Except as otherwise provided in § 85-50, a sketch plat is required of all applicants seeking a division of land and is intended to serve as an initial step in subdivision procedure. It provides the applicant and Planning Board with an opportunity to discuss the subdivision in the formative stages of design and provides the basis for classification. Sketch plats are not binding on the municipality or upon the applicant and do not necessitate accurate engineered drawings.
A.
Application.
[Amended 11-12-1984 by Ord. No. 0-84-20; 9-10-1990 by Ord. No. 0-90-20]
(1)
Application for sketch plat approval shall be accompanied
by the appropriate fee, and each applicant who submits a plan for
sketch plat approval shall agree in writing to pay all reasonable
costs for professional review of the site plan by the Township. The
applicant shall be billed and shall pay all reasonable costs over
and above the application fee.
(2)
The applicant shall submit to the Secretary of the
Planning Board four copies of the sketch plat and four copies of the
application.
B.
Upon determination of completeness of the application
by the Director of Planning and Zoning or his designee, 15 copies
of the sketch plat and application shall be submitted by the applicant
to the Secretary of the Planning Board for distribution to the Development
Review Committee.
[Amended 3-13-1978 by Ord. No. 0-78-5; 9-10-1990 by Ord. No.
0-90-20; 12-12-2007 by Ord. No. 0-07-25]
C.
Review.
[Amended 3-13-1978 by Ord. No. 0-78-5; 9-10-1990 by Ord. No.
0-90-20]
(1)
The Development Review Committee shall review the
sketch plat and determine whether or not the application includes
all the information required for review. Should the application be
determined either to be incomplete or require substantial revisions,
the applicant shall be notified within 45 days of submission and may
thereafter submit an appropriately revised application to the Secretary
of the Planning Board as in the first instance.
(2)
After review by the Development Review Committee and
at least 10 days prior to the meeting at which action on the sketch
plat is desired, the applicant shall mail copies of the sketch plat
and application to the individual members of the Planning Board. The
applicant shall submit two copies of the sketch plat and application
to the Secretary of the Planning Board.
D.
Any subdivision determined by the Board to be creating,
imposing, aggravating or leading to the possibility of an adverse
effect upon either the original property being subdivided or any adjacent
properties may be required to be revised by the applicant to remove
such adverse effect(s) prior to further review, classification or
approval by the Board, or, where the remaining portion of the original
tract is of sufficient size to be subdivided further, the applicant
may be required to submit a sketch plat of the entire remaining portion
of the tract to indicate a feasible plan whereby the applied for subdivision,
together with subsequent subdivision(s) which may be submitted, will
not create, impose, aggravate or lead to any such adverse effect.
E.
If classified by the Planning Board or Development
Review Committee as a division of land not considered a subdivision
as defined in this chapter, no further action by the Planning Board
shall be necessary, provided that an affidavit, proper in form, is
submitted by the applicant to the effect that the division of land
either will be used for agricultural purposes only and that all resulting
parcels are five acres or larger in size; is by testamentary or intestate
provisions; is predicated upon court order; or is a conveyance to
combine existing lots by deed or other instrument. Additionally, a
map drawn in accordance with the Map Filing Law, or a metes and bounds
description of the property in question, shall be submitted to the
Board for certification and review by the Township Engineer prior
to filing with the Middlesex County Clerk.
[Amended 3-13-1978 by Ord. No. 0-78-5]
F.
If the sketch plat is submitted for classification
as a minor subdivision, the Board shall act on the proposed plat within
45 days of its complete and proper submission to the Secretary of
the Planning Board or within such further time as may be consented
to by the applicant. Failure of the Planning Board to act within the
prescribed time period shall constitute minor subdivision approval
and a certificate of the Secretary of the Planning Board as to the
failure of the Planning Board to act shall be issued on request of
the applicant.
G.
If the application is classified and approved as a
minor subdivision by the unanimous vote of the Development Review
Committee or by the majority vote of the Planning Board, no notice
or public hearing on the application shall be required. Minor subdivision
approval shall be deemed to be final approval of the subdivision by
the Planning Board.
[Amended 3-13-1978 by Ord. No. 0-78-5]
H.
Classification; notice.
