2) unless the Planning Commission and subdivider agree to an extension of this time frame. If the Planning Commission fails to act within the sixty (60) days or there is no agreement for an extension of time, the application for a preliminary plat will be considered approved.
D. If the Planning Commission denies the preliminary plat, the applicant shall not move forward in the review process until a preliminary plat is approved by the Planning Commission.
E. In the event the Planning Commission denies the preliminary plat or approves with conditions, the Director of Community Development, on behalf of the Planning Commission shall provide the subdivider with a statement, in writing, setting forth the reasons for the denial or the conditions of approval.
F. If the applicant proposed to construct the subdivision in phases, the Planning Commission may approve a timeframe for filing of improvement plans and final plats for each phase.
G. Approval of the preliminary plat by the Planning Commission does not constitute approval of the subdivision, but is merely an authorization to proceed with the preparation of the final plat and improvement plans.
(5) Step 5 - Submission of Improvement Plans and the Final Plat.
A. The applicant shall submit a final plat and related improvement plans and specifications in accordance with Section 1129.02: Common Review Requirements. Such application shall take place within three years following the Planning Commission's approval of the preliminary plat unless the Planning Commission approved an alternative schedule, in which case the applicant shall submit in accordance with the approved schedule. Failure to submit the improvement plans within this time frame shall void the preliminary plat approval and the subdivider will be required to submit a new application in accordance with these regulations.
B. The applicant shall submit the improvement plans and specifications in accordance with Section 1129.02: Common Review Requirements, and with the provisions of this section.
C. If a preliminary plat has been previously approved, the final plat shall have incorporated all changes from the preliminary plat approval.
D. In cases where the applicant proposes to develop the subdivision in phases, the final plat and improvement plans shall be submitted for each individual phase.
E. If the applicant proposes to provide a financial guarantee for the public improvements in lieu of installing all public improvements prior to approval of the final plat, the applicant shall be required to provide all information required as part of Section 1125.07.
F. Upon determination by the Director of Community Development that the final plat has been properly submitted, the final plat shall be accepted as being filed.
G. The final plat shall be prepared, signed, and sealed by an engineer or surveyor who is qualified and registered in the State of Ohio.
(6) Step 6 - Administrative Staff Review of the Final Plat and Improvement Plans.
A. Upon determination that the submission of the final plat and improvement plans is complete, the Director of Community Development may transmit copies of the application for review by applicable agencies including, but not limited to, the City Engineer and any other agencies having authority over streets, water, sewer, gas, or other utilities and other public improvements.
B. Such agencies shall supply comments and recommendations to the Director of Community Development prior to the regularly scheduled Planning Commission meeting where the final plat and improvement plans will be subject to review.
C. Construction of Improvements.
i. Applicants shall have the choice to construct all public improvements prior to the approval of the final plat, without a financial guarantee, but such public improvements must be completed and then inspected and approved by the City Engineer before the City can approve the final plat. The improvements shall be constructed within a reasonable time as determined by the City Engineer.
ii. All required subdivision improvements shall be maintained in a satisfactory condition by the subdivider during any interim period between their construction and final approval and acceptance of the subdivision by the City. Additionally, such improvements shall be subject to maintenance requirements following acceptance in accordance with this section and Chapter 1125: Subdivision Design.
iii. If the applicant requests approval of a final plat prior to installation of the public improvements, the applicant shall be required to provide a financial guarantee in accordance with the regulations of this code at the time the final plat is submitted for review.
(7) Step 7 - Review and Decision on the Final Plat and Improvement Plans by the Planning Commission.
A. The Planning Commission shall review the final plat and improvement plans at its next regularly scheduled meeting, or at a special meeting, after the final plat is submitted and determined to be complete.
B. The Planning Commission shall approve, approve with conditions, or deny the improvement plans and final plat. The Planning Commission may also continue the meeting if questions regarding the plat are not satisfactorily answered by the applicant.
C. The Planning Commission shall make a decision within thirty (30) days of the filing of the final plat and improvement plans (Step 5) unless the Planning Commission and subdivider agree to an extension of this time frame. If the Planning Commission fails to act within the thirty (30) days or there is no agreement for an extension of time, the application for a final plat will be considered approved.
D. If the Planning Commission denies the final plat and/or improvement plans, the applicant shall not move forward in the review process until a final plat and the improvement plans are approved by the Planning Commission.
E. In the event the Planning Commission denies the final plat and improvement plans or approves with conditions, the Planning Commission shall provide the subdivider with a statement, in writing, setting forth the reasons for the denial or the conditions of approval.
F. Approval of the final plat and improvement plans by the Planning Commission shall not be an acceptance by the public of the offer of dedication of any street, or other public ways or open space on the final plat unless they are accepted by City Council in the form of the adoption of an ordinance.
G. The final plat shall be held until acceptance of all improvements in Step 8. No final plat shall be recorded until all improvements and areas offered for parks, open space, or public rights-of-way have been accepted by City Council.
H. At the completion of construction, and before acceptance of the public improvements, the developer shall furnish the City a set of record or "as-built" reproducible drawings as well as a digital copy that is compatible with the City Engineer's software showing the locations of all public improvements including the sizes and elevations of all underground utilities.
(8) Step 8 - Acceptance of Improvements by City Council. The City, through action by the City Council, shall review the final plat and consider acceptance of public improvements made by a subdivider only after meeting the following conditions:
A. The public improvements have been made in accordance with the requirements of this code, and any other manuals or documents referenced in Section 1125.03;
B. Installation of the public improvements has been completed in accordance with the applicable design standards;
C. All final inspections required by these regulations and the City have been carried out by the City, and said public improvements were found to be acceptable by the City Engineer.
