Subdivision I. In General
[Code 1975, § 30-18; Code 1992, § 26-31]
The preparation of a subdivision for platting shall be carried out through three stages, including a preliminary investigation, preliminary plat and final plat, and in accordance with the procedure set out in this division.
[Code 1975, § 30-19; Code 1992, § 26-32]
Prior to the preparation of a preliminary plat, the subdivider shall meet informally with the Planning Director and Director of Public Works to investigate the procedures and standards of the City with reference to this article and the City's Master Plan, as they affect the area in which the proposed subdivision is to be located. The subdivider shall concern himself or herself with the following factors:
(1) 
The area for the proposed subdivision shall be properly zoned for the intended use.
(2) 
An investigation of existing schools and the public open spaces, including parks and playgrounds, to serve the proposed subdivision shall be made by the subdivider.
(3) 
The relationship of the proposed subdivision with respect to major thoroughfares and plans for widening of thoroughfares and to local street patterns shall be investigated by the subdivider.
(4) 
Standards for sewage disposal, water supply and drainage of the City and the state shall be investigated by the subdivider.
Subdivision II. Preliminary Plat
[Code 1975, § 30-26; Code 1992, § 26-46]
(a) 
Before making or submitting a final plat for approval, the subdivider shall make a preliminary plat and submit copies to authorities as provided in this subdivision. There shall be two approvals required on the preliminary plat: tentative preliminary plat approval and final preliminary plat approval. The tentative preliminary plat approval is necessary in order to permit the subdivider to submit copies of the preliminary plat to the proper authorities as required in the Land Division Act (MCL 560.101 et seq.).
(b) 
After approval of the preliminary plat by the appropriate authorities as required by Section 111 of the Land Division Act (MCL 560.111), the developer may then request final preliminary plat review by the Planning Commission and approval by the City Council. Final preliminary plat approval by the City Council is required before the developer will be allowed to file the final plat of the subdivision with the Planning Commission.
[Code 1975, § 30-27; Code 1992, § 26-47]
(a) 
Identification and description. The preliminary plat shall include the following:
(1) 
Proposed name of the subdivision.
(2) 
Location, by section, town and range or by other legal description.
(3) 
Name and address of the subdivider and the name, address and seal of the surveyor who prepared it, all legibly printed or typewritten. The subdivider shall indicate his or her interest in the land as to whether it is a land contract interest or if he or she owns the property in fee.
(4) 
The scale of the plat of one inch equals 100 feet, which shall be the minimum acceptable scale.
(5) 
Date.
(6) 
North point.
(b) 
Existing conditions. The preliminary plat shall include the following:
(1) 
An overall area map showing the relationship of the subdivision to its surroundings.
(2) 
Location of the proposed subdivision in relation to schools, shopping, parks and other community facilities.
(3) 
Boundary line of the proposed subdivision and section or corporation lines within or adjacent to the tract.
(4) 
Adjacent tracts of subdivided and unsubdivided land shown in relation to the tract being proposed for subdivision.
(5) 
Location, width and names of existing or prior platted streets and private streets and public easements within or adjacent to the tract being proposed for subdivision.
(6) 
Location of existing sewers, water mains, storm drains and other underground facilities within or adjacent to the tract being proposed for subdivision.
(7) 
Topography drawn as contours shall be in conformance with the definition of "topographical map," as set out in § 30-31. Topography shall be based on the City benchmark system.
(c) 
Proposed conditions. The preliminary plat shall include the following:
(1) 
Layout of streets, indicating proposed street names, right-of-way widths and connections with adjoining platted streets and also the widths and locations of alleys, easements and public walkways.
(2) 
Layout, numbers and dimensions of lots, including building setback lines showing dimensions.
(3) 
Indication of parcels of land intended to be dedicated or set aside for public use or for the use of property owners in the subdivision or lands set aside for future street connections to adjacent tracts.
(4) 
The developer shall indicate the proposed systems for public sanitary sewage disposal, public water supply and storm drainage by submitting a copy of the plat showing the proposed installations.
