Sec. 21A-23. Primary (preliminary) plat.
(a) Primary (Preliminary) Plat Submission. The subdivider shall be responsible for providing all information and documentation deemed necessary as required by the Town and shall bear the burden of proof for the subdivision approval before the Plan Commission.
If after the preapplication conference and the study session(s), the subdivider intends to pursue subdivision approval, the subdivider shall submit an application for approval of a primary (preliminary) plat to the Building and Planning Department (copy) and the Clerk-Treasurer (original) with payment to the Town Clerk-Treasurer in the manner required by the Town. The subdivider shall further be required to pay the prescribed application and plat review fee at the time of the filing of the application to the Town Clerk-Treasurer. The plat review fee shall be one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500.00) or two hundred dollars ($200.00) per lot, whichever is greater. If the subdivision proposal proceeds to the secondary plat approval stage where an additional review fee of two (2) percent of the costs of improvement is required, then this plat review fee shall be deducted from the two (2) percent fee due at that time.
Within thirty (30) days after the receipt of the application and payment of the application fee, the Plan Commission shall announce the date for the public hearing before the Plan Commission on the primary (preliminary) plat of the subdivision.
The Plan Commission, when announcing the date for the public hearing, shall provide the applicant instructions for the giving of notice to the public of the hearing of the application for primary (preliminary) plat approval pursuant to State law and Plan Commission rules.
A digital copy of the primary (preliminary) plat must be presented to the Building and Planning Department at least thirty (30) days prior to the public hearing meeting scheduled for the primary (preliminary) plat.
One (1) copy of plat plans and corroborating information further shall be in the possession of both the Town Engineer and Town staff thirty (30) days prior to any Plan Commission meeting at which the plat will be considered. Corrected plans shall also be in the possession of the Town Engineer and Town staff at least fourteen (14) days before any subsequent meeting. Any additional or subsequent changes shall be considered a separate submittal and subject to the fourteen (14) day advance submittal requirement.
Proposed plats will be reviewed by various Town departments (i.e., Police, Fire, Public Works, Building and Planning, etc.) and their comments will be forwarded to the Town Engineer.
(b) Primary (Preliminary) Plat Plan Preparation. The primary (preliminary) plat shall be prepared in accordance with and shall be prepared as follows:
(1) The plat shall be drawn at a scale of not less than one hundred (100) feet to one (1) inch on a sheet(s) a minimum of twenty-four (24) by thirty-six (36) inches in size. For phased developments, all phases shall be shown on the primary (preliminary) plat.
(2) The proposed plat shall also show:
a. A vicinity key map at an appropriate scale showing the layout of the proposed subdivision and all existing subdivisions, street and tract lines, acreage of parcels of land immediately adjoining the proposed subdivision, between it and the nearest existing thoroughfares. It shall also show how streets in the proposed subdivisions may connect with existing and proposed streets in neighboring subdivisions or undeveloped property to produce the most advantageous development of the entire neighboring area.
b. Existing sewers, water mains, culverts, gas and electric, telecommunications, cable TV, telephone, or other underground facilities within the tract, indicating pipe sizes, grades and exact location, as obtained from public records.
c. Boundary lines of adjacent unsubdivided and subdivided land, showing owner’s name(s).
d. Existing zoning of proposed subdivision and adjacent tracts, in zoned areas.
e. Contours based on not less than one (1) foot vertical intervals.
f. Name of subdivision, name of developer and name of owner(s).
g. Legal description of property to be subdivided.
h. The name and certification of the registered professional land surveyor.
i. Scale shown graphically, date and north point.
j. Boundary of plat, based upon an accurate traverse with angular and lineal dimensions.
k. Exact location, width, length and name of all streets within and adjoining the plat; the naming of streets shall conform to the County system.
l. True courses and distances to the nearest established street lines or official monuments which shall accurately describe the location of the plat.
m. County, municipal or section lines accurately tied to the lines of the subdivision by distances and courses, and provide a cross reference to the State Plane coordinate system. GPS (global positioning system) information for reference points can be obtained from Town.
n. Radii, internal angles, central angles, points of curvation and tangency, lengths of tangents and lengths of all arcs.
o. All easements or rights-of-way provided for public services or utilities.
p. All street numbers (addresses), lot numbers and lot lines, with accurate dimensions in feet and hundredths.
q. Line of all streets with accurate dimensions in feet and hundredths, showing angles or bearings of street and lot lines.
r. Accurate location and description of all survey monuments or markers, and provide a cross reference to the State Plane coordinate system.
s. Accurate outlines and legal descriptions of any areas to be dedicated or reserved for public use, with the purposes indicated thereon and in the dedication, and of any area to be reserved by deed covenant for common uses of all property owners.
t. Building setback lines accurately shown with dimensions.
u. Flood and stormwater information as required by this chapter.
v. FEMA floodplain map information reference.
w. Restrictive covenants of all types, which shall run with the land and shall be documented on the plat.
x. Certificates of approval.
y. All requirements of other governmental bodies.
z. All outlots, detention basin sites, parks, etc. Note whether these areas are to be considered private or public parcels.
aa. Benchmark description and elevation, using latest USGS datum.
bb. Drawings detailing subdivision identification monument sign or development sign.