D. After all public improvements have been installed to the satisfaction of the City, the subdivider shall submit an original copy of as-built improvement plans (showing how all public improvements were actually installed) to the City Engineer in a format acceptable to the City Engineer.
E. After all public improvements have been installed in accordance with the subdivision approvals and these regulations, and the subdivider has complied with this section, the City Council may, by ordinance, accept the public improvements for maintenance with any applicable financial guarantee.
(9) Step 9 - Disposition of Approved Plat and Recordation.
A. All required deeds, agreements, and other required legal instruments shall be submitted to the Director of Community Development within sixty (60) days from the date of the Planning Commission's approval or such approval shall thereafter be rendered null and void.
B. Any recorded plat which has not been approved according to the regulations in this chapter shall be considered invalid.
C. The subdivider shall then be responsible for submitting the signed plat to the Hamilton or Butler County Recorder, as applicable, for the recording of the lots as legal lots of record and providing a copy of said plat to the City after recording.
D. The approval of a plat shall expire within 120 days after City Council approval is effective unless the plat has been duly filed and recorded by the applicant as required by law, and the original tracing of the plat has been filed with the Director of Community Development.
(d) Review Criteria. In order to approve a major subdivision, the Planning Commission shall determine the following:
(1) That the major subdivision complies with all applicable provisions of this code;
(2) That the major subdivision does not conflict with other regulations, plans, or policies of the City;
(3) That the proposed subdivision is designed to be harmonious with the existing immediate or surrounding area or is in keeping with the intended character of such area;
(4) That the proposed streets are in accordance with approved plans and have been coordinated with existing streets, and that adequate measures have been taken to provide ingress and egress so as to minimize traffic congestion in public streets;
(5) That the proposed subdivision will not adversely affect the delivery of governmental services;
(6) That applicable review agencies have no objections that cannot be resolved by the applicant; and
(7) That the final plat and improvement plans conform to the approved preliminary plat, if submitted and approved.
(e) Amendments of Application.
(1) No changes, erasures, modifications, or revisions shall be made in any plat of a subdivision after final approval has been given by the Planning Commission and an endorsement is made in writing on the plat, unless the plat is first resubmitted and the changes approved by the Planning Commission.
(2) If the applicant finds, in the process of preparing improvement plans, that the approved preliminary plat, if submitted, is not workable and changes in layout are required, the applicant shall inform the City Engineer. The City Engineer may require that a revised preliminary plat be submitted for re-approval following the review procedure in Section 1129.06(c)(4), above, if the changes significantly alter the design of the subdivision, including changes to the number of lots, modification of street layouts, or other substantial changes. If the proposed changes are technical or minor and do not substantively alter the approved preliminary plat, the City Engineer may approve the revisions. Failure to submit and receive approval of a revised preliminary plat shall void approval of the preliminary plat and any new submission shall be subject to a new application.
(3) During the final plat process, the City Engineer is authorized to allow minor changes related to the public improvements or design where there is minimal impact to the overall design of the subdivision. This limited authority shall not give the City Engineer the authority to vary the requirements of this code.
(4) If during the course of construction, any changes or modifications are encountered that are not in conformance with the original approved improvement plans, the subdivider shall submit the modified improvement plans (which have now become as-built drawings) to the City Engineer, who, if in agreement with such modifications, shall sign these drawings to indicate approval of the modifications. If the City Engineer does not approve the modifications, the applicant shall be required to bring the improvements into compliance with the approved improvement plans or the City may utilize the financial guarantee to correct the issue.
(f) Subdivision Modifications.
(1) Purpose. The purpose of a subdivision modification is to provide limited relief from standards that apply to the subdivision of land, including standards for improvements. Subdivision modifications are intended for those cases where strict application of a particular requirement will create a practical difficulty or extraordinary hardship prohibiting the use of land in a manner otherwise allowed under these regulations. It is not intended that modifications be approved merely to remove inconveniences or financial burdens that the requirements of these regulations may impose on property owners or subdividers in general.
(2) Applicability.
A. If the proposed subdivision requires a deviation from the minimum lot and principal building regulations (e.g., lot area, lot width, etc.) or other standards identified in Section 1113.01, the applicant will be required to apply for and receive all the necessary variance approvals (See Section 1129.11.) prior to approval of a preliminary plat.
B. If the applicant seeks a modification of standards required by Chapter 1125: Subdivision Design, then the request for a modification shall be accomplished through the procedure outlined in this section.
(3) Subdivision Modification Review.
A. A request for a subdivision modification shall be reviewed as part of the preliminary plat review procedure.
B. In reviewing the application, the Planning Commission shall, at a minimum, consider the review criteria of this section.
C. The Planning Commission shall review the request and may approve, approve with conditions, or deny the request to modify any or all of the requested modifications.
D. In approving a modification, the Planning Commission may impose conditions on the approval as it determines are required to ensure compliance with the provisions and purposes of these regulations.
E. If the preliminary plat is denied or if the approval of the preliminary plat expires, so does the approval of the subdivision modification. Any future request for preliminary plat approval that includes the same modifications shall require a new review and decision on the request for modifications.
(4) Review Criteria. The review criteria for a subdivision modification shall be the same as those for a variance as established in Section 1129.11(c).
(g) Appeals. Any person or entity claiming to be injured or aggrieved by any final action of the Planning Commission shall have the right to appeal the decision to the court of common pleas of the applicable county, as provided in ORC Chapters 2505 and 2506.
(Ord. 2022-22. Passed 5-10-22.)