Preliminary Plat
Submittal of a preliminary plat and a related request for sewer and water allocation is intended to give the Town specific information about the proposed subdivision before any improvements are made. Preliminary plat will follow the following steps in review and approval:
Administrate Review
Once the preliminary plat is submitted it will be reviewed by the Development Review staff The review of the preliminary plat will take a maximum of 21 calendar days to which a review report will faxed to the primary contact listed on the application form. The development review staff will be looking primarily concerning the improvements proposed and the effect that these improvements will have on the Town. The staff will be reviewing the proposed preliminary plat to insure that it is in compliance with the Town ordinances, development standards and adopted plans or policies. The plat may also be reviewed by others outside the development review staff, including Federal, State, local agencies, or others, as the Planning Department considers appropriate. Any problems will be reported to the applicant, so that corrections can be made on the proposed plat before it is submitted to the Planning Board.
Planning Board Review
At their next available regularly scheduled monthly meeting the Planning Board will then review the proposed preliminary plat. The Planning Board will make a recommendation to the Town Board, to approve the preliminary plat, approved the preliminary plat subject with modifications or conditions, or disapproved the preliminary plat. The applicant is encouraged to attend the meeting and may be granted an opportunity to speak if requested by the Planning Board. The applicant will be notified in writing of the Planning Board's decision.
Town Board Review and Approval
The Planning Staff will present the preliminary plat and request for sewer and water allocation along with the Planning Board's recommendation to the Town Board. The Town Board may approve the preliminary plat, approve the preliminary plat with conditions or disapprove the preliminary plat. If the Board approves the subdivision the applicant may then submit construction drawing plans for review. If the Board approves with conditions, the applicant shall include the Board's conditions in the development process. If the Board disapproves the subdivision it shall notify the applicant in writing of the reasons for denial, and advise the applicant to resubmit the preliminary plat to the Town and start the process over. From the date of approval by the Town Board, the applicant has one (1) year to submit construction drawings to maintain an approved sewer and water allocation. Once the construction drawings are approved the applicant has one year to install the approved water and sewer to maintain the approved utility allocation. The preliminary plat is valid for one (1) year, after which time the approved plat and is no longer valid and the process of preliminary plan approval would start over.
Construction Plans
If the preliminary plat is approved, the applicant may submit, at any time, the required sets of construction plans (also known as construction drawings) to the Planning Department. These plans should be designed according to any conditions placed on the subdivision by the Town Board; showing all improvements required and adheres to the Town ordinances, adopted plans or policies and Town's Standards Specification and Construction Details Manual. Once the construction plans are submitted it will follow a review schedule by the Town's Development Review Committee (DRC) which membership consist of town staff from several Town Departments. The DRC will be reviewing the proposed preliminary plat to insure that it is in compliance with the Town ordinances, development standards and adopted plans or policies. The plan may also be review by other Town staff outside the DRC, Federal, State or local agencies, or others, as the Planning Department considers appropriate. The DRC will review the construction plans and determine either to approve the plans or recommend revisions. The Planning staff will inform the applicant of all recommend revisions, and the applicant shall address these revisions before the plans can be approved. The construction plans process may go through several reviews and re-submittals before final approval. Special studies may be required as part of this process.
Final Plat
Once the preliminary subdivision plan has been approved by the Town; construction plans have also been approved; and the installation of all improvements (utilities, streets, curb and gutter, sidewalks, landscaping and other related improvements) in accordance to the approved plans have been completed, the developer or owner may submit the final plat map for review and signature by the Town. The Wake County Register of Deeds will not record the plat map until the Town has signed the map. The following procedure and information is required by the Town to prepare the final plant map for recording:
Submit three (3) paper copies of the final plat map to the Planning Department for review. The final plat map must contain all information related to the phase or phases to be recorded with gross acres for each phase; identify each lot with metes and bounds and include acreage or square feet, building envelope setbacks and lot number; right-of-way dedication; utility and greenway easements as required; delineated wetlands, 100 year floodplain boundaries, riparian buffers and flood hazard soils; required plat certifications and any conditions or restrictions specific to the approved preliminary subdivision plan and construction plan. The final plat map must be tied to NC Grid Datum.
The Town will assign street addresses for each lot shown on the final plat map.
The Town will calculate fees, which are based on the cost for water and sewer for each residential unit of the phase(s) submitted on the final plat map. The Town will require the dedication of recreation land or a payment in lieu of dedication that is paid at thus time also. The fees must be paid in full to the Town (Planning Department) prior to the Town signing the final plat map.
