Subdivision Regulation Sets Standards for Buildable Lots

Even the name is a bit misleading. "Subdivision" leads to visions of similar houses all lined up, whereas in a legal sense in most states and towns, the word simply means the division of land into two or more parcels for sale.

In some locations, literally creating two separate parcels from one is a subdivision. This might be called a lot split, and each lot might be 20 acres.

Other places exempt creation of a few lots, and still others create a streamlined process for "minor subdivisions." A minor subdivision might be defined as five or fewer lots, or two or three lots, for example.

Sometimes the subdivision procedure isn't required until you are creating lots below a certain acreage, such as maybe 10 acres or 5 acres.

Purpose and Content of a Subdivision Regulation

The purpose of subdivision regulation is to assure that lots offered for sale, whether they are 40-acre "lots" or quarter-acre lots, are mapped and tied to surveying reference points so they can be located accurately in space.

It's considerably simpler to record the transfer of Lot 28 of Happy Hills subdivision, for example, than to record a page-long legal description based on dimensions, degrees, and other surveying terminology you don’t even want to imagine.

The approved plat is then "recorded," just as a deed for the sale of a home or farm is recorded, in the appropriate county. Therefore the map and surveying information becomes a public record.

The second purpose of subdivision regulation is to map and provide a means of requiring and assuring that particular public improvements meeting specified standards be made by the developer of the subdivision.

These "public improvements" include streets, drainage provisions, sanitary sewers or other method of handling sewerage, provision of public water supply, and so forth.

Usually the developer must purchase a bond to guarantee that these public improvements will be constructed, or actually construct the improvements, prior to the sale of any lots. This protection prevents people from buying a lot in a subdivision only to find out they have no street access to their lot, either on a temporary or permanent basis.

The municipality also reserves the right to inspect the streets and other required public improvements to assure their construction meets standards before the municipality "accepts" them for public maintenance. Usually a time limit for the completion of the public streets and other required improvements is specified in the subdivision regulations also.

Even if there is no zoning law in effect, subdivision regulations can prevent the creation of lots for sale that are too small to be viable, awkwardly shaped parcels, and inadequate water lines, sewer systems, and emergency access.

Of course it becomes much more complex than this. Common ground, easements granted to utilities, entry monuments, and many other features often are shown on the plat.

Details such as turning radii (the sharpness of a curve at a corner), lot dimensions, lot arrangement and numbering, topography, stormwater detention and retention, street width, street type, street profiles (showing the grade or slope involved and a cross-section of the depth of each material from which the street is constructed), and so forth also are stipulated on the plat and subject to approval.

Scenic vistas, wellfields, existing lakes, wetlands, or hillsides might be mapped for protection.

Subdivision regulation also might prohibit the subdivision of floodplains or other environmentally sensitive lands into separate ownerships at all. Driveway slopes or steepness of the grades on a finished lot might be restricted.

Sometimes 5% or 10% of the land in the subdivision is required to be "dedicated" to the local jurisdiction for park land. If you do this, make sure that your state still supports the legality of such a policy.

Also assure that the jurisdiction can approve which land is dedicated; otherwise, you will join the ranks of the many municipalities that have learned over the years that a ravine off the beaten path is not of much use as a park.

Many municipalities provide that the developer can choose to contribute money instead of donating land for a park. The amount of money to be contributed usually is usually a percentage of the pre-subdivision value of the land.

One particularly tricky area is what types of dead-end streets are allowed. Often suburban subdivision regulations now require cul-de-sacs, or rounded turnaround areas, to be constructed at any permitted dead ends.

A more contemporary movement is to prohibit cul-de-sacs and good old-fashioned dead-end streets entirely, by requiring that adjoining subdivisions build connections between them. A rectangular grid street system provides drivers with more options.

This is certainly a more earth-friendly and traffic-friendly solution, since all of us who live in suburbia are familiar with the "can't get there from here" syndrome. Subdivisions consisting of many cul-de-sacs really force all of the traffic out to the main road, which then quickly becomes clogged with traffic and also deteriorates faster.

