Agenda - Planning Commission - 02/05/1991

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CASE #3 DISCUSSION OF PLATTING PROCEDURES RELATING TO FLINTWOOD HILLS 2ND ADDITION P.U.D. By: City Engineer Steven Jankowski Background: Recently I (Sylvia Frolik) was approached by Art Raudio with a request to plat Outlots M and N of Flintwood Hills 2nd Addition P.U.D. In accordance with our Subdivision Ordnance I informed Mr. Raudio that the procedure to platting unplatted land is to submit a subdivision application to the City along with the required escrow deposit. The proposed subdivision is then processed through sketch plan, preliminary plat including public hearing and final plat approval. Mr. Raudio contended that the proposed subdivision of Outlots M and N received preliminary plat approval in 1984 under Flintwood Hills 2nd Addition P.U.D. and therefore should proceed right to the final plat stage. I confirmed that the subdivision plan for Outlots M and N did receive preliminary plat approval but when the developers recorded the 2nd Addition, it did not show M and N being subdivided, but rather designated that particular area as an outlot. Therefore, I concluded that it was unplatted land that should follow subdivision procedures from the point of application. Mr. Raudio asked that I research the Flintwood Hills 2nd Addition case file further. I found that the final plat approval of Flintwood Hills 2nd Addition P.U.D. encompassed the total area and indicated that the P.U.D. would be a 2-phased development. However, when the developers recorded the final plat it only included an area they intended to develop immediately and the remainder of the area was designated as outlots. Subsequently, future phases of 2nd Addition P.U.D. were platted and developed as Flintwood Hills 3rd and 4th Additions and those plats received final plat approval based on the preliminary plat approval granted in 1984. All of this led to myself and Steve Jankowski researching whether or not the proper procedure had been followed in the past as Flintwood Hills 3rd and 4th were phases of of Flintwood Hills 2nd Addition, but final plat approval to 3rd and 4th was granted years after preliminary plat approval. City Ordinance in effect at the time the Flintwood Hills P.U.D. was platted states that the developer must file for final plat approval within 6 months of the preliminary plat approval. The text that follows summarizes the research of subdivision ordinances. Wording of Subdivision Ordinance Regarding Procedure. A major element of uncertainty stems from the fact that the wording of the subdivision ordinances states that final plat approval must be preceded by preliminary plat approval. Preliminary plat approval on the plat in question had been obtained over six years ago. Until Fall of 1990, the City Ordinance required the final plat to be filed within six months of preliminary plat approval. The wording of the ordinance was amended to extend the recording period to one year. However, a strict literal interpretation of either of these ordinances leaves doubt as to what the appropriate procedure is in this particular situation. For example, the original ordinance read as follows: Within six months following approval of the preliminary plat, unless an extension of time is requested in writing by the subdivider and granted by the City Council, the subdivider shall file six copies of the final plat, together with any necessary supplementary information, with the Zoning Officer. The final plat shall incorporate all changes required by the City Council. If a final plat covering all or a portion of the preliminary plat is not filed within six months following approval of the preliminary plat, the approval of the preliminary plat shall be considered void. Would this mean if a portion of a preliminary plat is final platted (as was the case with Flintwood Hills 2nd Addition) then is the remainder of preliminary plat valid forever? Similarly, the new wording also is somewhat ambiguous in this case: Following approval of the preliminary plat by the Council, the Zoning Officer shall promptly notify the subdivider of said approval and furnish him with a certified copy of the resolution approving preliminary