The purpose of this chapter is to provide a simplified process to divide property into nine or fewer lots, regardless of size, with a level of review and requirement that is proportional to the effect those lots may have on the surrounding area.

A.

Approval required. It is unlawful for any person to divide land so as to constitute a short subdivision within the city, or to enter into any contract for the sale or lease of any part of such land, without first complying with the relevant provisions of this title.

B.

Administration and application.

1.

Pre-application review may be required.

2.

Preliminary short plats are reviewed under a type II review consistent with RDC 18.310.070. In making an application for short subdivision approval, a prospective short subdivider must submit four copies of the proposed short plat to the city clerk.

3.

Final short plats shall be reviewed under a Type I review consistent with RDC 18.310.060.

(Ord. No. 1178, § 2(Exh. A), 2-12-2015; Ord. No. 1370, § 2(Exh. A), 9-8-2022)

A.

An application for a short subdivision may be made by an owner or owners of land, or by an authorized agent of an owner or owners, or by a representative of any governmental agency if the short subdivision is sought for a governmental purpose and such application shall be filed with the city.

B.

The prospective subdivider shall submit one original copy of all application materials and electronic copies of all materials. The application shall contain the following:

1.

The entire lot or parcel constituting the applicants land;

2.

Proposed name of the short subdivision this name shall not duplicate any name used on a recorded plat or subdivision in Clark County, including the municipalities of Clark County;

3.

Accurate and complete legal description of the proposed short subdivision;

4.

Scale, north arrow and date;

5.

Boundary lines based upon a recent land survey of the land proposed to be subdivided and boundary lines of all proposed lots and streets;

6.

Location and size of water and sewer lines utility easements: and drainage system proposed to serve the lots within the proposed short subdivision and their point of connections with existing services;

7.

Location, size, purpose and nature of existing roads, streets, rights-of-way, and easements adjacent to, or across, the land;

8.

Location of any streets, rights-of-way or easements proposed to serve the lots within the proposed short subdivision with a clear designation of their size, purpose and nature;

9.

External cross circulation and/or joint access in compliance with applicable provisions of the Ridgefield Engineering Standards.

10.

Parcels of land intended or required to be dedicated for streets, open space, or other public purposes;

11.

Contour lines at two-foot elevation intervals for slopes less than 25 percent and five-foot elevation intervals for slopes equal to or more than twenty-five percent;

12.

Accurate mapping of critical areas, including wetlands, stream corridors, slopes of fifteen to twenty-four percent, slopes of twenty-five percent and greater, floodplains and slope hazard areas;

13.

Name, mailing address and telephone number owner and/or developer and/or preparer of information;

14.

Environmental checklist, if required by RDC 18.810;

15.

Names and addresses of adjacent land owners shown on the records of the Clark County assessor located within three hundred feet of any portion of the boundary the proposed short subdivision;

16.

Modifications or variations requested, if any;

17.

Tree preservation and protection plan, meeting the submittal requirements of RDC 18.840; and

18.

Copy of the plat map reduced to fit on eight and one-half by eleven-inch paper.

(Ord. No. 1178, § 2(Exh. A), 2-12-2015; Ord. No. 1253, § 2(Exh. A), 12-7-2017; Ord. No. 1372, § 2(Exh. F), 10-13-2022; Ord. No. 1426, § 2(Exh.), 7-25-2024)

A.

The review authority shall approve a preliminary short plat if he or she finds that the following standards are satisfied by the proposed short plat:

1.

The short plat conforms with the provision of Title 18, including the zoning district standards in which the short plat is located;

2.

The short plat conforms with the RUACP;

3.

The short plat conforms with the short plat requirements of RDC 18.610;

4.

The short plat conforms with all design and improvement requirements applicable to standard subdivisions, as specified in Chapter 18.630 and the City of Ridgefield Engineering Standards for Public Works, including but not limited to, appropriate provisions for:

a.

Public health, safety and welfare,

b.

Open spaces, parks and recreation, and playgrounds,

c.

Drainage systems for stormwater retention and detention,

d.

Streets, sidewalks, alleys and other public ways, transit stops, and other features that assure safe walking conditions for students,

e.

Potable water supplies, and

f.

Sanitary waste disposal.

5.

Unbuildable portions of a short subdivision lot are protected from development through conservation easements, dedications, or other appropriate means approved by the planning director.

6.

Based upon subsections (A)(1) through (A)(5) of this section, that the public use and interest will be served and not burdened.

(Ord. No. 1178, § 2(Exh. A), 2-12-2015)

A.

An applicant may file for a final short plat within five years of the date of approval of the preliminary short plat.

B.

An applicant for a final short plat shall submit to the city clerk the requisite fee and the following information:

1.

The final short plat map, including the following:

a.

The entire lot or parcel constituting the applicant's land;

b.

Short subdivision name (if any);

c.

North arrow and scale;

d.

The taxation parcel number or numbers as assigned to the land proposed to be divided by the Clark County assessor;

e.

The names or recording numbers of any contiguous subdivisions or short subdivisions;

f.

Lot corners and lines marking the division of the land into nine or fewer lots;

g.

Location, size, purpose and nature of existing roads, streets, rights-of-way, and easements adjacent to, or across, the land;

h.

Location of any roads, rights-of-way, or easements proposed to serve the lots within the short plat with a clear designation of their size, purpose and nature, as well as street names;

i.

Tracts (if any) and the purpose of each;

j.

