Subdivision Ordinance

Section 2100

Section 1 - Title

This Ordinance shall be known as the "Subdivision Ordinance of the City of Freeport" and is referenced as "this Ordinance".

Section 2 - Purpose, Jurisdiction And Conveyances

Subdivision 1 - Purpose

Pursuant to the authority contained in Minnesota Statutes Section 462.358, this Ordinance is adopted for the following purposes:

1. Assure that new additions will harmonize with the overall development objectives of the community.
2. Encourage well planned subdivisions by establishing optimum development standards.
3. Secure the rights of the general public w ith respect to public land and water.
4. Improve land records by establishing standards for surveys and plats.
5. Place the cost of improvements against those benefitting.
6. Assure that public improvements such as streets, utilities and drainage are constructed to satisfactory standards.
7. Provide common grounds of understanding between prospective subdividers and municipal officials.

Subd. 2 - Jurisdiction

The regulations in this Ordinance governing plats and subdivision of lands shall apply within the City's corporate limits, and as provided for in areas designated for orderly annexation or where otherwise provided for in Minnesota law.

Subd. 3 - Restriction - Recording Conveyances

No conveyance of land which is subject to this Ordinance shall be filed or recorded if provisions of this Ordinance are not met. Conveyances not in compliance with these regulations will be refused a building permit.

Subd. 4 - Applicability

1. All subdivisions of land within the corporate limits of the City of Freeport hereafter submitted for approval shall fully comply in all respects with the regulations set forth in this Ordinance. Plans of group developments for residential, commercial, industrial, or other uses or for any combination of uses designed for sale or rental purposes shall be presented in the same manner as subdivisions for the review of the Planning Commission and the approval of the City Council.
2. The following land or parcel subdivisions or conveyances are subject to this Ordinance:
   1. Any subdivision of platted or unplatted property.
   2. Lands which are to be divided into two (2) or more lots or parcels.
   3. Planned Unit Developments.
   4. Any unplatted land transferred from one zoning district to another at the request of the property owner.

Section 3 - General Requirements And Definitions

Subdivision 1 - General Requirements

1. Established Monuments. All federal, state, county and other official monuments, benchmarks, triangulation points, and stations shall be preserved in their precise location; and it shall be the responsibility of the subdivider to insure that these markers are maintained in good condition during construction and development. All section, quarter section, and sixteenth section corners shall be duly described and tied.
2. Preservation of Natural Features. The Planning Commission may establish any existing natural features in order to preserve any trees, groves, water courses, beaches, historic sites, vistas and similar irreplaceable assets which add value to all developments and to the comm unity as a whole.
3. Land Subject to Flooding. No plat shall be approved for any subdivision which covers an area subject to periodic flooding or which is otherwise poorly drained unless the subdivider agrees to make improvements which will, in the opinion of the City Council, make the area completely safe for occupancy, and provide adequate street and lot drainage and conform to applicable regulations of other agencies such as the U.S. Corps of Engineers and the Department of Natural Resources. In addition, such plats may not be approved if the cost of providing municipal services to protect the flood plain area would impose an unreasonable economic burden upon the City.

Subd. 2 - Definitions

For the purpose of this Ordinance, the following terms are defined:

