Otero County, NM Final Plat Review Process

Filing specifications. The original drawing of the final plat shall be submitted to the County Clerk for recording and shall be prepared in waterproof ink on Mylar or acetate or other durable material suitable for reproducing copies. Two drawings on Mylar and one paper copy are required for filing with the Otero County Clerk. An extra paper copy will be required if the subdivider wishes to retain a copy with recording information. Final plat maps shall be drawn at a scale of 200 feet to one inch or larger and printed on sheets 24 inches by 36 inches. When more than one sheet is used to include the entire subdivision, all sheets shall be cut to the same size and shall show appropriate references to other sheets of the subdivision. The final plat shall be titled "Final Plat" in a prominent place on the map along with the name of the subdivision.

Plat specifications. The final plat shall be prepared by a NM licensed, registered surveyor in accordance with the specifications set out in Subsection A above, and shall include the following information:

(1)

Title (subdivision's name), scale, North arrow, and date of plat;

(2)

Legal description indicating the range, township, and section within which the subdivision is located with permanent monuments, or descriptions and ties to such monuments, to which all dimensions, angles, bearings, and similar data on the plat shall be referred;

(3)

Tract boundary lines in bearings and distances, easement and right-of-way lines, and property lines of all lots and other sites, with accurate dimensions, bearings, or deflection angles, and radii, arcs, and central angles of all curves;

(4)

Lot lines, with lot and block numbers, and acreage of each lot;

(5)

Location, dimensions, and purpose of all easements, and any dedicated public site or area; annotate easements of record with book and page number where recorded and attach a copy in the disclosure statement;

(6)

Name, right-of-way width, and center line data of roads or other rights-of-way in and adjacent to the subdivision; residential lots and other sites, with accurate dimensions, bearings, or deflection angles, and radii, arcs, and central angles of all curves;

(7)

Utilities on and adjacent to the site;

(8)

Number of each parcel in progression, with its dimensions, and the dimensions of all land dedicated for public use or for the use of the owners of parcels fronting on or contiguous to the land;

(9)

Names and addresses of the owner or owners of land to be subdivided, the subdivider (if other than the owner), and the land surveyor;

(10)

Delineation of any one-percent chance floodplain as designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency;

(11)

The certification (in the format provided in Appendix A of these regulations) of a surveyor registered in New Mexico attesting to the accuracy of the plat, and the date of the survey;

(12)

Certification (in the format provided in Appendix A of these regulations) demonstrating that all utility companies that will be providing service to the subdivision have reviewed the plat and approved utility easements;

(13)

Location of any registered archaeological, historical, or culturally significant features on the site (including any marked graves);

(14)

A surveyor's certification and certification for Board of County Commissioners approval in the format provided in Appendix A of these regulations;

(15)

A vicinity map showing the relationship of the subdivision site to its general surroundings;

(16)

A certificate by the Otero County Board of Commissioners or their designated representative certifying that the subdivider has complied with the following conditions:

(a)

All improvements have been installed in accordance with the requirements of this chapter; or a contract is entered into with the Board of County Commissioners guaranteeing successful completion of all improvements [see Appendix A (Sample Agreement)]; and a performance bond, certificate of deposit or other security as approved by the Board of County Commissioners is filed with the County Clerk in sufficient amount to assure completion of developer-provided improvements. The bond shall be based on engineering cost estimates. After preliminary acceptance, the performance bond will be replaced by a maintenance bond in the amount of 15% of the performance bond. The maintenance bond shall be filed and continued for the two-year test period of the developer-provided improvements after preliminary acceptance and until final acceptance by the Board of County Commissioners.

(b)

Affidavit. The final plat shall contain a statement that the land being subdivided is subdivided in accordance with the final plat. The final plat shall be acknowledged by all owners of record and subdivider or their authorized agents in the manner required for the acknowledgment of deeds. Every final plat submitted to the County Clerk shall be accompanied by an affidavit of the owner(s) and subdivider, or authorized agents, stating whether or not the proposed subdivision lies within the subdivision regulation jurisdiction of the County. A copy of the final plat shall be provided to every purchaser, lessee, or other person acquiring an interest in the subdivided land before sale, lease, or other conveyance.

(c)

Dedication. The final plat shall contain a certificate stating that the Board of County Commissioners has accepted, accepted subject to improvement, or rejected on behalf of the public, any land offered for dedication for public use in conformity with the terms of the offer of dedication. Upon full conformity with County road construction standards, the roads may be accepted for maintenance by the County after the required warranty period is completed. Acceptance of offers of dedication on a final plat shall not be effective until the final plat is filed in the office of the County Clerk or a resolution of acceptance by the Board of County Commissioners is filed in that office.

(d)

Disclosure statement. For all subdivisions, a disclosure statement shall be prepared in accordance with the standardized format on the forms provided in Appendix A of these regulations. The forms in Appendix A shall not be altered in any way. It is unlawful to sell, lease, or otherwise convey land in a subdivision until the subdivision is completed and the required disclosure statement has been filed along with the final plat with the County Clerk, the Board of County Commissioners, and the Attorney General's office; and until the prospective purchaser, lessee, or other person acquiring an interest in the subdivided land has been given a copy of the disclosure statement. The disclosure statement submitted with a final plat shall be a complete and final copy as approved by the Board of County Commissioners. It shall not be labeled as a draft. The disclosure statement shall include a signature page in the format provided in Appendix A of these regulations and shall be signed by the owner/developer.

(e)

Restrictive covenants. Restrictive covenants, if any, shall be attached to the disclosure statement and referenced in the disclosure statement, where appropriate.

(f)

Conformity. The Board of County Commissioners shall not approve the final plat of any subdivision if the subdivider has not fulfilled or cannot reasonably demonstrate that he can fulfill the proposals contained in his previously approved preliminary plat and draft disclosure statement or if the lots are not surveyed and staked with the roads surveyed and located in conformance to the final plat or if the subdivider has not conformed with the New Mexico Subdivision Act and this chapter.

(g)

Land sales act. Any subdivider who has satisfied the disclosure requirement of the Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act may submit the approved statement of record in lieu of the disclosure statement required by the New Mexico Subdivision Act. However, any information required in the New Mexico Subdivision Act and this chapter and not covered in the subdivider's statement of record shall be attached to the statement of record.

(h)

Environment Department approval. For any subdivision requiring construction of a community water supply system or a community liquid waste system, documentation of approval from the New Mexico Environment Department shall be required for final plat approval.

(i)

Recording. The final plat is in full force and effect only after having been recorded in the office of the County Clerk within one year after the date of approval by the Board of County Commissioners.

(j)

Water permit. A copy of the water permit issued by the State Engineer will be required only for Type One subdivisions and any subdivision with a completed and approved community public water system.

(k)

Sample contracts. The subdivider shall submit a sample copy of sales contracts, leases, and any other documents which will be used to convey an interest in the subdivided land and include them as attachments to the disclosure statement along with documentation demonstrating that any seller financed mortgages shall be in compliance with Regulation Z, as issued by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to implement the federal Truth in Lending Act, which is contained in Title 1 of the Consumer Credit Protection Act, as amended (15 U.S.C. § 1601 et seq.).

	§ 72-5-1:	New appropriations of surface water
	§ 72-5-23:	Changes in place of use
	§ 72-5-24:	Changes in purpose of use or point of diversion
	§ 72-12-3:	New appropriations of groundwater
	§ 72-12-7:	Changes in purpose of use or location of well