Kent County, DE Article VI Final Plan Preparation and Procedure for Major Subdivisions

§ 187-24 Submission of record plat.

[Amended 9-22-2009 by Ord. No. 09-24]

A. Following approval of the preliminary plan by the Commission and the submission of plans for improvements within the proposed subdivision to the appropriate state or County agencies, the applicant shall submit a record plat for approval by the Commission 30 days prior to the business meeting at which the plan is to be considered.

B. Such record plat may be for all the property included in the preliminary plan or it may be limited to any portion thereof, which is intended to be developed as a unit. Additional record plats, covering additional units of the property, may be submitted later, provided that the preliminary plan is still valid. Every record plat shall be substantially in accordance with the approved preliminary plan, including any changes or additions required by the Commission as a condition for its approval, and it shall conform in every respect to the requirements for the preparation of such plat as set forth in Appendix A[1] of this chapter and Articles X, Required Improvements, and XI, Design Requirements and Standards.

[1] Appendix A is included at the end of this chapter.

C. The applicant shall file the following items with the Commission's staff:

(1) Ten black- or blue-line prints;

(2) One reproducible Mylar or one electronic copy on compact disc; and

(3) An application for approval of the plat on a form to be supplied by the Commission.

D. Letters of "no objection" from applicable Development Advisory Committee (DAC) agencies, including, but not limited to, the:

(1) Delaware State Fire Marshal;

(2) Delaware Department of Transportation; and

(3) Kent Conservation District;

E. The Commission shall make a determination of the plat's compliance with the conditions of preliminary approval. The Commission shall approve, approve with conditions, disapprove, or table a plat within 45 days after acceptance by the Commission of the plat and all necessary supporting documentation, otherwise such plat shall be deemed to have been approved and a certificate to that effect shall be issued by the Commission upon demand. Criteria for disapproving a final plan shall include, but not be limited to, material difference from the approved preliminary plan or inconsistency with the adopted Kent County Comprehensive Plan. The forty-five-day approval period may be extended by mutual agreement between the Commission and the applicant. Should the Commission determine the plan is not consistent with the codes and regulations of the County, the reasons for such determination shall be provided to the applicant within 10 working days following the Commission meeting.

F. Following approval by the Commission, the applicant shall then provide Commission's staff with at least one paper copy of the plan, an electronic copy of the record plan, one Mylar (or equivalent), and the fee for recordation of the approved subdivision plat. The plat must be recorded within the time limits established by § 187-21D above. If the plat is not recorded within that time limit, even after Commission approval, the plat will be deemed to be expired. Should the approval lapse, another application, including the fee, and review will be required.

G. The record plan (both the paper copies and the Mylar) must be signed by the owner and signed and sealed by the engineer or surveyor. Upon receipt of the record plan by the Commission's staff, signatures of the Planning Director or designee and the County Administrator or designee will be obtained on the plan prior to recordation. The Commission's staff will then record the plan in the office of the Recorder of Deeds for Kent County.

§ 187-25 Requirements of record plat.

The record plat of the subdivision shall comply with the following general requirements with regard to style and content:

A. It shall be prepared by a Delaware registered professional land surveyor or by a Delaware registered professional engineer based upon a survey prepared by a registered professional land surveyor. It shall be at a scale no smaller than one inch equals 100 feet, unless otherwise approved by the Planning Director or designee, and it shall be drawn on sheets not less than 24 inches by 36 inches, including a margin of one-half-inch outside-ruled border lines.

B. All dimensions and bearings of lines and all areas shall be based upon a field survey of sufficient accuracy and detail that the data shown thereon may be reproduced on the ground. All distances and the length of all lines shall be given to the nearest hundredth of a foot. Bearings of all lines shall be bearings referenced to the date of the plat, and all bearings shall be given to the nearest minute. All areas shall be given to the nearest square foot.

C. The record plat shall be legibly and accurately drawn and shall show the information required by Appendix A.[1]

[1] Appendix A is included at the end of this chapter.

§ 187-26 Certificates and supporting statements.

