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Charter Township of Meridian
Ingham County
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[Ord. No. 2006-03, 8-1-2006]
This chapter shall be known and cited as the "Land Division Ordinance of the Charter Township of Meridian."
[Ord. No. 2006-03, 8-1-2006]
The following words, terms, and phrases, when used in this chapter, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
ACCESSIBLE
The lot or parcel has an area where a driveway provides or can provide vehicular access to an existing street or road and meets all applicable location standards of the Michigan Department of Transportation, Ingham County Road Commission, and the Township.
ADJACENT
Property that touches or is directly across a street, road, or railroad from the subject property.
AS-BUILT DRAWINGS
Construction plans which have been revised upon completion of construction to illustrate the actual location and details of improvements.
BLOCK
An area of land usually bounded on all sides by streets or other transportation routes such as railroad lines, or by physical barriers such as water bodies, commons, unplatted acreage, or other barrier to the continuity of development, and not traversed by a through street.
BLOCK LENGTH
The distance between intersections of through streets, such distance being measured along the longest street bounding the block from the edge of the right-of way line to the right-of way line of the two intersecting streets.
BOARD
The Township Board of the Charter Township of Meridian.
BUILDABLE AREA
The area on a lot where a structure may be built after the minimum zoning standards have been complied with.
CALIPER
The diameter of a tree trunk measured in inches, six inches above ground level.
CANOPY TREE
A deciduous tree which has a mature crown spread of 15 feet or greater when grown in Ingham County and has a trunk with at least eight feet of clear stem at maturity.
CLERK
The Township Clerk of the Charter Township of Meridian.
COMMISSION or PLANNING COMMISSION
The Planning Commission of the Charter Township of Meridian.
CONSTRUCTION PLANS
The drawings accompanying a subdivision plat showing the specific location and design of improvements to be installed in the subdivision.
CUL-DE-SAC
A street with only one outlet and having a circular turnaround at the end.
DEDICATION
A conveyance of private land to public ownership upon acceptance.
DETENTION BASIN
A provision for storage of stormwater runoff and the controlled release of such runoff during and after a flood or storm.
DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT
The individual or their designee, identified to advise the Township administration, Township Board, and Planning Commission on planning, zoning, land use, building, site plans, ordinances, and other related community planning and development issues.
DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS AND ENGINEERING
The individual or their designee identified to advise the Township administration, Township Board, and Planning Commission on drainage, grading, paving, stormwater management and control, utilities, public works, and other related site engineering, civil engineering and public works issues.
DIVISION
The partitioning or splitting of a parcel or tract of land by the proprietor thereof or by his or her heirs, executors, administrators, legal representatives, successors or assigns, for the purpose of sale or lease of more than one year, or of building development which results in one or more parcels of less than 40 acres or the equivalent, and satisfies the requirements of § 108 and 109 of the Land Division Act (MCL § 560.101 et seq., as amended). Division does not include a property transfer between two or more adjacent parcels, if the property taken from one parcel is added to an adjacent parcel; and any resulting parcel shall not be considered a building site unless the parcel conforms to the requirements of the Land Division Act, (MCL § 560.101 et seq., as amended) or the requirements of the Code of Ordinances.
DRAINAGE
The removal of surface water or groundwater from land by drains, grading, or other means.
DRAINAGE SYSTEM
The natural or engineered system through which water flows.
DRAIN COMMISSIONER
The Ingham County Drain Commissioner.
EASEMENT
A right created by a written agreement, of the owner of land to make lawful and beneficial use of the land to another.
ENGINEER
A civil engineer who is a professional engineer licensed under Article 20 of the occupational code (MCL § 339.2001 et seq., as amended).
EXEMPT SPLIT or EXEMPT DIVISION
The partitioning or splitting of a parcel or tract of land by the proprietor thereof, or by his or her heirs, executors, administrators, legal representatives, successors, or assigns which does not result in one or more parcels of less than 40 acres or the equivalent. For a property transfer between two or more adjacent parcels, if the property taken from one parcel is added to an adjacent parcel, any resulting parcel shall not be considered a building site unless the parcel conforms to the requirements of the Land Division Act, (MCL § 560.101 et seq., as amended) and the Code of Ordinances.
FEMA
The Federal Emergency Management Agency.
FLAG LOT or FLAG PARCEL
A lot or parcel so shaped and designed that the main building area is set back from the public street on which it fronts and includes an access strip connecting the main building area with the public street.
FORTY ACRES OR THE EQUIVALENT
Forty acres, a quarter-quarter section containing not less than 30 acres, or a government lot containing not less than 30 acres.
INGHAM COUNTY PLAT BOARD
The register of deeds, the clerk, and the treasurer of Ingham County which serve as members of the county plat board.
INTERMEDIATE REGIONAL FLOODPLAIN
The area inundated by the intermediate regional flood. This is the floodplain area which shall be regulated by the standards and criteria of § 86-436 of the Code of Ordinances, as indicated on the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) and as indicated in the Flood Insurance Study (FIS) (may also be referred to as the one-hundred-year floodplain).