(1)
If classified and approved as a minor subdivision,
then approval thereof shall expire 190 days from the date of approval
unless within such period a plat in conformity with such approval
and the provisions of the Map Filing Law or a deed clearly describing
the approved minor subdivision is filed by the developer with the
Middlesex County Clerk, the Township Engineer and the Township Tax
Assessor. Any such plat or deed accepted for such filing shall have
been signed by the Chairman (or in his absence the Acting Chairman)
and Secretary of the Planning Board. In reviewing the application
for a proposed minor subdivision, the Planning Board may accept a
plat not in conformity with the Map Filing Law provided that if the
applicant chooses to file the minor subdivision as provided herein
by plat rather than deed, such plat shall conform to the provisions
of said law. Any deed(s) of right(s)-of-way dedication, if applicable,
shall be signed by the Chairman of the Board (or in his absence the
Acting Chairman) and the Secretary of the Board. The deed(s) of right(s)-of-way
dedications shall be provided by the Township.
(2)
In the event the same is not classified as a minor
subdivision by the Planning Board or the Development Review Committee,
the Secretary of the Board, within three days of such action, shall
notify the applicant by certified mail of such action and the reasons
therefor.
[Amended 3-13-1978 by Ord. No. 0-78-5]
I.
The zoning requirements and general terms and conditions, whether conditional or otherwise, upon which minor subdivision approval was granted, shall not be changed for a period of two years after the date of minor subdivision approval; provided that the approved minor subdivision shall have been duly recorded as provided in Subsection H above.
[Amended 3-13-1978 by Ord. No. 0-78-5; 6-9-1980 by Ord. No.
0-80-6]
J.
Before the Secretary of the Planning Board returns
any approved sketch plat to the applicant, the applicant shall have
sufficient copies made to furnish one copy to each of the following:
K.
The sketch plat shall be classified as a major or
minor subdivision within 45 days of its complete and proper submission
to the Secretary of the Planning Board or within such further time
as may be consented to by the applicant. When classified as a major
subdivision, a notation to that effect shall be made by the Chairman
of the Planning Board (or in his absence the Acting Chairman) on the
plat, which shall be returned to the applicant for compliance with
the applicable provisions of this chapter.
A.
The sketch plat shall contain a key map at a scale
not smaller than one inch equals 2,000 feet, showing the relation
of the portion to be subdivided to the entire tract and the relation
of the entire tract to its surrounding areas and streets for at least
500 feet beyond its boundaries.
B.
The sketch plat shall be drawn at a scale no smaller
than one inch equals 400 feet on one of the following four standard
sheet sizes: 8 1/2 by 13 inches, 15 by 21 inches, 24 by 36 inches
or 30 by 42 inches, and contain dimensions according to the Tax Map
of the Township of Plainsboro.
C.
The sketch plat shall show:
(1)
Contours at two-foot intervals, based on Plainsboro
Township Aerial Topographical Survey on file in the Township Municipal
Building.
(2)
All existing structures and wooded areas within the
portion to be subdivided or within 200 feet thereof, and where such
a structure will remain, the shortest distance from any existing structure
to any proposed and existing lot lines.
(3)
Existing private wells and sanitary sewage disposal
systems on the site.
(4)
All streets, roads, drainage rights-of-way, streams
and existing utility lines in the tract and within 500 feet of the
tract, and flood hazard areas as are shown on HUD maps on record.
(5)
Rights-of-way for proposed roads as shown on the Middlesex
County Master Plan or Official Map and the Township Master Plan or
Official Map.
(6)
All proposed lot and street lines, lot dimensions,
lot areas, setback lines and front, side and rear yard lines.
D.
The sketch plat shall also contain the following information:
(1)
Title of map.
(2)
Name of subdivision, if any.
(3)
Tax Map sheet, block and lot numbers of the tract
to be subdivided as shown on the latest Tax Map.
(4)
Acreage of tract to be subdivided, to the nearest
tenth of an acre.
(5)
Date of original sketch plat and all revisions.
(6)
Names and addresses of owner and applicant and of
all adjoining property owners as disclosed by the most recent municipal
tax records.
(7)
North arrow.
(8)
Written and graphic scales.
(9)
The zoning classification of the site to be subdivided,
a brief statement of the requirements of such classification and whether
a variance is necessary.
(10)
The zoning classification of the adjoining properties.
(11)
Signature and seal of land surveyor.
(12)
Corner-lot sight-triangle easement.
[Added 4-14-1986 by Ord. No. 0-86-3]
(13)
Soil types.
[Added 4-14-1986 by Ord. No. 0-86-3]
(14)
Proposed and existing signs (detail).