Accompanying the record plat and made a part thereof shall be the following certificates and statements:

A. An owner's statement acknowledging ownership of the property and agreeing to the subdivision thereof as shown on the plat and signed by the owner or owners.

B. Statements explaining how and when the applicant proposes to provide and install required improvements such as water supply, sewers or other means of sewage disposal, street pavements, buffers, curbs and gutters, and drainage structures.

C. An owner's statement of dedication offering all streets, alleys, and other public ways for dedication to public use as applicable.

D. A statement of the surveyor or engineer that the record plat, as shown, is a correct representation of the survey as made, that all monuments indicated thereon exist and are correctly shown and that the plat complies with all requirements of this chapter and other applicable laws and regulations.

E. Deed restrictions, articles of incorporation, bylaws, and declaration of maintenance applicable within the subdivision, including agreements for the operation and maintenance by the property owners or agency in the subdivision of any sewage, stormwater management facilities, recreation areas, or other physical facility which is of common use or benefit. All such documents must be recorded in conjunction with the final plan. A homeowners' association or maintenance corporation must be created for the maintenance of all facilities not to be held in public ownership.

F. For any new subdivision development located, in whole or in part, adjacent to or contiguous with lands zoned for agricultural use, the owner of the development shall provide, as a note on the recorded plan as well as in the deed, the following written notice for any residential lot or dwelling unit:

"This property is located in the vicinity of land used primarily for agricultural purposes on which normal agricultural uses and activities have been afforded the highest priority use status. It can be anticipated that such agricultural uses and activities may now or in the future involve noise, dust, manure and other odors, the use of agricultural chemicals and nighttime farm operations."

G. For any new subdivision development located in whole or in part on lands contained within the Air Installation Compatible Use Zone (AICUZ), the owner of the land and/or dwelling shall provide, as a note on the recorded plan as well as in the deed, the following written notice:

"This property and/or dwelling unit is located in the vicinity of aircraft operations associated with the Dover Air Force Base. It can be anticipated that such aircraft operations may result in high noise disturbances or the potential for an aircraft accident."

H. Any new subdivision development containing lots located within the one-hundred-year floodplain as designated in the most current Federal Flood Insurance Rate Maps shall include the following note on the plan:

"Lots ___ through/and _______ are impacted by the one-hundred-year floodplain. Notification of such shall be included on the sales contracts, deeds, and deed restrictions for the above-mentioned lots."

I. The following open space certifications and covenants, or derivatives thereof, may be included on all record plans as warranted and required by the Commission:

(1) Undisturbed natural areas as conservation areas.

(a) All open space forest lands, old fields, meadows, regulatory floodplains, excellent groundwater recharge areas, wellhead protection areas, wetlands, riparian areas, streams, ponds and any other natural area existing at the time of recordation and designated as open space shall be subject to a natural area deed restriction.

(b) Prior to land disturbance within any adjacent lots, these lands shall be posted with permanent metallic signs on two-hundred-foot centers indicating "Conservation Area -- The natural resources of this land are protected by deed restriction."

(c) These lands shall be protected from any grass mowing, construction, land disturbance, dumping, filling, debris disposal, draining, shrub, tree or vegetation removal or harm, through an enforceable recorded deed restriction indicating the terms of this note; excepting, however, those operations necessary to initially construct a stormwater management outfall.

(d) No disturbances or construction may occur beyond the limits of disturbance associated with the stormwater management facility without the prior consent of the Kent County Department of Planning Services.

(e) These areas shall be considered Nature Preserve Areas held in common by the "Homeowners' Association of __________________ Subdivision." These deed restrictions shall run forever with the land and may not be vacated by the homeowners' association or maintenance corporation.

(2) Active open space areas.

(a) All active open space areas, exclusive of improvements and play equipment areas, shall be constructed and maintained in accordance with the specifications of Appendix B, Active Open Space Construction and Maintenance Standards,[1] to be made a part of the maintenance declaration.

[1] Appendix B is included at the end of this chapter.

(b) All designated bicycle and pedestrian trail areas within the subdivision shall be provided with a durable erosion-resistant surface material.

