(A) Major proprietor’s plat.
(1) Pre-application conference. Whenever a developer proposes a proprietor’s plat, the developer shall contact the Department of Community Development to schedule a pre-application conference. The pre-application conference shall include the Developer and representatives, representatives from the Department of Community Development and the Engineering Department, and such other city departments that express a desire to be included in such pre-application conferences on a regular basis, or that are deemed to be helpful or necessary by the Department of Community Development. The purpose of the pre-application conference shall be to acquaint the city staff with the proposed subdivision, and to acquaint the developer with the procedures and requirements of this Code and concerns and regulations that pertain to the subdivision. The developer shall furnish a reasonably specific description of the property to be subdivided at the time of requesting the pre-application conference, and is encouraged to prepare and submit a conceptual plat for the proposed subdivision prior to the conference, in order to facilitate the pre-application conference discussion.
(2) Filing for approval of preliminary plat.
(a) Following one or more pre-application conferences as determined to be necessary by the Department of Community Development or as requested by the developer, a preliminary subdivision plat (“preliminary plat”) shall be prepared by the developer and submitted to the Department of Community Development in accordance with § 159.06.
(b) The Department of Community Development shall review the preliminary plat and shall promptly convey one copy of it to each of the Engineering, Building and Fire Departments, Water Utility, Urbandale Sanitary Sewer District, Urbandale-Windsor Heights Sanitary Sewer District and any other department or public utility company that has expressed a desire to review subdivision plats on a regular basis, for their review and recommendations. The reviewing departments and other entities shall review the preliminary plat for conformance to all of the city codes, ordinances and specifications that they customarily enforce, and for conformance to applicable professional standards, and shall forward their recommendations for action on the preliminary plat to the Department of Community Development for inclusion in a consolidated, written staff report and recommendation that is to be prepared by the Department of Community Development and presented to the Planning and Zoning Commission for consideration and action, and forwarded to the City Council following the Commission’s action.
(3) Action on a preliminary plat.
(a) The Department of Community Development shall provide a copy of the written staff report and the consolidated staff recommendations from all of the city departments and other reviewing entities to the developer concurrently with or shortly after said staff report and recommendations have been provided to the Planning and Zoning Commission. Staff may recommend that the plat be approved, approved subject to conditions and revisions, or that the preliminary plat application be denied for reasons that shall be set forth in the written staff recommendation. Plats shall be reviewed and presented to the Planning and Zoning Commission in accordance with the submittal and meeting schedules issued each year by the Department of Community Development.
(b) The Planning and Zoning Commission shall review the recommendations of city staff and act on the proposed preliminary plat in a timely manner, and may recommend to the City Council that it approve, approve subject to conditions or revisions, or deny the preliminary plat application, whether or not such recommendations are in accordance with the recommendations of city staff. If the Commission does not act on the preliminary plat in a timely manner, the developer may request the City Council to consider the preliminary plat and recommendations of city staff without the provision of any recommendations by the Planning and Zoning Commission. The Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council may, at their discretion, hold public hearings on a preliminary plat and may provide notice to nearby property owners or tenants in whatever manner or amount of time that the Commission or Council deems appropriate.
(c) Once a preliminary plat has been reviewed and acted on by the Planning and Zoning Commission, the Department of Community Development shall forward the Commission’s recommendations and the city staff report and recommendations to the City Council for consideration at its next available meeting, subject to any notifications that may be directed by the Commission or Council and revisions to the preliminary plat to satisfy all recommended revisions and conditions, if the City Council desires to have all such revisions completed to city staff’s satisfaction prior to the Council’s consideration of the preliminary plat. The City Council may adopt the recommendations of city staff; recommendations of the Commission if at variance with city staff on one or more points; or act freely of their own volition, provided that, the Council shall have no authority to waive any requirements of the Zoning Code, or of any other city code unless provisions are expressly set out in the pertinent code to grant the Council the powers to waive or make exceptions to or from such code.
(d) Upon approval by the City Council and filing of a revised preliminary plat and specifications that satisfy all conditions of approval, the Department of Community Development shall provide a stamped approved copy of the preliminary plat to each of the reviewing departments, and to the developer if requested.
(Title VII, Ch. 3, § 1.4.2)
(4) Subdivision improvement plans and specifications.
(a) Following approval of the preliminary plat and during such time that the plat remains valid, the developer shall cause detailed subdivision improvement plans and specifications to be prepared by a professional civil engineer who is licensed in the State of Iowa (herein “developer’s engineer”) and submitted for review and approval by the City Engineer. The developer’s engineer shall incorporate all of the subdivision improvements that are required by this Code and other applicable regulations, and any that may be required by the City Council as a condition of approval of the subdivision, in the Subdivision improvement plans and specifications and shall certify said plans and specifications as being fully compliant with this Code and all other applicable regulations.