1. Alley - Any dedicated public way providing a secondary means of ingress and/or egress to land.
2. Block - An area of land within a subdivision that is entirely bounded by streets, or by streets and the exterior boundary or boundaries of the subdivision, or a combination of the above with a river or lake.
3. City - The City of Freeport, Minnesota.
4. City Council - The Freeport City Council.
5. City Engineer or Consulting Engineer - A professional engineer as designated by the City Council.
6. Comprehensive Plan - A compilation of the City's policy statements, goals, standards, and maps for guiding the physical, social and economic development, both private and public, of the municipality and its environs, including air space and subsurface areas necessary for mined underground space development pursuant to Minnesota Statutes Sections 469.135 to 469.141, and may include, but is not limited to, the following: statements of policies, goals, standards, a land use plan, including proposed densities for development, a community facilities plan, a transportation plan, and recommendations for plan execution. The comprehensive plan represents recommendations for the future development of the community.
7. Easement - A grant by a property owner for the use of a piece of real property for public purposes of constructing and maintaining utilities, drainage, and transportation ways, including but not limited to, electric lines, telephone lines, gas lines, storm sewer or storm drainage ways, water and sewer lines.
8. Flood Fringe Area - The portion of the flood plain outside of the floodway.
9. Flood Plain - The areas adjoining a watercourse or water basin that have been or may be covered by a regional flood.
10. Floodway - The channel of the watercourse, the bed of water basins, and those portions of the adjoining floodplains that are reasonably required to carry and discharge floodwater and provide water storage during a regional flood.
11. Half Street - A street having only one-half of its intended right-of-way width developed to accommodate traffic.
12. Improvements - Pavement, curbs, gutters, sidewalks, sewer and water facilities, grading, street signs, street lighting, plantings and other items for the welfare of property owners and/or the general public.
13. Lot - A portion of a subdivision of land intended for building development or transfer of ownership.
14. Official Controls - Ordinances and regulations which control the physical development of the City.
15. Owner - Includes any individual, company, corporation, firm, partnership, association, organization, entity, or other group acting as a unit. It also includes any executor, administrator, trustee, receiver or other representative appointed by law.
16. Parcel - A tract, plot, lot, and/or portion of a subdivision or other parcel of land intended as a unit for the purpose, whether immediate or future, of transfer of ownership, possession, or for building development.
17. Pedestrian Way - A public or private right-of-way across a block or within a block to provide access to be used by pedestrians and which may also be used for the installation of utility lines.
18. Plan, Concept - A sketch preparatory to the preliminary plat (or final plat in the case of minor subdivisions) to enable the subdivider to save time and expense in reaching consensus with the Planning Commission as to the form of the plat and the objectives of these regulations. The concept plan must be drawn to scale and should show all existing buildings and site improvements. It should be informative as to the general lot layout and approximate sizes, park location, and street location.
19. Planned Unit Development - A tract of land developed as a unit rather than as individual development as provided for in the City's Zoning Code.
20. Planning Commission - The Planning Commission of the City of Freeport.
21. Plat - The drawing or map of a subdivision prepared for filing of record pursuant to Minnesota Statutes Chapter 505 and containing all elements and requirements set forth in regulations adopted pursuant to Minnesota Statute Section 462.358 and Chapter 505.
22. Plat, Final - A drawing or map of a subdivision m eeting all the requirements of the City and in such form as required by the County for purposes of recording.
23. Plat, Preliminary - The preliminary map, drawing, or chart indicating the proposed layout of the subdivision to be submitted to the Planning Commission for its consideration.
24. Protective Covenants - Contracts made between private parties as to the manner in which land may be used, with the view to protect and preserve the physical, social, and economic integrity of any given area.
25. Regional Flood - A flood that is representative of large floods known to have occurred generally in the state and reasonably characteristic of what can be expected to occur on an average frequency in the magnitude of a 100-year recurrence interval.
26. Right-of-Way - Land dedicated and publicly owned, in fee or by easement, for use as a street, alley, trail, or walkway.
27. Site Map - A map showing existing conditions including all platted parcels, streets, right-of-ways, easements and any predominant topography or natural features such as lakes and wooded areas.
28. Street - A public right-of-way affording primary access by pedestrians and vehicles to abutting properties, whether designated as a street, highway, thoroughfare, parkway, throughway, road, avenue, boulevard, land, place or however otherwise designated.
    1. Arterial - A street that provides traffic movement to and from the City and surrounding rural areas and cities, to and from regional highways and collector streets, and between major parts of the City.
    2. Collector - A street that carries traffic from the arterial systems to local street destinations. Provides traffic circulation within neighborhoods and within commercial and industrial areas.
    3. Local - A street that provides direct access to abutting properties. Through traffic is discouraged.
    4. Frontage Road - A road intended primarily to provide access to abutting property and located adjacent and generally parallel to a thoroughfare to which access is restricted.
    5. Cul-de-sac - A minor street with only one outlet and having an appropriate terminal for the safe and convenient reversal of traffic movement.
29. Street, Grade - On street center line means the distance vertically (up or down) from the horizontal in feet and tenths of a foot for each one hundred feet of horizontal distance.
30. Subdivision - The separation of an area, parcel, or tract of land under single ownership into two (2) or m ore parcels, tracts, lots, or long-term leasehold interests where the creation of the leasehold interest necessitates the creation of streets, roads, or alleys, for residential, comm ercial, industrial, or other use or any combination thereof, except those separations:
    1. Where all the resulting parcels, tracts, lots, or interests will be twenty (20) acres or larger in size and five hundred (500) feet in width for residential uses and five (5) acres or larger in size for commercial and industrial uses;
    2. Creating cemetery lots;
    3. Resulting from court orders; or
    4. The adjustm ent of a lot line by the relocation of a common boundary determined by the Zoning Administrator to be of inconsequential effect on either property involved.
31. Subdivision, Minor. Any subdivision containing not more than two lots and which does not involve any new street or road, and that is not likely to precipitate the extension of municipal facilities or public improvements.
32. Zoning Administrator. The person appointed by the City Council to administer the City's zoning and subdivision regulations.

Section 4 - Review And Action

Subdivision 1 - Approval Of Subdivisions Required

Before any land is subdivided, the Owner of the property proposed to be subdivided must apply for and secure approval of the proposed subdivision in accordance with the procedures set out in this Ordinance.

Subd. 2 - Concept Plan Procedure

Prior to filing a Preliminary Plat, the applicant may elect to prepare a Concept Plan so that the applicant may become informed of the procedural requirements and minimum standards of this Ordinance and the requirements or limitations imposed by other City ordinances or plans. Concept Plans may be submitted to City staff and/or the Planning Commission. In order for the Planning Commission to review Concept Plans, the applicant must submit the Concept Plans at least ten (10) days before the next scheduled Planning Commission meeting. Submission of a Concept Plan, drawn to scale, shall not be considered an application for subdivision.

Subd. 3 - Action On Preliminary Plat

1. Application - A person requesting approval of a Preliminary Plat or Subdivision must fill out and submit to the Zoning Administrator a Subdivision Application form, accompanied by the required fee and including the information required under Section 5 of this Ordinance.
2. Application Deadline - The Zoning Administrator must receive completed subdivision applications at least ten (10) days prior to the Planning Commission's next scheduled meeting.
3. Fees - A fee the City Council shall establish by ordinance must accompany the subdivision application. An additional fee may be charged for atypical projects, which in the opinion of the Zoning Administrator will require