11-33.2 Subdivision Regulation - North Dakota Statutes

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CHAPTER 11-33.2SUBDIVISION REGULATION11-33.2-01. Subdivision defined. For the purposes of this chapter, unless the contextotherwise requires, "subdivision" means the division of a lot, tract, or parcel of land, creating one
or more lots, tracts, or parcels for the purpose, whether immediate or future, of sale or of building
development, and any plat or plan which includes the creation of any part of one or more streets,
public easements, or other rights of way, whether public or private, for access to or from any
such lot, tract, or parcel, and the creation of new or enlarged parks, playgrounds, plazas, or open
spaces.11-33.2-02.County power to regulate subdivision. For the purpose of promotinghealth, safety, morals, public convenience, general prosperity, and public welfare, the board of
county commissioners of any county is hereby empowered to regulate and restrict within the
county the subdivision of land.This chapter shall not serve to invalidate any ordinance,resolution, regulation, decision, plat approval, or other action taken or adopted, by a board of
county commissioners or county planning commission, prior to or subsequent to July 1, 1981,
which regulates or otherwise affects the subdivision of land, except that, subsequent to July 1,
1981, the provisions of section 11-33.2-12 shall apply to any county requiring plat approval as a
prerequisite to the subdivision of land.11-33.2-03. Scope of county authority. County regulation of subdivisions pursuant tothe provisions of this chapter shall in no way affect subdivisions within the corporate limits, or
within the area of application of extraterritorial zoning jurisdiction adopted pursuant to section
40-47-01.1, of any city. Additionally, no resolution, regulation, or restriction adopted pursuant to
the provisions of this chapter shall prohibit or prevent the use of land or buildings for farming or
any of the normal incidents of farming.11-33.2-04. Preparation of subdivision resolution - Contents. The board of countycommissioners of any county desiring to avail itself of the powers conferred by sections
11-33.2-01 through 11-33.2-11 and sections 11-33.2-13 through 11-33.2-15 shall direct the
county planning commission, as established pursuant to sections 11-33-04 and 11-33-05, to
prepare a proposed resolution regulating the subdivision of land.The county planningcommission shall prepare the proposed resolution to be submitted to the board of county
commissioners and shall file it in the office of the county auditor. The proposed subdivision
resolution may include:1.Provisions for the submittal and processing of plats, and specifications for such
plats, including provisions for preliminary and final approval and for processing of
final approval by stages or sections of development.2.Provisions for ensuring that:a.The location, layout, or arrangement of a proposed subdivision shall conform to
the comprehensive plan of the county.b.Streets in and bordering a subdivision shall be coordinated, and be of such
width and grade and in such locations as deemed necessary to accommodate
prospective traffic, and facilitate fire protection.c.Adequate easements or rights of way shall be provided for drainage and
utilities.d.Reservations if any by the developer of any area designed for use as public
grounds shall be of suitable size and location for the designated use.e.Land which is subject to extraordinary hazards, including flooding and
subsidence, either shall be made safe for the purpose for which such land isPage No. 1proposed to be used, or shall be set aside for uses which shall not endanger life
or property or further aggravate or increase the existing hazard.3.Provisions governing the standards that public improvements shall meet, including
streets, walkways, curbs, gutters, streetlights, fire hydrants, and water and sewage
facilities.As a condition of final approval of plats, the board of countycommissioners may require that the subdivider make and install such public
improvements at the subdivider's expense and that the subdivider execute a surety
bond or other security to ensure that the subdivider will so make those
improvements within such time as the board of county commissioners shall set.4.Provisions for release of a surety bond or other security upon completion of public
improvements required to be made by the subdivider.5.Provisions for encouraging and promoting flexibility, economy, and ingenuity in the
location, layout, and design of subdivisions, including provisions authorizing the
board of county commissioners to attach conditions to plat approvals requiring
practices which are in accordance with modern and evolving principles of
subdivision planning and development, as determined by the board of county
commissioners.11-33.2-05. Public hearing - Notice. After the filing of the proposed resolution, thecounty planning commission shall hold a public hearing thereon, at which the proposed resolution
shall be submitted for discussion, and parties in interest and citizens shall have an opportunity to
be heard. Notice of the time, place, and purpose of the hearing shall be published once each
week for two consecutive weeks in the official newspaper of the county, and in such other
newspapers published in the county as the county planning commission may deem necessary.
