On and after the effective date of this chapter,
any owner, agent or proprietor of any tract of land located within
the area to which these regulations shall apply who subdivides such
land into lots, blocks, streets, alleys, public ways, or public grounds
shall prepare a preliminary plan of such subdivision in accordance
with the regulations set forth herein and the laws of the State of
Delaware and shall prepare a final plan to be recorded in the office
of the Recorder of Deeds. On and after the effective date of this
chapter, any owner, agent or proprietor of any tract of land located
within the area to which these regulations shall apply who develops
such land shall prepare a preliminary plan of such land development
in accordance with the regulations set forth herein and the laws of
the State of Delaware and shall prepare a final plan to be approved
and filed by the Department of Planning Services.
No subdivision plat shall be recorded by the
Recorder of Deeds unless and until it has been submitted to and approved
by the Regional Planning Commission, as provided herein, and until
the record plat has been approved by the Levy Court or has been approved
administratively as provided in this chapter. No final plan of a land
development shall be approved by the Department of Planning Services
unless and until the preliminary plan shall have been submitted to
and approved by the Regional Planning Commission and/or Levy Court
as provided herein.
No parcel of land in a subdivision created on or after the effective date of this chapter shall be transferred, sold, or offered for sale, nor shall a building permit be issued for any structure thereon, nor shall a certificate of occupancy for the use of any land or structure thereon be issued, until a plat of the subdivision shall have been recorded in the office of the Recorder of Deeds in accordance with these regulations and the laws of the State of Delaware. Any person who violates this provision shall be subject to the penalties contained in Article XIII, Enforcement and Penalties, of this chapter.
[Amended 9-27-2006 by Ord. No. 06-36]
In preparing a plat of a subdivision or land development, the applicant shall comply with the general principles of design, the minimum technical standards required by the Board of Registration for Professional Land Surveyors, the minimum requirements for the layout of subdivisions as set forth in Article XI, Design Criteria and Standards, and with the rules and regulations concerning required improvements as set forth in Article X, Required Improvements, as well as any additional standards and specifications for improvements adopted by Levy Court. The plat shall contain at a minimum two coordinates of two boundary corners based on the Delaware State Plane Coordinate System (1983). In every case, the preparation shall be in accordance with the procedures contained in Articles IV, V, VI, VII, and VIII.
Where land within the unincorporated territory of Kent County is proposed for development in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 205, Zoning, pertaining to the establishment of planned unit development districts, the requirements and conditions for approval as set forth in that chapter shall prevail in the case of any conflict with these regulations; provided, however, that nothing in this section shall be construed as permitting any exception from the requirements of these regulations with regard to the design, arrangement or improvement of streets and highways within any proposed planned unit development district.
The provisions of this chapter shall be deemed
to be the minimum requirements necessary to meet the foregoing purposes.
However, when interpreting such requirements, the following shall
be noted:
A.
Where, owing to special or unique conditions, a subdivision
or land development proposal may be hazardous to, the life, health,
safety or property of persons in the County, more stringent or restrictive
requirements necessary to eliminate or alleviate such hazard may be
applied or imposed by the Regional Planning Commission and/or Levy
Court;
B.
Where, owing to special or unique conditions, the provisions of this chapter may inflict unnecessary hardship upon the applicant, reasonable exceptions to such provisions may be made by the Regional Planning Commission and/or Levy Court as will not be contrary to the foregoing purposes or to the public interest. Where it is desirable to affect economy and ingenuity in the layout of subdivisions and land developments and to protect sensitive natural areas, modifications of site requirements may be made in accordance with the guidelines set forth in Article XII, Exceptions, Modifications, and Waivers, herein, and the Regional Planning Commission and/or Levy Court may alter site requirements for encouraging other practices which are in accordance with modern and evolving principles of site planning and development; and
C.
Where the provisions of this chapter impose more stringent
requirements than those of any statute, ordinance, or regulation,
the provisions of this chapter shall prevail; where the provisions
of any statute, ordinance, code, or regulation impose more stringent
requirements than those of this chapter, such statute, ordinance,
code, or regulation shall prevail.