The acknowledged signatures of all fee simple owners and other parties having interest in the lands being subdivided as enumerated in subsections (ii)(A) and (B) below, as well as the acknowledged signatures of all owners of property over which access or utility easements pass unless such easements are previously or simultaneously recorded by separate instrument in the county auditor's office, certifying the following:

i.

In case of a short subdivision not containing a dedication:

(A)

A full and correct legal description of the land to be divided as it appears on the short plat;

(B)

A statement of free consent in substantially the following form, the reference to easements to be omitted where not applicable:

Know all men by these presents that: ________ are the fee simple owners of the land hereon described; have with their free consent and in accordance with their desires caused the same to be surveyed and short platted as shown hereon and do hereby grant and reserve the easements as shown hereon for the uses indicated hereon.

…
(Name)

…
(Name)

ii.

In the case of a short subdivision containing a dedication or easement:

(A)

A full and correct legal description of the land to be divided as it appears on the short plat;

(B)

A statement of free consent and waiver of claims for damages in substantially the following form:

DEDICATION AND WAIVER OF CLAIMS

Know all men by these presents that are the owners and all other parties having any interest in the land hereon described have with their free consent and in accordance with their desires caused the same to be surveyed and short platted as shown hereon do hereby dedicate those roads, rights-of-way or easements shown a public dedications hereon to the use of the public: do hereby waive on behalf of themselves and their successors in interest all claims for damages against the City of Ridgefield and any other governmental authority which may be occasioned to the adjacent land by the established construction, drainage and maintenance of said dedicated roads and/or rights-of-way and do hereby grant and reserve the easements as shown hereon for the uses indicated.

…
(Name)

…
(Name)

iii.

If an offer of dedication includes, or is required to include, a waiver of direct access to any street from any property, the appropriate certificate shall additionally recite said waiver;

k.

A certificate by a surveyor certifying to the accuracy of the survey and short plat in substantially the following form:

I, _______, Professional Land Surveyor, do hereby certify that the short plat as shown is based upon an actual survey in accordance with the requirements of the Survey Recording Act, that the distances, courses and angles are shown hereon correctly, and that the monuments and lot corners have been set on the ground as shown hereon.

___________
(Surveyor's Signature, seal and number);

l.

Signature blocks for the:

i.

City engineer;

ii.

Public works director;

iii.

Community development director;

iv.

Mayor;

v.

County auditor; and

vi.

County assessor.

(Ord. No. 1178, § 2(Exh. A), 2-12-2015)

A.

The review authority shall approve a final short plat if he or she finds:

1.

It complies with the decision approving the preliminary short plat;

2.

The applicant has fulfilled all conditions of approval of the preliminary short plan and the requirements of this title; and

3.

The final short plat application complies with the submittal requirements of RDC 18.610.040.

(Ord. No. 1178, § 2(Exh. A), 2-12-2015)

A.

The subdivider may, as an alternative to actual construction of required public improvements, provide a surety bond or other secure method providing for and securing to the city the actual cost of construction of required public improvements within a specified period of time and expressed in the bond or other method of security. Any bond or other method of security shall specify the improvements covered and the schedule for completion.

B.

The bond or other method of security shall be subject to approval by the city engineer prior to approval of the short plat by the administrator. In no case shall the amount of the bond or other method of security be less than one hundred twenty percent of the actual estimated cost of the improvements.

C.

All improvements to be privately improved and maintained must be fully constructed prior to approval of the final short plat.

D.

The subdivider shall comply with the bonding requirements in RDC 18.401.120.

(Ord. No. 1178, § 2(Exh. A), 2-12-2015; Ord. No. 1370, § 2(Exh. A), 9-8-2022)

Each short plat shall be filed for record by the owner in the office of the Clark County auditor. The subdivider shall be responsible for payment of all filing fees.

(Ord. No. 1178, § 2(Exh. A), 2-12-2015)

No lot within a recorded short plat shall be further divided in any manner within a period of five years without the filing of a final plat, except that when the short plat contains fewer than four parcels, nothing in this section shall prevent the owner who filed the short plat from filing an alteration within the five-year period to create up to a total of four lots within the original short plat boundaries in accordance with the requirements of this title and pursuant to RCW 58.17.060(1).

(Ord. No. 1178, § 2(Exh. A), 2-12-2015; Ord. No. 1406, § 2(Exh. A), 7-13-2023)

An approved and recorded short plat may be amended or vacated in whole or in part in a manner not involving a resubdivision by recording an amended short plat in accordance with the following provisions:

A.

The amended short plat must comply with procedures and requirements of this chapter for original short plat approval.

B.

The title of the amended short plat shall be:

"Short Plat No.___."

"Amending Short Plat No.___."

C.

The amended short plat shall show all of the land shown on the original short plat, all deleted original lot lines as dashed lines, and bear the acknowledged signatures of all current fee simple owners and contract purchasers of the affected lots within the original short plat as shown by a current title certificate.

D.

The amended short plat shall not increase the number of lots included in the original short plat.

E.

Minor errors not involving a change in lot lines may be corrected by the surveyor upon approval of the planning director by recording an affidavit with the Clark County auditor specifically referencing the short plat by number and correction.

(Ord. No. 1178, § 2(Exh. A), 2-12-2015)

Appeals of preliminary or final short plat decisions shall be filed in accordance with Chapter 18.310.

(Ord. No. 1178, § 2(Exh. A), 2-12-2015)