(b) Said plans and specifications shall be fully compliant with the valid preliminary plat and the conceptual design of the improvements as depicted therein. If the improvement plans and specifications deviate substantially from the valid preliminary plat, the plans and specifications shall be revised to conform, or the preliminary plat shall be revised and resubmitted for review and approval by the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council, in full compliance with the requirements of this Code.
(c) Any Improvement that is proposed to be constructed in accordance with special provisions that are in variance with or from the city’s standard specifications shall first be reviewed and approved by the City Engineer as part of the full and complete set of subdivision improvement plans and specifications, and the City Engineer may require any such variance to be submitted for review and approval by the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council in accordance with § 159.14.
(d) No improvement or development, or work preparatory thereto except clearing, grubbing and grading, shall be done prior to the City Engineer’s finding that the subdivision improvement plans and specifications are complete and in full compliance and have been properly certified by the developer’s engineer, and are therefore approved; and that all required permits have been issued by the City Engineer and all other applicable regulatory agencies. Grading may be commenced at developer’s sole risk if the City Engineer concurs with conceptual grading plans that have been prepared by the developer’s engineer.
(e) The developer’s engineer shall be solely responsible and liable for ensuring that the subdivision improvement plans and specification are fully compliant with the requirements of this Code and all other applicable requirements and permits. The City Engineer’s approval of the subdivision improvement plans and specifications, or concurrence with conceptual grading plans, shall only be deemed to allow the developer to commence work on the correlating subdivision improvements or grading, in accordance with the approved plans and specifications and all requirements of this Code. The City Engineer’s approval or concurrence shall not be found to assume, alleviate, or relieve the developer or developer’s engineer from any liability or responsibility for said plans or grading plans and the requirement to construct the Improvements in full compliance with this Code; to create any vested right to proceed with any development or improvement that is not in full compliance with this Code by reason of oversight, error or other reason; to waive any requirement of this Code unless this Code expressly allows a waiver to be made and any said waiver is made in writing; or to in any way create or assume any liability by or for the city or any of its employees and agents.
(Title VII, Ch. 3, § 1.8.6)
(5) Filing for approval of final plat.
(a) Following the approval of a preliminary plat; approval of the subdivision improvement plans and specifications and acquisition of all required permits; and while the preliminary plat remains valid, the developer shall cause a final subdivision plat (“final plat”) to be prepared for all of the preliminary plat or for a phase thereof as previously identified on the valid preliminary plat, and submitted to the Department of Community Development in accordance with § 159.06.
(b) The Department of Community Development shall review the final plat and shall promptly convey one copy of it to each of the Engineering, Building and Fire Departments, Water Utility, Urbandale Sanitary Sewer District, Urbandale-Windsor Heights Sanitary Sewer District and any other department or public utility company that has expressed a desire to review subdivision plats on a regular basis, for their review and recommendations. The reviewing departments and other entities shall review the final plat for conformance to all of the city codes, ordinances and specifications that they customarily enforce; conformance to the valid preliminary plat; conformance to the approved subdivision improvement plans and specifications; and for conformance to applicable professional standards. Upon completion of their reviews, all shall forward their recommendations for action on the final plat to the Department of Community Development for inclusion in a consolidated, written staff report and recommendation that is to be prepared by the Department of Community Development and presented to the Planning and Zoning Commission for consideration and action, and forwarded to the City Council following the Commission’s action.
(6) Action on a final plat.
(a) The Department of Community Development shall provide a copy of the written staff report and the consolidated staff recommendations from all of the city departments and other reviewing entities to the developer concurrently with or shortly after said staff report and recommendations have been provided to the Planning and Zoning Commission. Staff may recommend that the plat be approved, approved subject to conditions and revisions, or that the final plat application be denied for reasons that shall be set forth in the written staff recommendation. Plats shall be reviewed and presented to the Planning and Zoning Commission in accordance with the submittal and meeting schedules issued each year by the Department of Community Development.
(b) The Planning and Zoning Commission shall review the recommendations of city staff and act on the proposed final plat in a timely manner, and may recommend to the City Council that it approve, approve subject to conditions or revisions, or deny the final plat application, whether or not such recommendations are in accordance with the recommendations of city staff. If the Commission does not act on the final plat in a timely manner, the developer may request the City Council to consider the final plat and recommendations of city staff without the provision of any recommendations by the Planning and Zoning Commission.
