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SUBJECTS › PLANNING › Subdivisions
Published 02/07

Subdivisions

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Introduction to Regulation of Subdivisions

The subdivision of land into lots is governed in Washington State by chapter 58.17 RCW and by city and county ordinances adopted under that chapter's authority. Chapter 58.17 RCW establishes two subdivision types that are regulated differently:

  • "Subdivisions," which are defined as the "division or redivision of land into five or more lots, tracts, or parcels, sites, or divisions for the purpose of sale, lease, or transfer of ownership" (RCW 58.17.020(1)); and
  • "Short subdivisions," which are defined as the "division or redivision of land into four or fewer lots, tracts, parcels, sites, or divisions for the purpose of sale, lease, or transfer of ownership" (RCW 58.17.020(6)).

Any city or town may increase the number of lots that can be regulated as short subdivisions up to a maximum of nine. Counties planning under the Growth Management Act may do the same with respect to unincorporated land within an urban growth area.

"Plats" and "short plats" are the maps or representations of subdivisions and short subdivisions respectively that show the division of land into lots and the streets, alleys, dedications, easements, etc. RCW 58.17.020(2).

Subdivisions, other than short subdivisions, are to be regulated by cities and counties according to the procedures set out in chapter 58.17 RCW. So, local ordinances adopting subdivision procedures must conform to the procedures set out in chapter 58.17 RCW. The statutory procedures involve a two-step process for the approval of subdivisions, "preliminary plat" approval followed by "final plat" approval. Compliance with local ordinances such as those dealing with zoning, road standards, shorelines, utilities, and drainage is required for subdivision and short subdivision approval. See RCW 58.17.110.

Preliminary plats. Preliminary plat review is a quasi-judicial process that involves initial review and hearing by the city or county planning commission or agency, which then makes a recommendation to the city council or board of county commissioners or county council. RCW 58.17.100; see RCW 42.36.010 for a definition of quasi-judicial land use actions. A city or county may establish a hearing examiner system as an alternative to having a planning commission or agency hear and issue recommendations for preliminary plat approval. RCW 58.17.330. Unless the applicant requests otherwise, a preliminary plat must be processed simultaneously with applications for accompanying rezones, variances, planned unit developments, site plan approvals, and similar quasi-judicial or administrative actions to the extent that the procedural requirements for those actions allow for simultaneous processing.

Preliminary plats must be approved, disapproved, or returned to the applicant for modification within 90 days of the filing of the plat application, unless the applicant consents to an extension. RCW 58.17.140.

A city or county may not approve a preliminary plat unless the city council, board of county commissioners or county council, or hearing examiner, as the case may be, makes written findings regarding certain matters identified in RCW 58.17.110, including open spaces, drainage ways, streets or roads, alleys, other public ways, transit stops, potable water supplies, sanitary wastes, parks and recreation, and playgrounds.

Final plats. Following preliminary plat approval, the applicant has five years in which to submit the plat for final approval, though a city or county may adopt procedures for extensions of that time period. Final plat approval, which must be made by the legislative body (RCW 58.17.100), is in the nature of a ministerial, non-discretionary process; that is, if the applicant meets the terms of preliminary approval and the plan conforms with state law and local ordinances, final approval must be granted. RCW 58.17.170. There is no public hearing for a final plat approval. Among the statutory requirements for final plat approval are: recommendation for approval by the local health department or the agency that would be furnishing sewer and water; approval by the city or county engineer; a complete survey; and certification that all taxes and delinquent assessments for the property have been paid. See RCW 58.17.150; RCW 58.17.160; RCW 58.17.165. Final plats must be approved, disapproved, or returned to the applicant for modification within 30 days of the filing of the short plat application, unless the applicant consents to an extension. RCW 58.17.140.

Lots in a subdivision cannot be sold until final plat approval is obtained and the plat is recorded with the county auditor. RCW 58.17.195. Before filing with the county auditor, approved final plats must be submitted to the county assessor for "the sole purpose of assignment of parcel, tract, block and or lot numbers," if the county assessor has adopted an "assessor's plat" for the county. RCW 58.18.010. Approved final plats are "vested" with respect to the conditions of plat approval and with respect to applicable laws for a period of five years from final plat approval, except when "a change in conditions creates a serious threat to the public health or safety in the subdivision." RCW 58.17.170.

Short plats. No process is set out in state law for approval of short plats; cities and counties are required by RCW 58.17.060 to adopt by ordinance their own regulations and procedures that provide "summary approval" of short plats through an administrative process. Because it must be an administrative process, there is no public hearing for a short plat application, and the legislative body is not involved in the process. To approve a short plat, the administrative personnel assigned to review short plat applications must make the same written findings in RCW 58.17.110 that are required for plat applications. Short plats must be approved, disapproved, or returned to the applicant for modification within 30 days of the filing of the short plat application, unless the applicant consents to an extension. RCW 58.17.140. They must be filed with the county auditor and are not deemed "approved" until such filing. RCW 58.17.065. And, as with final plats, approved short plats must be submitted to the county assessor before filing with the county auditor. RCW 58.18.010. No limitation on the vesting period exists with respect to approved short plats as there is for final plats. See Noble Manor v. Pierce County, 133 Wn.2d 269, 281-82 (1997)

Exemptions. Certain land divisions are exempt from state subdivision laws. See RCW 58.17.040. These exempt divisions include burial plots, divisions into lots above a certain size, those "made by testamentary provisions, or the laws of descent," boundary line adjustments (no additional lots created), divisions for industrial or commercial use when a binding site plan is approved, divisions for leasing lots for mobile homes when a binding site plan is approved, and divisions where a portion of the property is developed as a condominium (and certain other requirements, including a binding site plan, are met).

RCW 58.17.035 authorizes cities and counties to, by ordinance, establish procedures for use of a binding site plan as an alternative to the subdivision process for the divisions identified in RCW 58.17.040 that require approval of a binding site plan to be exempt.

Reference Sources

Documents

City Regulations

County Regulations

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