[Added 4-14-1986 by Ord. No. 0-86-3]
(15)
Proposed and existing culverts, bridges, drainpipes
and driveways.
[Added 4-14-1986 by Ord. No. 0-86-3]
(16)
The architectural or historic significance of any
existing buildings to remain or to be removed.
[Added 4-14-1986 by Ord. No. 0-86-3]
(17)
Flood hazard areas, including floodway and floodfringe.
[Added 4-14-1986 by Ord. No. 0-86-3]
(18)
Wetlands, buffer zones and heavily wooded areas.
[Added 4-14-1986 by Ord. No. 0-86-3]
(19)
Major aquifer outcrop areas.
[Added 4-14-1986 by Ord. No. 0-86-3]
(20)
Subject property owners consent.
[Added 4-14-1986 by Ord. No. 0-86-3]
(21)
Board Chairman and Secretary approval signature blocks.
[Added 4-14-1986 by Ord. No. 0-86-3]
(22)
Photographs of any unusual topographic, environmental,
historic or physical aspect.
[Added 4-14-1986 by Ord. No. 0-86-3]
(23)
Location of existing buildings to remain or to be
removed.
[Added 4-14-1986 by Ord. No. 0-86-3]
(24)
Compliance with all Master Plan proposals affecting
the development.
[Added 4-14-1986 by Ord. No. 0-86-3]
(25)
Existing and proposed monuments.
[Added 4-14-1986 by Ord. No. 0-86-3]
(26)
Percolation tests and soil log results in compliance
with the Individual Sewage Disposal Code of New Jersey.
[Added 4-14-1986 by Ord. No. 0-86-3]
(27)
Earthwork balance (surplus/shortage).
[Added 4-14-1986 by Ord. No. 0-86-3]
(28)
Sketches, plans and photographs of other known similar
developments.
[Added 4-14-1986 by Ord. No. 0-86-3]
(29)
Environmental impact assessment.
[Added 5-13-1992 by Ord. No. 0-92-12]
A.
No plat shall be classified as a minor subdivision
unless:
(1)
A properly drawn and detailed metes and bounds description
of the subdivision is furnished to the Planning Board.
(2)
The plat is drawn by a professional land surveyor
licensed to practice in the State of New Jersey, bearing the signature,
seal and license number and address of the said professional land
surveyor.
B.
No plat involving any street(s) requiring additional
right-of-way width as specified in the Master Plan or Official Map
and the street requirements of this chapter shall be classified as
a minor subdivision unless such additional right-of-way width, either
along one or both sides of said street(s), as applicable, shall be
deeded to the Township or other appropriate governmental agency.
C.
No plat involving any corner lot shall be classified
as a minor subdivision unless a sight triangle easement shall be granted
in accordance with specifications of the Township Engineer.
E.
No plat shall be classified as a minor subdivision
unless the Tax Collector of the Township shall have certified that
no taxes (including rollback taxes) or assessments for local improvements
are due or delinquent on the property for which the subdivision application
has been made.
F.
Each applicant at the time of submission shall pay,
in cash or by certified check, an application fee with the Township
in an amount equal to $100 per lot to be created, such fee to be placed
in escrow by the Township to cover the cost of professional services
and review, including engineering and legal or other incidental expenses
incurred with the processing and reviewing and checking of all materials.
Each applicant who shall submit a plan for preliminary site plan approval
shall agree, in writing, to pay all reasonable costs for professional
review of said plan required by the Township. Sums not utilized in
reviews of said plan shall be returned to the applicant. When additional
sums are deemed necessary, the applicant shall be notified of such
sum and shall pay such sum prior to the issuance of any building permit
for the property. In the event that the applicant seeks simultaneous
approval required from the Township along with minor subdivision approval,
fees for both applications shall be placed in the same escrow.
[1]
Editor's Note: Section 2 of Ord. Nos. 0-81-10
and 0-82-9 read as follows:
"SECTION 2: The fees listed in
this ordinance shall be charged, as of the effective date of this
ordinance, for the specific services listed. Any fees changed by virtue
of change in statute or law or new fees instituted by new statute,
law or ordinance shall be automatically charged without amendment
to this ordinance, except that any such fee changes shall be reflected
by appropriate amendment. Any fees not listed in this ordinance shall
remain as previously established by ordinance, resolution or practice
of the Township."