(c) Once a final plat has been reviewed and acted on by the Planning and Zoning Commission, the Department of Community Development shall forward the Commission’s recommendations and the city staff report and recommendations to the City Council for consideration at its next available meeting, after the completion of revisions to the final plat to satisfy all recommended revisions and conditions, if the City Council desires to have all such revisions completed to city staff’s satisfaction prior to the Council’s consideration of the final plat. The City Council may adopt the recommendations of City staff; recommendations of the Commission if at variance with City staff on one or more points; or act freely of their own volition, provided that the Council shall have no authority to waive any requirements of the Zoning Code, or of any other city code unless provisions are expressly set out in the pertinent code to grant the Council the powers to waive or make exceptions to or from such code.
(d) Upon approval by the City Council and filing of a revised final plat that satisfies all conditions of approval, the Department of Community Development shall provide a stamped approved copy of the final plat to each of the reviewing departments, and to the developer if requested.
(7) Recording of final plat to become an official plat.
(a) No final plat shall be submitted for filing of record in the offices of the appropriate County Recorder, Auditor and Assessor; officially recognized by the city; improvements within a subdivision shall not be accepted for public ownership and maintenance; building permits shall not be applied for; and public funds shall not be expended or services provided within a subdivision, until all provisions set forth in this Code have been satisfied in full and all approvals required by this Code have been obtained and remain valid.
(b) No final plat shall be released for filing of record unless and until:
1. The required subdivision improvements shall be satisfactorily completed to the full satisfaction of the City Engineer and all maintenance bonds shall be posted therefore, and surety shall be posted for any subdivision improvements that are incomplete;
2. All fees and charges due to the city for inspection of the subdivision improvements; connection fees and other impact fees; assessments for streets and other improvements; reimbursements for water mains; and any other costs and financial obligations have been paid in full;
3. The developer has arranged and paid for the installation of street lights, street name and traffic-control signs;
4. Deeds and Easements have been submitted to, and reviewed and approved by, the Department of Community Development in accordance with this Code for all streets, park land and subdivision improvements that are to be dedicated to the city or owner’s association, as the case may be;
5. All attachments to subdivision plats as required by Iowa Code Chapter 354.11 or contents of declaration as required by Iowa Code Chapter 499B.4 as the case may be, development agreements, covenants and declarations establishing an owners’ association, and any other attachments, declarations, certifications or other documents that may be required as a matter of the filing of a plat whether by the Code or the city, have been submitted to, and reviewed and approved by, the Department of Community Development;
6. All conditions of approval of the final plat by the City Council have been satisfied in full;
7. The final acceptance of the plat shall not be deemed to constitute final acceptance by the city of any improvements or dedications except as expressly set forth in a City Council resolution. The Improvements shall only be expressly accepted by separate action by the City Council after the City Engineer submits a statement advising the Council that all of the improvements have been inspected and found to have been completed in conformance with city specifications and the approved subdivision improvement plans.
(c) Upon finding by the Community Development and Engineering Department’s that all requirements of this Code and of the Code of Iowa have been satisfied, the Department of Community Development shall release the final plat and all necessary documents for recording to the developer, and the developer shall promptly submit same for filing of record in the offices of the appropriate County Recorder, Auditor and Assessor. Be it also provided that, the city may choose to file any and all deeds and easements for the plat itself, to ensure that they are in fact promptly and properly filed, and may charge the developer for all costs associated with said filing.
(Title VII, Ch. 3, § 1.4.3)
(B) Minor proprietor’s plat. A minor plat shall comply with all of the requirements for a major proprietor’s plat, except that the developer may incorporate the preliminary plat, subdivision improvement plans and specifications and final plat into a single submittal for concurrent review and action by the city.
(C) Plat of survey.
(1) A plat of survey may be reviewed and approved by the Community Development and Engineering Departments for compliance with this Code. The city staffs of said departments may recommend that the plat of survey be approved, approved subject to conditions and revisions, or that the plat application be denied for reasons that shall be set forth in a written staff recommendation.
(2) Alternatively, said city staffs may require the plat of survey to be submitted for review and consideration in the manner of a proprietor’s plat, or the developer may request that the plat of survey be reviewed in such manner.
(D) Acquisition plat. An acquisition plat may be reviewed and approved by the Community Development and Engineering Departments in the same manner as a plat of survey.
(E) Auditor’s plat. An Auditor’s plat shall be submitted, reviewed, and acted upon by the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council in the same manner as a minor proprietor’s plat.
(Title VII, Ch. 3, § 1.4.4)