Agenda - Planning Commission - 06/02/2011 - Special Jt Mtg w CC

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safety stations. Cities should require compliance with the external standards of the ordinance. There are at least two ways to approach these requirements. • Premature subdivision. Some ordinances provide that a subdivision may be deemed premature and therefore denied. The ordinance should detail conditions that could make a subdivision premature such as lack of adequate drainage, water supply, roads or highways, waste disposal systems, inconsistency with the comprehensive plan, and lack of city service capacity. • Conditional approval. Other ordinance provisions may condition approval on the construction and installation of streets, sewer and water facilities, and other utility infrastructure. There are some emerging issues cities should consider when drafting, reviewing, and amending subdivision ordinances, and that mean cities should work closely with planners and attorneys to address these issues, including: • Wastewater treatment systems —the capacity of current wastewater systems may limit future subdivision, and the permitting of new treatment facilities can be a challenge under environmental laws. • Stormwater management —large rain events combined with increases in impervious surfaces can overwhelm retention ponds and other stormwater handling systems; and subdivision ordinances may look to the on -site handling of stormwater to help out. • Conservation design —subdivision ordinances may provide density bonuses and other incentives to cluster housing and development in order to preserve natural and agricultural lands. Dedication of Land Subdivisions require infrastructure such as streets, utilities, parks, and drainage systems to support those subdivisions. As part of subdivision approval, a city may require land be "dedicated" to the public for public purposes, such as for roads, utilities, and parks. Through the dedication, a city typically acquires the public easement or right-of-way over the land for the dedicated purpose, with the underlying landowner retaining ownership of fee title to the land. However, when the land dedication is for a park, the 2007 legislation amending Chapter 505 provides that the dedication transfers fee title and not just public easement rights. If cities require dedication of land for park purposes, the statute sets some further specific restrictions. • The city must first establish these requirements by ordinance or resolution under Minn Stat. 462.353 subd. 4a. • The city must also adopt a capital improvement budget and have a parks and open space plan component in its comprehensive plan. • The portion of land to be dedicated must be calculated based solely upon the "buildable" land as defined by municipal ordinance. • The municipality must reasonably determine it will need to acquire that portion of land for recreational and environmental purposes as a result of approval of the subdivision. 3