[Code 1975, § 30-28; Code 1992, § 26-48]
(a) 
City Clerk. Four copies of the preliminary plat of the proposed subdivision, together with a written application, shall be submitted to the City Clerk.
(b) 
Planning Director. Nine copies of the preliminary plat of the proposed subdivision, together with a written application in triplicate, shall be submitted to the City Planning Director for presentation to the Planning Commission. Submittal to the Planning Director shall be at least 20 days prior to the regular Planning Commission meeting at which the subdivider will be scheduled to appear. The Planning Commission will act on the preliminary plat within 30 days after such meeting.
(c) 
Director of Public Works. One copy of the preliminary plat shall be submitted to the Director of Public Works for review and recommendation.
[Code 1975, § 30-29; Code 1992, § 26-49]
(a) 
The Planning Director shall receive and check for completeness the subdivision preliminary plat and, if complete, place the proposal on the agenda of the next Planning Commission meeting. Should any important data be omitted, the Planning Director shall notify the subdivider of the additional data required and delay submission to the Planning Commission until the required data is received.
(b) 
It shall be the duty of the Planning Director to send notice to the owners of land immediately adjoining the property proposed to be platted of the presentation of the plat and the time and place of the meeting of the Planning Commission, not less than five days before the date fixed therefor.
(c) 
The Planning Commission shall review all details of the proposed subdivision within the framework of the various elements of the Master Plan and for conformity with the standards of this article.
(d) 
Land requirements for public uses within the framework of the Master Plan shall be considered in the review of each preliminary plat submitted.
(e) 
Should the Planning Commission reject the preliminary plat, it shall record the reasons in the minutes of the meeting. A copy of the minutes shall be sent to the subdivider.
(f) 
Should the approval be a conditional approval, the subdivision layout shall not be forwarded to the City Council until such conditions have been satisfied by the subdivider. The revised layout shall follow the submittal procedure indicated under Subsection (a) of this section.
(g) 
Should the Planning Commission find that all conditions have been satisfactorily met, it shall give tentative approval of the preliminary plat to the subdivider. The Planning Director shall make a notation to that effect on each copy of the preliminary plat, returning one copy to the subdivider and forwarding three copies to the City Council, with a recommendation for tentative preliminary approval, one copy to the Director of Public Works, one copy to the City Treasurer and one copy to the City Assessor and retaining two copies for the Planning Commission files.
[Code 1975, § 30-30; Code 1992, § 26-50]
(a) 
The City Council shall not review a subdivision preliminary plat until it has received the review and recommendation of the Planning Commission. Following the receipt of such recommendations, the City Council shall consider the plat at a regularly scheduled meeting and shall tentatively approve or reject the preliminary plat within 90 days of the date of filing of such plat.
(b) 
Should the City Council give the preliminary plat tentative approval, it shall be deemed to confer upon the subdivider the right to proceed with submission of preliminary plats to other agencies, as applicable, and as required in Section 111 of the Land Division Act (MCL 560.111).
(c) 
Tentative approval shall not constitute approval of the preliminary plat.
(d) 
The tentative approval of the preliminary plat by the City Council shall be effective for a period of 12 months. Such tentative approval may be extended if applied for by the proprietor and granted by the City Council in writing.
[Code 1975, § 30-31; Code 1992, § 26-51]
(a) 
The proprietor must submit a list to the City Clerk certifying that copies of the subdivision preliminary plat have been submitted to all proper authorities as required by Section 111 of the Land Division Act (MCL 560.111). He or she must also submit all approved copies of the preliminary plat to the City Clerk after necessary approvals have been secured.
(b) 
After the proprietor has received approvals as specified in Subsection (a) of this section, he or she shall so notify the Planning Director, who shall then review the preliminary plat and determine if the subdivider has met the requirements for final approval of the preliminary plat, and the Planning Director shall then place the preliminary plat on the agenda of the next Planning Commission meeting. Should any important data be omitted, the Planning Director shall notify the subdivider of the additional data required and delay submission to the Planning Commission until the required data is received.