Submit two (2) paper copies of the As Builts to the Planning Department for review. The As Builts must be field verified for all installed construction including sanitary sewer and water lines (with cross reference by distance to valves, manholes, water meters and cleanout locations), streets, catch basins, curb and gutter, sidewalks, fire hydrants, constructed elevations of top and inverts for sanitary sewer and storm drainage, easements, rights-of-way dedication and landscaping if part of the approved construction plans. The Town will not sign the final plat map until As Builts have been approved and one (1) set of mylar, (1) set of paper and (1) digital (.dwg or .dxf - format for CAD) As Builts has been submitted to the Town.
The Town will return one (1) redlined paper copy of the final plat map and one (1) paper copy of the As builts plan to the developer, owner or designated representative. The final plat map must be adjusted based on any comments from the Town and the same will be done for the As Builts.
Submit mylar(s) of the final plat map and one (1) set of mylar As Builds to the Planning Department. The mylar(s) must be signed by the surveyor and the property owner prior to the Town signing the final plat map.
The Public Works Department will be notified to conduct a field inspection for all improvements (streets and utilities) that are associated with the final plat map. Once the Public Works Department has completed their inspection, a punch list will be provided identifying any deficiencies that need to be corrected. In most cases, the deficiencies can be corrected during the one (1) year warranty for the streets and utilities, however at times there may be specific deficiencies that must be corrected prior to the Town signing the final plat map. The punch list and specific corrections that need immediate attention will be submitted to the developer or owner to address. If there are deficiencies that need immediate attention, the Town will not sign the final plat map until the corrections are made and approved by the Public Works Department.
The Town is under contract with Wake County to provide services for erosion and sedimentation control. The developer is responsible to contact Wake County Environmental Services to communicate to them that a final plat map has been submitted to the Town for recording. If the County has issues that need to be addressed this must be done prior to the Town signing the final plat map. Additionally, the Town must receive a Certificate of Compliance from Wake County in order for the Town to sign the map.
Submit copies of the State Certification for water and sanitary sewer to the Engineering Department, which must be signed and sealed by the engineer who designed the utility system.
If the streets are to be maintained by the NC Department of Transportation the proper certification on the map must be signed by NCDOT before the Town will sign the final plat map.
With all procedures and information completed above, the Town will sign the final plat map and notify the developer, owner or their designee to pick up the mylar(s) for recording at the Wake County Register of Deeds.
Submit seven (7) paper copies of the recorded plat map to the Planning Department. The Town will not issue any building permits until the recorded plat map is received by the Town.
Bonds and Irrevocable Letters of Credit
If all the improvements have not been installed the developer or owner may submit a request to the Town to accept a bond or irrevocable letter of credit for the unfinished improvements. The Town will not accept a bond or irrevocable letter of credit for utilities; however the Town will consider streets, curb and gutter, sidewalks and landscaping. The engineer of record for the project must submit a cost estimate of all unfinished improvements with unit cost and quantities to the Planning Department. The Planning Department will forward the estimate to the Town Engineer for review. Once the Town Engineer has approved the cost estimate the developer or owner will be notified to submit a bond or irrevocable letter of credit in the amount of the cost estimate plus ten percent (10%). The bond or irrevocable letter of credit must be submitted to the Planning Department before the Town will sign the final plat map. Also, the one (1) year warranty for the improvements will not begin until the bond or irrevocable letter of credit is released by the Town.
One year warranty
The one (1) year warranty is required by the Town to ensure that the improvements meet material and workmanship standards. Any deficiencies that occurred during the one (1) year warranty are the responsibility of the developer or owner to repair. A final inspection is required. It is the developer/owners' responsibility to notify the Town Public Works Department prior to the end of the warranty (60 days is requested) to setup the end of warranty inspection. The developer or owner will be notified of all deficiencies that must be corrected prior to the Town taking over the maintenance of the improvements. The Town will provide the developer or owner with a written notification that the Town has accepted maintenance of the improvements.
Download Major Subdivision Applications:
>> Preliminary Subdivision Application
>> Recreation Land Dedication or Fee-In-Lieu Payment Request
>> Wake County Public School System Notification Request
>> Utility Allocation Request
>> Construction Drawings Application
>> Final Subdivision Plat Application
>> Plat Certificates