LAND
All land areas occupied by real property.
LOT
Land occupied or to be occupied by a building, structure, land use, or group of buildings, together with such open space or yards as are required under the Code of Ordinances and having its principal frontage upon a street.
LOT, DEPTH OF
The mean distance from the right-of way line of the lot to its opposite rear line measured in the general direction of the side lines of the lot.
LOT LINE
Any of the lines bounding a lot as defined in this chapter.
LOT, WIDTH OF
The dimension measured along the front line of the right-of way line except in the case where a curvilinear street pattern produces irregularly shaped lots with nonparallel lot lines, lot width shall be measured along the chord of the arc created by the building line for lots with a concave front lot line and along the chord of the arc created by a line 40 feet to the rear of and parallel to the building line for lots with a convex front lot line. In no case shall the front lot line of a lot located on a curvilinear street be less than 50 feet in dimension.
062 Lot Width.tif
Lot Width
MEDIAN
The portion of a roadway separating lanes of traffic proceeding in opposite directions.
MDEQ
The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.
MDOT
The Michigan Department of Transportation.
MDCH
The Michigan Department of Community Health.
OUTLOT
A lot set aside for purposes other than a development site, park, or other land dedicated to public use or reserved to private use when included within the boundary of a recorded plat.
PARCEL
A continuous area or acreage of land.
PARENT PARCEL or PARENT TRACT
A parcel or tract, respectively, lawfully in existence on March 31, 1997.
PEDESTRIAN/BICYCLE PATHWAY
A pathway designed for use by pedestrians and bicycles and located in accordance with the adopted Pathway Master Plan of the Township.
PERFORMANCE GUARANTEE
Any security which may be accepted by the Charter Township of Meridian as a guarantee the improvements required as a result of approval of subdivision plat are satisfactorily completed.
PLAT
A map or chart of a subdivision of land.
PREAPPLICATION REVIEW MEETING
An optional review meeting conducted by the Ingham County Plat Board prior to the filing of a tentative preliminary plat.
PROPRIETOR
A natural person, firm, association, partnership, corporation or combination of any of them, which may hold any ownership interest in land, whether recorded or not.
PUBLIC SANITARY SEWER
A sewerage system as defined in § 4101 of Part 41 (sewerage systems) of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act (MCL § 324.4101 et seq., as amended).
PUBLIC UTILITY
Any person, firm, corporation, or municipal department or board fully authorized to furnish to the public electricity, gas, steam, telephone, telegraph, transportation, sewage treatment, or water.
PUBLIC WATER
A system of pipes and structures through which water is obtained and distributed to the public, including wells, and well structures, intakes, and cribs, pumping stations, treatment plants, reservoirs, storage tanks and appurtenances, collectively or severally, actually used or intended for use for the purpose of furnishing water to the public for household or drinking purposes.
RETENTION BASIN
A pond, pool, or basin used for the permanent storage of water runoff.
RIGHT-OF-WAY
A street, alley, or other thoroughfare or easement permanently established for passage of persons, vehicles, or the location of utilities. The right-of-way is delineated by legally established lines or boundaries.
RIGHT-OF-WAY LINE
The legal line of demarcation between a dedicated street right-of-way and abutting land.
ROAD COMMISSION
The Ingham County Road Commission.
SIGHT TRIANGLE
The triangular area of land at the intersection of streets or a street and a driveway.
STREET TREE
A canopy tree adjacent to a street in accordance with the requirements of this chapter.
STUB STREET
A street with a dedicated right-of-way, extending to abutting property to provide a continuous circuit of travel between properties.
SUBDIVIDE or SUBDIVISION
The partitioning or splitting of a parcel or tract of land by the proprietor thereof or by his or her heirs, executors, administrators, legal representatives, successors, or assigns for the purpose of sale, or lease of more than one year, or of building development which results in one or more parcels of less than 40 acres or the equivalent, and is not exempted from the platting requirements of the Land Division Act (MCL § 560.101 et seq., as amended) and this chapter. Subdivide or subdivision does not include a property transfer between two or more adjacent parcels; if the property taken from one parcel is added to an adjacent parcel; and any resulting parcels shall not be considered a building site unless the parcel conforms to the requirements of the Land Division Act, (MCL § 560.101 et seq., as amended) or the requirements of applicable Township ordinances.
SURVEYOR
A professional surveyor licensed under Article 20 of the Occupational Trade Act (MCL § 339.2001 et seq., as amended).
TOWNSHIP
The Charter Township of Meridian.
TRACT
Two or more parcels sharing a common property line and under the same ownership.
UTILITY LINES
Services such as but not limited to cable television, gas, electric, and telephone lines, but not including public water and sanitary sewer services.
WATERCOURSE
Any natural or artificial watercourse, stream, river, creek, ditch, channel, canal, conduit, culvert, drain, waterway, gully, ravine, or wash in which water flows in a definite direction or course, either continuously or intermittently, and which has a definite channel, bed and banks, and shall include any area adjacent thereto subject to inundation by reason of overflow or flood water.