(c) Trees, shrubs or other landscape elements may be planted by the homeowners' association or maintenance corporation, provided they are adequately maintained.

(d) Permanent active recreation amenities may be constructed within active open space areas, provided they conform to public playground safety specifications and are maintained by the homeowners' association or maintenance corporation.

(e) Active open space provisions may not be waived or vacated by the homeowners' association or maintenance corporation.

(3) Stormwater management areas. The record plan shall include the following note:

"Within one year of initial construction of all stormwater management facilities, wetland and landscape plantings shall be installed and permanent metallic signage shall be placed at the SWM detention area indicating: 'Water Quality Management Area -- Do Not Mow.'"

(4) Open space landscaping buffer areas. The record plan shall include the following notes:

(a) "Declarant hereby grants unto Kent County, its assigns and successors, the right, privilege and authority to enter upon said premises and inspect all the open spaces for conformity with the provisions of this Declaration and the Deed Restrictions at the expense of the Owners of said lots. In the event that Kent County determines that maintenance of the open spaces, as set forth above, is required, all expenses of maintenance shall be collectible by Kent County in accordance with procedures established by Kent County for that purpose, or in the manner set forth above in relation to collection by the Maintenance Corporation. Any lien for such expenses under the provisions of this Declaration asserted by the County and filed with the Recorder of Deeds shall be a lien from the time of recording and shall have priority in relation to other liens, either general or special, including mortgages and other liens according to the time of recording of such liens."

(b) "Declarant hereby grants to the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, Division of Soil and Water Conservation Sediment and Storm Water Program or its delegated agency, the right, privilege and authority to enter upon said premises and inspect stormwater management areas within stormwater management easements. In the event that the delegated agency determines that maintenance is required within said stormwater management areas, all expenses of maintenance shall be the responsibility of the Maintenance Corporation or Homeowners' Association."

J. All required deed restrictions shall run with the land and may not be vacated by the homeowners' association or maintenance corporation.

§ 187-27 Revisions to recorded subdivision plats.

A. For rerecordation of previously subdivided and recorded major subdivision, minor subdivision, and strip subdivision plats, the Mylar for the revised plat must be signed by all lot owners within the subdivision who are adjacent to or share a common boundary line with the area of proposed change in addition to 75% of all lot owners within the entire subdivision. The adjacent property owners shall be included as a part of the required 75% of required signatures.

B. Prior to seeking approval of any rerecordation, the owner/applicant shall give notice to all persons indicated by assessment records to be lot owners within the subdivision. The owner/applicant shall provide proof of notification in the form of certified mail receipts for each lot owner to the Department prior to recordation of the revised plat.

C. With the exception of Subsections D and E below, new letters of "No objection" from all agencies granting original approval of a project must be submitted.

D. The Director of Planning Services or designee may determine that a proposed change to a recorded subdivision plat is minor and does not warrant concurrence from all lot owners who are adjacent to or share a common boundary line with the area of proposed change in addition to 75% of all lot owners within the entire subdivision.

E. The following are exempt from the rerecordation signature requirements:

(1) Administratively approved applications such as lot line adjustments where no additional lots are proposed; and

(2) Cases where utility easements are added to a subdivision plan.

F. For minor changes or alterations to recorded subdivision plats, in lieu of formal plan review by the Regional Planning Commission and/or Levy Court, said minor changes may be administratively approved at the discretion of the Director or designee, provided that such changes or amendments:

[Added 10-28-2014 by Ord. No. 14-16]

(1) Do not increase density;

(2) Do not substantially alter the road design or layout;

(3) Do not substantially alter the original conditions for approval;

(4) Involve no changes in permitted use of the property;

(5) Do not conflict with the specific requirements of this chapter or Chapter 205, Zoning;

(6) Do not change the general character or content of an approved plan in a material way;

(7) Have no adverse effect on adjoining or surrounding property;

(8) Do not result in any substantial change of major external access points;

(9) Do not decrease the minimum specified yards, setbacks, and open spaces; and

(10) Have no adverse effects on traffic operations.