(3) Sufficient soils data shall be submitted with the primary (preliminary) plat, based on soil borings to demonstrate that the underlying soils are adequate to accommodate the improvements. At least one (1) soil boring shall be taken for areas zero (0) to two (2) acres in size; two (2) soil borings shall be taken for areas two (2) to five (5) acres in size. For areas more than five (5) acres, one (1) additional soil boring shall be taken for each additional five (5) acres of area. At least one (1) soil boring shall be taken at the proposed detention/retention basin site. If soils unsuitable for the work intended are found, the limit of unsuitable soil is to be determined by additional borings. All soil borings are to be twenty (20) feet deep or to stable soil. A written report of the subsurface soils with recommendations for the construction of the infrastructure and buildings therein shall be submitted and certified by a professional engineer or professional geotechnical engineer. Additional borings may be requested by the Public Works, Building and Planning or Town Engineer.
(4) Satisfactory evidence shall show that the proposed water supply and sewage disposal systems meet the requirements of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management as well as the standards of the Town of St. John.
(5) Proposed plat conditions shall be shown as follows:
a. Layout of streets, their names and widths and also crosswalks and easements. Street layout shall include consideration of traffic patterns, traffic circulation, and traffic to be generated by the proposed subdivision; and the thoroughfare plan, which is included in the Comprehensive Plan of the Town, shall be consulted as a guide. The Plan Commission may require such frontage streets or roads as it deems necessary.
b. Layout, dimensions and numbers of lots and address numbers.
c. Parcels of land to be dedicated or reserved for public use or set aside for use for property owners in the subdivision (see article VII). This also entails contact and interaction with Park Board (see Plan Commission Rules).
d. Master drainage plan (see article VI).
e. All other proposed improvements to be provided by the subdivider.
(6) Approval of Primary (Preliminary) Plat. The Plan Commission shall consider the application and primary (preliminary) plat at a public hearing.
If, after the public hearing, the Plan Commission determines that the application and plat comply with the standards in this chapter, it shall make written findings and a decision granting primary (preliminary) approval of the plat.
If, after the public hearing, the Plan Commission disapproves the plat, it shall make written findings that set forth its reasons and a decision denying primary (preliminary) approval and shall provide the applicant a copy.
Approval of the primary (preliminary) plat shall entitle the subdivider to final approval of the layout shown by such plat provided the secondary (final) plat conforms substantially to such layout and further that any conditions of approval set forth at the public hearing have been met and all other Town ordinances have been met.
Primary (preliminary) plat approval shall be effective for a maximum period of twelve (12) months unless, upon application by the subdivider in writing, an extension of time is requested. The Plan Commission, finding reasonable grounds therefor, can grant one (1) or more extensions which shall not be for a longer period of time than six (6) months; provided, however, secondary (final) plat approval of any portion of the primary (preliminary) plat, which portion shall be predetermined at the public hearing on the primary (preliminary) plat approval, shall automatically extend the remainder of the primary (preliminary) plat for an additional twelve (12) months.
The subdivider shall submit (2) sets of plans to the Public Works Department, two (2) sets of plans to the Building and Planning Department and one (1) set of plans to the Town Engineer reflecting any revisions and/or contingencies required by the approval of the primary (preliminary) plat.
(7) Final Engineering Drawing Certificates. The following forms shall be used in final engineering drawings:
a. Certificates. The final engineering drawings shall contain a certification by a certified professional engineer and/or registered land surveyor that the stormwater design installation shall not damage the land being developed, as well as not damage the adjacent and downstream properties, by certification that should read substantially as follows:
I, the undersigned, state that to the best of my knowledge and belief, the drainage of surface waters will not be changed by the construction of this Subdivision, or that if such surface water drainage will be changed, reasonable provision has been made for the collection and diversion of such surface waters into public areas or drains which the Subdivider has the right to use, and that such surface waters will be planned for in accordance with the generally accepted engineering practices required by the Town Subdivision Control Ordinance, as amended from time to time.
b. Notations. Each lot shall have a notation of minimum elevation, related to United States Coast and Geodetic Survey Datum, below which elevation no entrance into any principal use structure shall be permitted, or shall have a notation that the bottom of entrance openings into the principal use structure will be not less than eighteen (18) inches above the elevation of the top of the curb at the center of the lot or as otherwise required by the Plan Commission, to prevent stormwaters from entering the building, and not greater than twenty-four (24) inches above the elevation of the top of the curb at the center of the lot, or as otherwise permitted during the subdivision approval process by the Plan Commission and Town Engineer. For purposes of this chapter, as amended from time to time, “entrance openings” shall be defined as doors or windows.
c. Submission Requirements.
1. Final engineering drawings to be marked “For Construction,” containing the above certifications and notations shall be submitted after preliminary approval of the subdivision has been granted by the Plan Commission. Said final engineering drawings shall contain all revisions made during preliminary approval review for the subdivision and final engineering review as conducted by the Plan Commission and Town Engineer.
2. All applicable contingencies to the preliminary plat of subdivision approval shall also be noted on the final engineering drawings marked “For Construction.”
3. Three (3) sets of final engineering drawings marked “For Construction” shall be submitted to the Director of Building and Planning along with the development plans and at least thirty (30) days prior to the public hearing.
4. Failure to meet the requirements as stipulated in subsection (b)(7)c.3. above shall void the preliminary approval of the plat of subdivision unless an extension is granted by the Plan Commission.
d. Compliance Certification. Prior to the inspection of the foundation by the Town Building Commissioner, the Town of St. John shall require written certification of compliance with said elevation as set forth in subsection (b)(7)b. above by a registered land surveyor and/or professional engineer, licensed in compliance with the laws of the State of Indiana.