WETLAND
Land characterized by the presence of water at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances does support, wetland vegetation or aquatic life and commonly referred to as a bog, swamp, or marsh.
WOODLAND
A stand of trees occupying a minimum area of 10,000 square feet and containing a minimum of 100 trees greater than two inches in diameter.
Cross reference: Definitions generally, § 1-2.
State law reference: Definitions, MCL 560.102.
The following rules for construction shall apply to the language in this chapter:
(1) 
The specific controls the general.
(2) 
Unless the context clearly indicates to the contrary, the following conjunctions shall mean as follows:
(a) 
"And" indicates all connected items, conditions, provisions, or events shall apply.
(b) 
"Or" indicates all connected items, conditions, provisions, or events may apply singly or in any combination.
(c) 
"Either" indicates the connected items, conditions, provisions or events shall apply singly but not in combination.
(3) 
In case of conflict between the text and diagram, a schedule, or a figure, the text controls.
(4) 
References to departments, commissions, boards, and other offices, are to those of the Township, unless otherwise indicated.
(5) 
A reference to a public official of the Township is to the person who performs the function referred to, and may include a designee of the public official.
(6) 
A reference to days is to calendar days unless otherwise indicated in this chapter or specified by state law. If a deadline falls on a weekend or Township holiday, the time for performing an act is extended to the next working day. A working day is defined as any day which is not a Saturday, Sunday, or official Township holiday.
(7) 
In computing a period of days, the day of the act or event from which the designated period of days begins to run is excluded, and the last day of the period is included, unless the last day is not a working day. If the last day is not a working day, the period runs until the end of the next working day. In computing a period of less than seven days, Saturdays, Sundays, and Township holidays are excluded.
(8) 
Use of "shall," "will" or "must" is mandatory; "may" is permissive.
(9) 
Use of "including," "includes," "such as," "additional," and "supplemental" is illustrative and not intended as an exhaustive listing, unless the context clearly indicates to the contrary.
(10) 
Words in the present tense include the future and words used in the singular include the plural, and the plural include the singular, unless the context clearly indicates to the contrary.
(11) 
Any word not interpreted or defined by the ordinance shall be used with a meaning of common or standard utilization.
[Ord. No. 2006-03, 8-1-2006]
This chapter is enacted pursuant to the Land Division Act (MCL § 560.101 et seq., as amended) and the Municipal Planning Act (MCL § 125.31 et seq., as amended), replaced by the Michigan Planning Enabling Act (MCL § 125.3801 et seq., as amended).
[Ord. No. 2006-03, 8-1-2006]
The purpose of this chapter is to promote the public health, safety, and general welfare of the residents of the Township by regulating the division of land. Specifically, this chapter is designed to accomplish the purposes set forth in the Land Division Act (MCL § 560.101 et seq., as amended) including the following:
(1) 
To provide for the orderly development of the Township in furtherance of the master plan and consistent with the Code of Ordinances.
(2) 
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.
(3) 
To protect the character and social and economic stability of all parts of the Township and to encourage the orderly and beneficial development of the Township through appropriate control of the timing and sequence of development, promotion of infill development in existing neighborhoods and areas with adequate public facilities, and protection of sensitive environmental areas and areas where development is not appropriate.
(4) 
To provide for adequate and efficient transportation, water, sewerage, schools, parks, playgrounds, commons, police and fire protection, and other public facilities and services.
(5) 
To provide a beneficial relationship between the uses of land and buildings and the circulation of traffic, so as to avoid congestion and provide for a coordinated network of streets or roads.
(6) 
To establish reasonable standards for the design of subdivisions in order to further the orderly layout and use of land, and to ensure proper survey, legal description, and placement of monuments on subdivided land.
(7) 
To ensure public facilities and services are available concurrent with development and will have sufficient capacity to serve the proposed subdivision.
(8) 
To prevent the pollution of air, surface water, and ground water; to assure the adequacy of drainage facilities; and to encourage the wise use and management of natural resources.
(9) 
To provide opportunities for efficient design and layout of the land in a manner which retains usable open space within proposed developments.
[Ord. No. 2006-03, 8-1-2006]
(1) 
These regulations apply to all subdivisions or divisions of land located totally or partially within the boundaries of the Charter Township of Meridian.
(2) 
No land may be further subdivided through the use of any legal description other than with reference to a plat or division approved by the Township in accordance with this chapter.
(3) 
No building permit shall be issued for any parcel or plat of land created by a land division after the effective date of this chapter which is not in conformity with the provisions of this chapter. After the effective date of this chapter, no excavation of land or construction of any public or private improvements shall take place or be commenced for the purposes of creating a subdivision except in conformity with these regulations.
[Ord. No. 2006-03, 8-1-2006]
Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, no vested rights shall accrue to the owner or proprietor of any subdivision solely as a result of tentative or final preliminary plat or final plat approval. Furthermore, tentative preliminary plat approval provides no rights or authority to begin improvements or construction related to subdivision development.