This chapter shall be known and cited as the "City of Bridgman
Land Division Ordinance."
The purpose of this chapter is to carry out the provisions of
the State Land Division Act (1967 PA 288, as amended, formerly known
as the "Subdivision Control Act"), to prevent the creation of parcels of property which do
not comply with applicable ordinances and said Act, to minimize potential
boundary disputes, to maintain orderly development of the community,
and otherwise provide for the health, safety and welfare of the residents
and property owners of the City of Bridgman by establishing reasonable
standards for prior review and approval of land divisions within the
City.
For purposes of this chapter, certain terms and words used herein
shall have the following meaning:
APPLICANT
A natural person, firm, association, partnership, corporation,
or combination of any of them that holds an ownership interest in
land whether recorded or not.
DIVIDED or DIVISION
A.
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 that results
in one or more parcels of less than 40 acres or the equivalent, and
that satisfies the requirements of Sections 108 and 109 of the State
Land Division Act.
B.
"Divide" or "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 State Land Division Act and the requirements of
the City of Bridgman Zoning Ordinance and other applicable City ordinances.
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, that does not result
in one or more parcels of less than 40 acres or the equivalent.
FORTY ACRES OR THE EQUIVALENT
Either 40 acres, a quarter-quarter section containing not
less than 30 acres, or a government lot containing not less than 30
acres.
Land in the City of Bridgman shall not be divided without the
prior review and approval of the Zoning Administrator/Building Official
and City Assessor or other official designated by the City Council,
in accordance with this chapter and the State Land Division Act, provided that the following shall be exempted from this
requirement:
A. A parcel proposed for subdivision through a recorded plat pursuant
to the municipality's subdivision control ordinance and the State
Land Division Act.
B. A lot in a recorded plat proposed to be divided in accordance with Chapter
470, Subdivision and Condominium Development, of the Code of the City of Bridgman and the State Land Division Act.
C. An exempt split as defined in this chapter.
An applicant shall file all of the following with the City Zoning
Administrator or other official designated by the governing body for
review and approval of a proposed land division before making any
division either by deed, land contract, lease for more than one year,
or for building development:
A. A completed application form on such form as may be approved for
such use by the City Council.
B. Proof of fee ownership of the land proposed to be divided.
C. A tentative parcel map drawn to scale, including an accurate legal
description for each proposed division, and showing the boundary lines,
approximate dimensions, and the accessibility of each division for
automobile traffic and public utilities.
D. Proof that all standards of the State Land Division Act and this chapter have been met.
E. If a transfer of division rights is proposed in the land transfer,
detailed information about the terms and availability of the proposed
division rights transfer, in the form of a State Tax Commission Property
Transfer Affidavit (STC Form L-4260).
F. The fee as may from time to time be established by resolution of
the City Council for land division reviews pursuant to this chapter
to cover the costs of review of the application and administration
of this chapter and the State Land Division Act.
The following procedures shall govern the administration and
review of an application for a land division:
A. The City Zoning Administrator/Building Official and the City Assessor
or other designee(s) shall approve or disapprove the land division
applied for within 45 days after receipt a complete application conforming
to this chapter's requirements and the State Land Division Act,
and shall promptly notify the applicant of the decision, and if denied
the reasons for denial.
B. Any person or entity aggrieved by the decision of the Zoning Administrator/Building
Official and City Assessor or designee may, within 30 days of said
decision, appeal the decision to the City Planning Commission body
which shall consider and resolve such appeal by a majority vote of
the Planning Commission at its next regular meeting or session according
sufficient time for a twenty-day written notice to the applicant (and
appellant where other than the applicant) of the time and date of
said meeting and appellate hearing.
C. The City Assessor or designee shall maintain an official record of
all approved and accomplished land divisions or transfers and shall
file notice of all approved land divisions with the City Council and
City Planning Commission.
D. Approval of a land division is not a determination that the resulting
parcels comply with other ordinances or regulations.
E. The City and its officers and employees shall not be liable for approving
a land division if building permits for construction on the parcels
are subsequently denied because of inadequate water supply, sewerage
disposal facilities or otherwise, and any notice of approval shall
include a statement to this effect.
A proposed land division reviewable by the City shall be approved
if the following criteria are met:
A. All the parcels to be created by the proposed land division(s) have
a minimum lot width as specified in the City of Bridgman Zoning Ordinance.
B. All such parcels shall have a minimum area as specified in the City
of Bridgman Zoning Ordinance.
C. The ratio of depth to width of any parcel created by the division
does not exceed a four to one ratio exclusive of access roads, easements
or nonbuildable parcels created under this section of this chapter.
The depth of a parcel created by a land division shall be measured
within the boundaries of each parcel from the abutting road right-of-way
to the most remote boundary line point of the parcel from the point
of commencement of the measurement, or as otherwise provided in the
City of Bridgman Zoning Ordinance. The width of a parcel shall be
measured at the abutting road right-of-way line or as otherwise provided
in the City of Bridgman Zoning Ordinance. For the purposes of approvals
granted under this chapter only, the depth-to-width ratio requirements
of this subsection do not apply to the remainder of the parent parcel
or parent tract retained by the proprietor.
D. The proposed land division(s) comply with all requirements of the
State Land Division Act and this chapter.
E. All parcels created and remaining are accessible as defined by the
State Land Division Act.
F. All parcels created and remaining have adequate easements for public
utilities from the parcel to the existing public utility facilities.
Notwithstanding the provisions of §
300-6 of this chapter, a division which creates a parcel that satisfies all of the requirements of §
300-7 except Subsection
F thereof shall be approved if the applicant executes and records an affidavit or deed restriction with the County Register of Deeds clearly designating the parcel as "not a development site, as defined under 1967 P.A. 288, as amended." Any parcel so designated shall not thereafter
be used as a development site as defined under 1967 P.A. 288, as amended.
Any division of land in violation of any provision of this chapter
shall not be recognized as a land division on the City tax roll and
on construction thereon which requires the prior issuance of a construction
permit shall not be allowed. The City shall further have the authority
to initiate injunctive or other relief to prevent any violation or
continuance of any violation of this chapter.
The provisions of this chapter are hereby declared to be severable,
and if any clause, sentence, word, section or provision is declared
void or unenforceable for any reason by any court of competent jurisdiction,
it shall not affect any portion of this chapter other than said part
or portion thereof.
All previous land division ordinances affecting unplatted land
divisions in conflict with the chapter are hereby repealed; however,
this chapter shall not be construed to repeal any provision on any
applicable zoning ordinances, building codes or other ordinances of
the City which shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding
any land division approval hereunder.