The Levy Court shall have jurisdiction of subdivision
and land development within the County. In order that the actions
of the Levy Court under this chapter may be correlated with all relevant
data and procedures, the Levy Court hereby designates the Regional
Planning Commission as the agency to which the following responsibilities
are assigned:
A.
To review and render decisions on all applications
for either preliminary or final approval of subdivision and/or land
development plans;
B.
To engage in preliminary consultations with the applicant
relating to such plans;
C.
To make recommendations to the Levy Court concerning
approval, disapproval, modification, and conditions of approval of
plans requiring final Levy Court approval, including, but not limited
to, conditional uses both with and without site plans;
D.
To render decisions on subdivision and land development
applications not requiring conditional use approval;
E.
To review this chapter and make recommendations to
the Levy Court on proposed amendments to it; and
F.
In the performance of its functions, to enter upon
any land to assess existing conditions and the proposed subdivision
or land development with the consent of the owner.
[Amended 1-16-2007 by Ord. No. 07-02; 9-24-2019 by Ord. No. 19-17]
A.
The County
Administrator shall have direct management and decisionmaking authority
over the Department of Planning Services.
B.
Under the direction of the County Administrator, the
Director of the Department of Planning Services, or designated representative,
shall determine whether or not any preliminary or final plan submissions
are complete and acceptable to the County in accordance with these
regulations.
(1)
The Director or designated representative shall, within
eight business days of submission, inspect such submission to verify
the following have been submitted:
(a)
The required data and other information to be
included on the plan;
(b)
The required application form and filing fee;
(c)
The required number of copies;
(d)
The required types of plans, electronic files,
reports, and other information;
(e)
The required checklist; and
(f)
The required supporting information.
(2)
In the event that the submission is found to be incomplete,
the Director or designated representative shall notify the applicant,
in writing, by certified mail, return receipt requested, and inform
the applicant that the date of filing will not be effective until
all required forms, fees, types and copies of plans and papers are
submitted.
C.
In the event of any action inconsistent with the provisions
of this chapter, the County Administrator may direct the Director
of Planning Services, or designee, to issue a cease-and-desist order
or take such other appropriate action as is deemed necessary under
the circumstances.
D.
The Department of Planning Services is responsible
for the preparation of all meeting agendas for the Regional Planning
Commission in coordination with the Chairman of the Regional Planning
Commission. Any other provision of this chapter to the contrary notwithstanding,
the Department of Planning Services shall limit the number of applications
requiring public hearing before the Regional Planning Commission to
no more than 10 such applications for any given calendar month, no
more than three of which may be major residential subdivisions including
sketch plans, preliminary plans, and/or conditional use site/subdivision
plans.
[Amended 10-28-2014 by Ord. No. 14-17]
A.
The following regulations concerning expiration of recorded and approved
plans are applicable to major subdivisions, minor subdivisions, and
strip subdivisions.
B.
Construction of improvements shown on recorded subdivision plans
shall commence within five years of the original recordation date
and continue progressing toward completion.
C.
The Department shall notify by certified mail, return receipt requested,
applicants and landowners of properties involving approved plans where
construction has not commenced one year prior to the expiration date
and again six months prior to the expiration date that they are subject
to the expiration provisions and identify their options for possible
reapproval.
D.
For the purpose of this section, "commencement of construction" shall
mean:
(1)
That a building permit or such other permit or approval by Kent County or an applicable state agency has been issued and construction commenced under such permit which is visible on an inspection of the property by a representative of the Department. Such construction must be intended to accomplish the installation of improvements under Article X, Required Improvements, but excludes general earthmoving activities, and such work must have been started with a good-faith intention and purpose then formed to continue the work until completion.
(2)
That all financial obligations associated with a Levy-Court-approved public works agreement have been satisfied and the improvements pursuant to said agreement have been completed, provided that the construction described in Subsection D(1) above shall commence within 10 years from receipt by Kent County of the final monetary contribution required under said agreement.
E.
