This chapter shall hereafter be known, cited and referred to as the "Subdivision Ordinance of the Town of Millville, Delaware."
This chapter shall apply to all subdivision of land, as defined herein, located within the corporate limits of the Town of Millville. This chapter shall become effective upon adoption by the Millville Town Council and shall remain in effect until amended or rescinded by the Council.
This chapter is adopted for the following reasons:
A. 
To protect and provide for the public health, safety, and general welfare of the municipality.
B. 
To guide the future growth and development of the municipality, in accordance with the Municipal Development Strategy, which is also sometimes known as and referred to as the "Comprehensive Plan" for the Town.
C. 
To provide for adequate light, air, and privacy; to secure safety from fire, flood, and other danger; and to prevent overcrowding of the land and undue congestion of population.
D. 
To protect the character and social and economic stability of all parts of the municipality and to encourage the orderly and beneficial development of all parts of the municipality.
E. 
To conserve and protect the value of land throughout the municipality and the value of buildings and of improvements upon the land, and to minimize conflicts of land uses and buildings.
F. 
To guide public and private policy and action in order to provide adequate and efficient traffic circulation, parks, playgrounds, recreation, and other public requirements and facilities.
G. 
To provide the most beneficial relationship between land uses and buildings and the circulation of traffic throughout the municipality with particular attention paid to the avoidance of congestion in the streets and highways, and the pedestrian traffic movements appropriate to the various uses of land and buildings, and to provide for the proper location and width of streets and building lines.
H. 
To establish reasonable standards of design and procedure for subdivisions and resubdivisions, in order to further the orderly layout and use of land, and to insure proper legal descriptions and monumenting of subdivision land.
I. 
To insure that the subdivider provides adequate public facilities of sufficient capacity to serve the proposed development where such facilities are unavailable or lack sufficient capacity to handle increased development.
J. 
To prevent the pollution of air, streams, and ponds; to assure the adequacy of drainage facilities; to safeguard the water table; and to encourage the wise use and management of natural resources throughout the municipality in order to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the community and the value of the land.
K. 
To preserve the natural beauty and topography of the municipality and to insure appropriate development with regard to these natural features.
A. 
No tract, parcel or lot of land shall be divided, redivided, subdivided or resubdivided by recorded plot, separation of ownership or lease into two or more tracts, parcels or lots, except in strict accordance with all provisions of this chapter and the regulations adopted hereunder. The requirements for subdivision approval as stated herein shall not apply to those subdivisions or resubdivisions which constitute minor subdivisions and which, in the opinion of the Town Manager, involve only the relocation of lot lines. The Town Manager is authorized to approve such subdivisions or resubdivisions, upon the submission of a licensed surveyor's plot, and upon a determination by the Town Manager that all applicable zoning requirements have been met.
B. 
[1]Notwithstanding any other section in this chapter to the contrary, no lot or part of a major subdivision shall be transferred or sold by the developer or possession granted by the developer to any third party prior to completion of the construction improvement program required pursuant to this chapter and acceptance by the Town; provided, however, that lots or parts of a major subdivision may be transferred or sold or possession granted prior to completion of improvements, in the event the developer has provided an adequate completion guaranty to insure that all improvements will be made, pursuant to the terms of this chapter.
[1]
Editor’s Note: Former Subsection B, which stated that no tract, parcel or lot should be developed or construction undertaken by more than one family or more than one business establishment, except in accordance with the provisions and regulations of this chapter, was repealed 11-13-2018 by Ord. No. 19-07. This ordinance also provided for the redesignation of former Subsections C through E as Subsections B through D, respectively.
C. 
Building permits contingent upon compliance. No permit to erect, alter or repair any building upon land in a subdivision may be issued and no building may be erected in a subdivision unless and until final acceptance of a subdivision has occurred and any Town required agreements have been executed.
D. 
Work not to be commenced prior to approval. No work, grading, excavation, construction, erection or building shall be commenced or done within any subdivision except in strict accordance with the provisions in this chapter and regulations adopted hereunder and pursuant to any approved subdivision plan and any Town required agreements, provided that this section shall not prevent the making of test borings or engineering surveys.