Said notice shall describe the nature, scope, and purpose of the proposed resolution and shall
state the times at which it will be available to the public for inspection and copying at the office of
the county auditor.11-33.2-06. Publication of resolution - Effective date. Following the public hearing,the board of county commissioners may adopt the proposed resolution, with such changes as it
may deem advisable. Upon adoption of the resolution, the county auditor shall file a certified
copy thereof with the recorder. Immediately after the adoption of any resolution, the county
auditor shall have notice of that fact published for two successive weeks in the official newspaper
of the county and in other newspapers published in the county as the board of county
commissioners may deem appropriate. The notice shall describe the nature, scope, and purpose
of the adopted resolution and shall state the times at which it will be available for public
inspection and copying at the office of the recorder. Proof of publication shall be filed in the office
of the county auditor. If no petition for a separate hearing is filed pursuant to section 11-33.2-07,
the resolution or amendment thereto shall take effect upon the expiration of the time for filing said
petition. If a petition for a separate hearing is filed pursuant to section 11-33.2-07, the resolution
or amendment shall not take effect until the board of county commissioners has affirmed the
resolution or amendment in accordance with the procedures set out in section 11-33.2-07. The
resolution may be amended or repealed by the board of county commissioners by following the
same procedures as in the case of adoption of a resolution.11-33.2-07. Separate hearings. Any person aggrieved by any provision of a resolutionadopted hereunder, or any amendment thereto, may, within thirty days after the first publication
of the notice of adoption of the resolution or amendment, petition for a separate hearing before
the board of county commissioners. The petition shall be in writing and shall specify in detail the
ground or grounds of objection. The petition shall be filed with the county auditor. A hearing on
the petition shall be held by the board no sooner than seven days, nor later than thirty days after
the filing of the petition with the county auditor, who shall notify the petitioner of the time and
place of the hearing. At this hearing, the board of county commissioners shall consider the
matter complained of and shall notify the petitioner, by registered or certified mail, what action, if
any, it proposes to take. The board of county commissioners, at its next regular meeting, shall
either rescind or affirm the resolution or amendment. The provisions of this section shall notPage No. 2operate to curtail or exclude the exercise of any other rights or powers of the board of county
commissioners or of any citizen.11-33.2-08.Board may adjust enforcement of resolution.The board of countycommissioners is authorized to adjust the application or enforcement of any provision of a
resolution hereunder in any specific case when a literal enforcement of such provision would
result in great practical difficulties, unnecessary hardship, or injustice, so as to avoid such
consequences, provided such action shall not be contrary to the public interest or the general
purposes of this chapter.11-33.2-09. Appeals to district court. Any person, or persons, jointly or severally,aggrieved by a decision of the board of county commissioners under this chapter, or any
resolution or amendments adopted hereunder, may appeal to the district court in the manner
provided in section 28-34-01.11-33.2-10.Board to enforce chapter.The board of county commissioners shallprovide for the enforcement of this chapter and of any resolution and amendments adopted
hereunder, and may impose enforcement duties on any officer, department, agency, or
employee of the county.11-33.2-11. Board may approve plats - Appropriate money. The board of countycommissioners may approve plats as a prerequisite to the subdivision of land subject to the
provisions of this chapter and may establish and collect reasonable fees therefor. The fees
collected must be credited to the general fund of the county. The board of county commissioners
may appropriate, out of the general funds of the county, moneys necessary for the purposes of
this chapter. The board of county commissioners shall state the grounds upon which any request
for approval of plats is approved or disapproved, and written findings upon which the decision is
based must be included within the records of the board.11-33.2-12. Effect of approval of plats. If a county requires approval of plats as aprerequisite to the subdivision of land, whether such requirement be adopted in compliance with
this chapter, or be adopted, whether prior to or subsequent to July 1, 1981, pursuant to other
authority, from and after July 1, 1981:1.No subdivision of any lot, tract, or parcel of land shall be made, no street, sanitary
sewer, water main, or other improvements in connection therewith shall be laid out,
constructed, opened, or dedicated for public use or travel, or for the common use of
occupants of buildings abutting thereon, except in accordance with a plat as finally
approved by the board of county commissioners.2.No plat shall be finally approved or disapproved by the board of county
commissioners except upon receipt of recommendations by both the county
planning commission and the board of township supervisors of the township in which
the proposed subdivision is located. The board of county commissioners shall, by
certified mail, notify the chairman of the board of township supervisors that an
application for plat approval has been initiated, either before the county planning
commission or before the board of county commissioners, and that the board of
township supervisors is requested to make a recommendation on the application. If
the board of county commissioners does not receive, by certified mail, a
recommendation by the board of township supervisors within sixty days after