Construction shall be deemed to be progressing toward completion
so long as there is no cessation in construction activity longer than
12 consecutive months. The Department shall inspect sites semiannually
to determine the progress of construction. If the Department determines
that construction activity has ceased for a period of 12 consecutive
months or more, the staff shall notify the applicant and landowners
by certified mail, return receipt requested, that construction shall
recommence within 30 days or the subdivision shall be considered expired.
F.
For subdivisions and land developments in which a certificate of
occupancy has been issued for a dwelling, the subdivision shall no
longer be subject to expiration.
G.
The applicant and/or landowner shall bear the burden of providing
evidence to the Department establishing that construction has commenced
within the five-year period and is progressing toward completion.
H.
Applicants and/or landowners who have been notified that their projects
may be subject to expiration have the following courses of action
available to them:
(1)
The applicant has the opportunity to provide evidence to the Department
establishing that construction has commenced;
(2)
The applicant may apply to the Department for reapproval of the project
for an additional five-year period in accordance with the following
procedures:
(a)
The Commission's staff shall review the original (i.e, initial) recorded and/or approved plan for consistency with all current provisions of this chapter, Chapter 205, Zoning, and the Comprehensive Plan. Such review may involve coordination with and review by applicable Development Advisory Committee (DAC) agencies. Based upon that review, the Director or designee will determine if the original recorded plan meets current standards, or if the original recorded plan requires minor revisions in order to comply with current standards, or if the original recorded plan must be resubmitted as a new application subject to all appropriate review procedures, regulations, and fees.
(b)
In the event that the Director of Planning Services or designee
determines that the original recorded plan is consistent with current
policies and regulations, he/she shall reapprove the plan and provide
written notice to the owner of reapproval. Such approval shall allow
the issuance of building permits in accordance with all conditions
of approval. The owner shall then have five years from the date of
such notice of reapproval to obtain building permits and commence
construction.
(c)
Should the Director or designee determine that the plan requires
minor revisions in order to comply with current policies and regulations,
such notice shall be provided in writing and the applicant shall make
such adjustments for administrative approval. Once the required minor
revisions are completed, the plan may be reapproved administratively
by the Department allowing the issuance of building permits subject
to the provisions of the original record subdivision plan and/or any
recorded resubdivision plans. The owner shall then have five years
from the date of such notice of reapproval to obtain building permits
and commence construction.
(d)
Should the Director or designee determine that the plan would involve considerable revision to an extent that would change the scope of the project, the plan must be resubmitted for review by the Regional Planning Commission for compliance with current policies and regulations. The Department shall provide written notice to the owner of the specific areas of noncompliance. The landowner shall have the opportunity to make the necessary modifications to the plan and apply to the Department as a new application in accordance with Articles IV, V, and VI of this chapter. Should new plans compliant with all current Code provisions be submitted, they must receive approval from the Department, Regional Planning Commission, and/or Levy Court, as applicable. Once reapproved, subdivision plans shall be recorded and shall have the effect of superseding the original record major subdivision plan. The owner/applicant shall then have five years from the date of reapproval to obtain building permits, commence construction, and progress toward completion.
(3)
All of the above-referenced reviews, determinations, and reapprovals
must be completed prior to the expiration of the five-year period.
J.
Should the five years lapse without the owner pursuing any of the options described in Subsections H(2)(a) through (d) above, the plan shall be considered expired. Expired subdivision plans shall be deleted from the Kent County property records by deleting individual subdivision lots from the official Kent County Tax Map and by eliminating the undeveloped parcels from the assessment records.
Fees to partially cover the cost of considering,
examining, and checking the plats required herein and for recording
the record plat shall be collected at the time of filing the plans
in accordance with the following schedule of charges:
Employees or agents of the Department who are
acting in the official performance of their duties shall have the
right to enter, go upon, and inspect at reasonable times any land,
either public or private, outside of any municipality, and to make
surveys, photograph, and place any necessary monuments and markers
on the land, provided that any such entry shall be made with due care
and regard for the protection and preservation of property.