A. 
The Town Council may, from time to time, amend, supplement, or change, by ordinance, the regulations herein established. Any such amendment or change may be initiated by resolution of the Town Council. Before taking action on any proposed amendment or change, the Town Council shall hold a public hearing.
B. 
Public hearings on all proposed amendments shall be held by the Town Council in the manner prescribed by law.
A. 
It shall be the duty of the Code Enforcement Officer or other Town officials to enforce these regulations and to bring to the attention of the Town Council and/or Town Attorney any violation or lack of compliance herewith for subsequent appropriate legal action.
B. 
No owner or agent of the owner of any parcel of land located in a proposed subdivision shall transfer or sell any such parcel before a plat of such subdivision has received final approval by the Town Council in accordance with the provisions of these regulations and filed with the County Recorder of Deeds. The owner(s), or agent of the owner(s) must provide the Town proof of recordation, including book and page location numbers. The subdivision of any lot, or any parcel of land, by the use of metes and bounds description for the purpose of sale, transfer, or lease with the intent of evading these regulations shall not be permitted. All such described subdivisions shall be subject to all the requirements contained in this chapter.
C. 
Any person violating any provision of this chapter shall be subject to such penalties and pay such fines as set forth in Chapter 1, Article II, General Penalty.
[Amended 12-14-2010 by Ord. No. 11-03; 10-9-2018 by Ord. No. 19-04]
D. 
The Town Council may enjoin such transfer or sale or agreement by and through an action for an injunction brought in any court of equity jurisdiction, and/or may recover the said penalty by civil action in any court of competent jurisdiction.
E. 
Every act or omission in violation of this chapter shall be punishable as provided herein. Where such an act or omission is of a continuing nature, each and every day during which such act or omission continues shall be deemed a separate violation.
F. 
No building permit shall be issued for the construction of any building or structure located on a lot or plat subdivided or sold in violation of the provisions of this chapter.
G. 
No building permit shall be issued until the required improvements have been installed and all recorded conditions have been met by the provisions of this chapter.
H. 
A stop-work order shall be issued for the site by the Code Enforcement Officer if a violation is of an immediate and serious nature, as determined by the Town. Any building permit issued by the Town may be suspended or revoked after written notice is given to the permittee for noncompliance with correction notice(s) or stop-work order(s) issued for the construction of a subdivided lot or plat.[1]
[1]
Editor’s Note: Former Subsection I, which provided that fines collected for violations of this chapter would be collected in the same manner as taxes, and which immediately followed this subsection, was repealed 10-9-2018.
A. 
Any applicant aggrieved by a finding, decision, or recommendation of the Town Council and/or its staff may request and shall receive opportunity to appear before the Town Council to present additional relevant information and request reconsideration of the original finding, decision or recommendation or said applicant may appeal said finding, decision or recommendation to the Town Council within 30 days.
B. 
If, after requesting the Town Council to reconsider the denial of any tentative plan, the applicant still feels that such action is unreasonable and causes him unjustifiable hardship, he may appear before the Town Council to request a reconsideration of the denial of said final plan.
C. 
All decisions of the Town Council pursuant to applications made under this chapter are appealable to the Superior Court of Sussex County.
A. 
Any subdivision approval granted by the Town Council subsequent to the effective date of this section shall be rendered null and void if substantial construction is not commenced thereon within two years of the date of approval and recording of the final plat.
[Amended 12-14-2010 by Ord. No. 11-03]
B. 
Any subdivision approval granted by the Town Council prior to the effective date of this section shall be rendered null and void if substantial construction is not commenced thereon within three years of the effective date of this section. Town Council, at its discretion, may approve an additional extension of approval should the applicant demonstrate unusual difficulty or circumstances beyond the applicant's control.
C. 
For the purposes of this section, the term "substantial construction" shall mean that the right-of-way has been cleared, the roadway has been rough graded, the drainage system and the stormwater management facilities have been rough graded and erosion and sediment control measures are in place and being actively maintained, or construction in accordance with an approved construction sequence for the project.