(c) 
After receiving the necessary approved copies of the preliminary plat and the recommendations of the Planning Commission and the Planning Director, the City Council shall approve or reject the preliminary plat at its next regularly scheduled meeting.
(d) 
The Planning Director shall promptly notify the proprietor in writing of the action taken by the City Council and, if the preliminary plat is rejected, shall give the reasons for the rejection.
(e) 
Should the City Council give final approval to the preliminary plat, it shall be deemed to confer upon the subdivider the right to proceed with the preparation of the final plat as specified in this division.
(f) 
Final approval of the preliminary plat shall not constitute approval of the final plat. It shall be deemed as approval of the layout submitted on the preliminary plat as a guide to the preparation of a final plat.
(g) 
The final approval of the preliminary plat by the City Council shall be effective for a period of two years. The two-year period may be extended if applied for by the proprietor and granted by the City Council in writing. Written notice of the extension shall be sent by the City Council to the other approving authorities as specified in the Land Division Act (MCL 560.101 et seq.).
Subdivision III. Final Plat
[Code 1975, § 30-38; Code 1992, § 26-61]
(a) 
The final plat of a subdivision shall comply with the provisions of the Land Division Act (MCL 560.101 et seq.) and this article.
(b) 
The final plat shall conform substantially to the preliminary plat as approved and may constitute only that portion of the approved preliminary plat which the subdivider proposes to record and develop at the time; provided, however, such portion conforms to this article.
(c) 
The subdivider shall submit such evidence of title, either an opinion from an attorney as to title showing any interest of record, or shall furnish an abstract title certified to date or, at the option of the subdivider, a policy of title insurance for examination in order to ascertain as to whether or not the proper parties have signed the plat.
(d) 
A final plat shall not be accepted after the date of expiration of the preliminary plat approval.
[Code 1975, § 30-39; Code 1992, § 26-62]
The subdivider shall file the final plat with the City Clerk, at least 10 days prior to the regular Planning Commission meeting at which he or she will be scheduled to appear, and deposit with the City Clerk such sum of money as the City Council may establish by resolution to provide for the expense of inspection of lands and for fees required by the Land Division Act (MCL 560.101 et seq.).
[Code 1975, § 30-40; Code 1992, § 26-63]
(a) 
The subdivision final plat documents shall be transmitted to the Planning Commission for review as to compliance with this article, the approved preliminary plat, and approval by authorities as specified in the Land Division Act (MCL 560.101 et seq.).
(b) 
Should the Planning Commission find that the final plat is in agreement with the preliminary plat and has been properly approved by necessary authorities, it shall approve the final plat and notify the City Council of such action in its official minutes.
(c) 
Should the Planning Commission find that the final plat does not conform substantially to the previously approved preliminary plat or has not met the requirements as specified in the Land Division Act (MCL 560.101 et seq.) and that it is not acceptable, it shall record the reasons in its official minutes and forward the reasons to the City Council with the recommendation that the City Council disapprove the final plat until the objections causing disapproval have been corrected by the subdivider.
[Code 1975, § 30-41; Code 1992, § 26-64]
(a) 
The City Council shall review all recommendations of the Planning Commission and take action to approve or disapprove the subdivision final plat at its first regularly scheduled meeting after Planning Commission approval or disapproval.
(b) 
Following approval of the final plat by the City Council, the subdivider shall follow the procedures set forth in the Land Division Act (MCL 560.101 et seq.).
(c) 
Upon receipt of the guarantee of the construction of required improvements, the Clerk shall transcribe a certificate of approval of the plat by the City Council and deliver all plats to the Clerk of the county plat board, whereupon the subdivider may commence with the construction of improvements as required by the City.
(d) 
As a condition of final plat approval, the City Council may require copies of agreements, covenants or other documents showing the manner in which areas reserved for common use of residents of the subdivision are to be maintained.