Agenda - Planning Commission - 04/07/2011

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Minn. Stat. §462.358 subd 10 Minn. Stat. §§ 473.121 subd 2 473.865; 473.859 subd 4 See Section II -C -2 Metropolitan Council requirements and Metropolitan Planning Act, for more information on the Metropolitan Land Planning Act. Minn Stat. § 462.352 subd. 12 Minn. Stat. § 462.352 subd. 12 (1) If a city does not adopt subdivision regulations, the city's authority to control the development of the community is limited at best. Without city subdivision regulations, developers do not have any constraints on the subdivision of land and location of streets and utilities in their developments. In these situations, developers may be tempted to maximize their potential profits at the expense of quality. For example, they may do this by creating too many small lots for sale, developing streets that are cheaper but too narrow and unsafe, and even building homes on inappropriate soils where flooding or erosion may occur. When there are problems with a completed development, there is a potential that the city will need to step in and correct issues that affect the health, safety, and welfare of residents. When a city must repair or replace streets, infrastructure, and utility lines, these costs are often passed along to homeowners through special assessments, potentially creating financial hardship for the homeowners in the subdivision. It is important to note, however, that state law does not require cities outside the metropolitan area to adopt subdivision regulations. Metropolitan cities, which includes all cities in the counties of Anoka, Dakota (excluding the city of Northfield), Hennepin (excluding the cities of Hanover and Rockford), Ramsey, Scott (excluding the city of New Prague), and Washington, must adopt subdivision regulations under the Metropolitan Land Planning Act. B. Applicability of city subdivision regulations Generally city subdivision regulations will apply to most land divisions a city encounters. The subdivision regulations generally govern all separations of "areas, parcels, or tracts of land" under single ownership into two or more "parcels, tracts, or lots." The subdivision regulations may even apply to long- term leasehold interests, when the lease agreement necessitates the creation of streets or alleys for residential, commercial, industrial, or mixed use. 1. Certain types of subdivisions exempted by state statute A few divisions of land are not subject to a city's subdivision authority. The following are excepted under state statute: • Separations where all the resulting parcels, tracts, lots, or interests will be 20 acres or larger in size and 500 feet in width for residential uses. SUBDIVISION GUIDE FOR CITIES 5