notification, it may take final action on the application for plat approval.Therecommendations by either the county planning commission or the board of
township supervisors shall not be binding on the county commissioners.3.In determining whether a plat shall be finally approved or disapproved, the board of
county commissioners shall inquire into the public use and interest proposed to be
served by the subdivision. It shall determine if appropriate provisions are made for
the public health, safety, and general welfare, for open spaces, drainage ways,
streets, alleys, other public ways, water supplies, sanitary wastes, parks,Page No. 3playgrounds, sites for schools and school grounds, but its determination is not
limited to the foregoing.The board shall consider all other relevant facts anddetermine whether the public interest will be served by the subdivision. If it finds that
the proposed plat makes appropriate provisions for the public health, safety, and
general welfare and for such open spaces, drainage ways, streets, alleys, other
public ways, water supplies, sanitary wastes, parks, playgrounds, sites for schools
and school grounds, and that the public use and interest will be served by the
platting of such subdivision, and that the proposed plat complies with a county
resolution, if any, regulating or restricting the subdivision of land, to the extent that
such resolution does not conflict with the provisions of this section, such plat shall be
finally approved with such conditions as the board of county commissioners may
deem necessary.If it finds that the proposed plat does not make appropriateprovisions, or that the public use and interest will not be served, or that the proposed
plat does not so comply with the aforementioned resolution, then the board of county
commissioners shall disapprove the proposed plat. Dedication of land to any public
body may be required as a condition of subdivision approval and shall be clearly
shown on the final plat.11-33.2-12.1. Contents of plat - Location and elevation of lakes, rivers, or streams -Notification of floodplain. Whenever land, subject to regulation under this chapter, abutting
upon any lake, river, or stream is subdivided, the subdivider must show on the plat or other
document containing the subdivision a contour line denoting the present shoreline, water
elevation, and the date of the survey. If any part of a plat or other document lies within the one
hundred year floodplain of a lake, river, or stream as designated by the state engineer or a
federal agency, the mean sea level elevation of that one hundred year flood must be denoted on
the plat by numerals. Topographic contours at a two-foot [60.96-centimeter] contour interval
referenced to mean sea level must be shown for the portion of the plat lying within the floodplain.
All elevations must be referenced to a durable benchmark described on the plat with its location
and elevation to the nearest hundredth of a foot [0.3048 centimeter], which must be given in
mean sea level datum.11-33.2-13. Remedies to effect completion of improvements. In the event that anypublic improvements which may be required to be installed by the subdivider have not been
installed as provided in the subdivision resolution or in accordance with the plat as finally
approved, the board of county commissioners is hereby granted the power to enforce any surety
bond, or other security, required of said subdivider by appropriate legal and equitable remedies.
If the proceeds of the bond, or other security, are insufficient to pay the cost of installing or
making repairs or corrections to all the improvements covered by the security, the board of
county commissioners may, at its option, install part of such improvements in all or part of the
subdivision and may institute appropriate legal or equitable action to recover the moneys
necessary to complete the remainder of the improvements.All of the proceeds, whetherresulting from the security or from any legal or equitable action brought against the subdivider, or
both, shall be used solely for the installation of the improvements covered by such security, and
not for any other purpose.11-33.2-14.Recording plat.Upon final approval of a plat as required under thischapter, the subdivider shall record the plat in the office of the recorder of the county wherein the
plat is located. Whenever plat approval is required by a county, the recorder shall not accept any
plat for recording unless such plat officially notes the final approval of the board of county
commissioners.11-33.2-15. Penalty and remedies. Any person, partnership, corporation, or limitedliability company who or which, being the owner or agent of the owner of any lot, tract, or parcel
of land, shall lay out, construct, open, or dedicate any street, sanitary sewer, storm sewer, water
main, or other improvements for public use, travel, or other purposes or for the common use of
occupants of buildings abutting thereon, or who or which sells, transfers, or agrees or enters into
an agreement to sell or transfer any land in a subdivision or engages in the subdivision of land or
erects any buildings thereon, unless and until a plat has been finally approved in full compliance
with the provisions of this chapter and of the resolution adopted hereunder and has beenPage No. 4recorded as provided herein, shall be guilty of a class B misdemeanor. Each lot, tract, or parcel
created or transferred, and each building erected in a subdivision in violation of the provisions of
this chapter or of the resolutions adopted hereunder shall constitute a separate offense.If any lot, tract, or parcel of land is subdivided in violation of this chapter or any resolutionor amendments thereto adopted pursuant to this chapter, the proper county authorities or any
affected citizen or property owner, in addition to other remedies, may institute any appropriate
action or proceedings:1.To prevent such unlawful subdivision.2.To restrain, correct, or abate such violations.3.To prevent the occupancy or use of the land which has been unlawfully subdivided.4.To vacate and nullify any recorded plat of such unlawful subdivision.Page No. 5Document Outlinechapter 11-33.2 subdivision regulation