The state of Virginia now is taking the lead in prohibiting cul-de-sac development, on the grounds of the increased maintenance cost for arterial roads if virtually all subdivision traffic must use that road.

A subdivision regulation also provides that the plat indicate the name of the subdivision and name the streets. Occasionally I've seen a planning commission rebel about some particularly unwise choice of street name, but in general the criteria for approval are simply that these names not duplicate what is otherwise present in the community.

Typically the subdivision regulation process is divided into a preliminary plat, which is approved by a planning commission, and a final plat, which often is approved administratively after all surveying and engineering details have been worked out.

In some states and localities the subdivision also must be approved by the governing body, such as a city council or county commission.

Common practice is that the municipality requires submittal of as many copies of the preliminary plat as necessary to allow review by all relevant utilities, fire departments, drainage districts, parks entities, adjoining jurisdictions, and other potential commenting agencies or authorities.

Subdivision regulation is regarded as more technical and less political than rezoning. I can't say that it always works out that way, but in most states, reading the legal permission for towns and cities to write a subdivision regulation implies that if minimum requirements are met, the subdivision should be approved.

In many states there is no formal public hearing, so any political objections that citizens would have would involve a general gripe much like any public issue that didn't appear on a formal agenda.

State laws govern subdivision regulation, so it is a good first step to visit your state's website and read the subdivision requirements. Keep in mind that in most states, individual locations can make stricter laws on this topic than the minimums that may be spelled out in state law.

Some Recommendations for Subdivision Regulation

I'd urge that every division of land, even within a family, be dealt with by at least a minor subdivision approval. Without that, what tends to happen is that a family may divide up land between two or more children, or sell off little pieces of land one at a time, without enough coordination to make sure the rest of the parcel will work for future subdivision.

Arrangements that work within an extended family, such as a single-width driveway that serve two homes, with one family parking in front of the other, aren't nearly as conflict-free once those lots are sold to two unrelated parties.

So don't let dumb divisions happen. Regulate all divisions of lots, and make sure that no lot can be sold in other than its current configuration without going through a subdivision review process.

Even though it might seem silly to require a subdivision approval for dividing 1200 acres into two 600-acre parcels, and probably it is, the annoyance to the property owner is worthwhile to the public sector in preventing future problems.

Important item to check if you're in a position to review a prospective subdivision include:

• Proper engineer's seal, and the boundary, survey monument, adjoining property information, and other items required by state law

• A reasonable provision for street or road access for every lot

• Provision for easements allowing each utility sufficient room for the installation of their line and for maintenance Ideally the utilities in your area work together to coordinate a system of common trenches with a protocol on which utility is on the left, right, and center.

• At least two points of access into and out of the subdivision (often called "ingress" for driving into the subdivision and "egress" for emerging from it), in case of accident, flooding, or other emergency blockage of one access point

• Viability of each lot from the standpoint of topography and a well-placed driveway in a suitable location (in other words, a canyon does not make a good lot)

• Review of the configuration of lots by emergency personnel to pinpoint problems in reaching particular lots

• Review against any standards for handling sidewalks, street lighting, stormwater, grading, vegetation removal or replacement, street trees, underground burial of utility lines, and a myriad of other potential environmental and quality of life issues

It's probably unwise to allow creation of a "flag lot" where the front is a narrow driveway and the rear is wide and even extends behind another lot with road frontage. Double frontage or "through" lots, which front on two parallel streets, often are prohibited.

Certainly every subdivision regulation should prohibit creating a lot without road access. Private easements aren't enforceable by the public sector. Avoid lots with extremely odd shapes if at all possible. They tend to cause confusion later.

A subdivision regulation also may call the creation of two lots from one a "lot split." When lot lines are simply changed or reconfigured, the term may be "resubdivision." In some jurisdictions a "lot combination," which means taking at least two lots and combining them into one, may be described as a legal process.

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