§ 32-45. Final plat

(a) Required improvements. The final plat shall be in accordance with the preliminary plat, as approved, and shall incorporate all applicable conditions, changes, directions and additions imposed by the commission and the city council upon the preliminary plat. The final plat shall not be approved by the city council until all utilities, including extensions, infrastructure, and other required improvements have been constructed according to the construction plans, as approved by the city engineer, unless provisions are made for the completion of the improvements in accordance with this chapter.

(b) Submission of incomplete plat not accepted. Final plat applications which do not include the required data, completed application form, submission fee, number of copies of the plat, record drawings, letter of satisfactory completion of the public improvements from the city, and other required information, including documentation that all required public improvements have been constructed and installed in accordance with city standards, letters from utility companies verifying their easements, and submission of the proper assurances or escrow funds for the completion of the improvements, pursuant to this chapter, will be considered incomplete, shall not be accepted for submission by the city, and shall not be scheduled on a commission agenda until the proper information is provided to city staff.

(c) Information required on a final plat.

(1) All information that is required for a preliminary plat, except for submission of construction plans, provided that such plans were already submitted and approved with or subsequent to the preliminary plat; and except that physical features of or on the land, such as topography, buildings, structures, water bodies and tree cover, shall not be shown on the final plat. In addition to these items, the final plat shall also provide a place for the county clerk to stamp the date and location where the plat will be filed (volume or cabinet ____________, page or slide ____________) in the lower right-hand corner of the plat drawing.

(2) All aspects of the final plat shall conform to the standards of the county for plats with respect to clarity, sheet size, lettering size and reproducibility. It is the applicant's responsibility to be familiar with the county's standards for filing plats and to comply with same.

(3) Approval block (required). The approval block, property owner's and surveyor's certificate, special notice regarding sale of property, visibility, access and maintenance easement (to be used if applicable), fire lanes (to be used if applicable), and access easements (to be used if applicable) used on the previously approved preliminary plat shall be modified and shown on the final plat. The specific language for each certificate is available on file with the city.

(4) Other plat language. The plat shall include any other applicable language, such as for drainage, utilities, floodway or other special types of easements, or for a private street subdivision, as deemed appropriate and necessary by the city for the purpose of protecting the public health, safety and welfare.

(d) Standards for approval. No final plat shall be reviewed by the commission or approved by the city council unless the following standards have been met:

(1) The plat substantially conforms with the approved preliminary plat and other studies and plans, as applicable;

(2) The construction and installation of required public improvements and city utilities has been completed and the improvements have been accepted by the city as conforming to the city's regulations and design standards, or the proper assurances for construction of the improvements have been submitted and approved by the city, as provided in article VI of this chapter; and

(3) The plat conforms to applicable zoning, subdivision and other development related regulations, including the nonpoint source pollution rontrol regulations, on-site sewage facility rules, if applicable, and any other applicable regulations or ordinances of the city that are related to development of a land parcel.

(e) Record drawings. When all of the improvements are found to be constructed and completed in accordance with the approved plans and specifications and with the city's standards, and upon receipt by the city of a maintenance bond or certificate of deposit in accordance with article VI of this chapter from each contractor or developer, three sets of as-built or record drawing plans and one set of as-built or record drawing sepias shall be submitted with a letter stating the contractor's or developer's compliance with this chapter. An electronic version must also be submitted that is suitable for uploading into the city's geographic information system (GIS) or other electronic format as specified by city staff. After such letter is received, the city manager shall receive and accept for the city the title, use and maintenance of the improvements according to section 32-176. The final plat shall not be approved prior to receipt of the letter set forth in this section and other items, or prior to acceptance of the improvements by the city.

(f) Timing of public improvements.

(1) The city council may permit all or some of the public improvements to be installed, offered for dedication, or accepted by the city after approval of the final plat by the city if there exists a compelling reason that is consistent with the public health, safety or welfare to do so.

(2) The city council may permit or require the deferral of the construction of public improvements if, in its judgment, deferring the construction would not result in any harm to the public or would offer significant advantage in coordinating the site's development with adjacent properties and off-site public improvements.

(3) The deferred construction of any public improvements must be approved by the city council at the time of preliminary plat approval, and the necessary assurances for completion of the improvements, in accordance with of this chapter, shall be a condition of approval of the preliminary or final plat.

(g) Effect of approval. Approval of a final plat authorizes the applicant, upon fulfillment of all requirements and conditions of approval and upon completion of construction of all required improvements, or submission of the proper assurances for construction of same as provided by this chapter, to submit the final copies or mylars, of the plat for filing with the county. No conveyance or sale of any portion or lot of the property may occur until after the final plat is approved by the city council and filed with the county clerk.

(h) Revisions to approved final plat prior to filing with the county. Occasionally, minor revisions are needed after the city council approval and before the final plat can be filed at the county. Such minor revisions as correction of bearings or distances, correction of minor labeling errors, addition of erroneously omitted informational items and labels, and similar revisions as determined by the city manager, may occur on the record plat prior to filing it without the city council having to reapprove the final plat. Major revisions, such as obvious corrections or reconfiguration of lot lines or easements, relocation of driveways or access easements or fire lanes, any modification to the perimeter or boundary of the property, and relocation or addition or deletion of any public improvement, including corresponding easement, shall necessitate resubmission and reapproval of the plat as a revised final plat. The procedures for such re-approval shall be the same as for a final plat, and such reapproval may constitute a new project thus necessitating submission of a new application form, payment of new fees and other requirements.

(i) Plat filing. Subsequent to final plat approval by the city council, the applicant shall return copies of the final plat, as approved, with any other required documents and necessary fees attached thereto, to the city manager within 30 calendar days following approval, in accordance with requirements established by the city.

(1) All easements shall be included on the plat, including the recording information for those easements that are filed or recorded as separate instruments, as required by utility companies and the city prior to filing the final plat, and a copy of letters from each applicable utility company shall be submitted to the city manager stating that the plat contains the proper easements.

(2) All necessary filing materials, including mylars, reductions or blueline copies, as required by the county clerk, in addition to mylar copies and a computer disk containing the digital plat files required by the city manager, shall be returned to the city secretary with the required fees.

(3) If the required copies and materials are not returned to the city within the specified 30-day timeframe, the approval of the final plat shall be null and void unless an extension is granted by the city council.

(4) The city secretary shall file the final plat at the office of the county clerk within 30 calendar days following receipt of all filing materials, including filing fees.

(Ord. No. 549, § 10.217, 12-22-2009)