00 SENATE CS FOR CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 17(RES) 01 "An Act establishing the Department of Natural Resources as the platting 02 authority in certain areas of the state; relating to subdivisions and dedications; 03 and providing for an effective date." 04 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 * Section 1. PURPOSE. The purposes of this Act are to provide the public with an 06 improved mechanism for the recording of plats for subdivisions and to ensure that provision 07 has been made for access to those subdivisions. This Act is not intended to provide the state 08 with any authority to establish engineering or other standards for subdivisions beyond those 09 expressly set out in this Act. 10 * Sec. 2. AS 19.30.320(4) is amended to read: 11  (4) "subdivision" has the meaning given in  AS 40.15.900  12 [AS 40.15.290]. 13 * Sec. 3. AS 29.03.030 is amended to read: 14  Sec. 29.03.030. Platting authority. The [SUBJECT TO AS 40.15.075, THE] 01 Department of Natural Resources is the platting authority for the state except within 02 a municipality that has the power of land use regulation and that is exercising 03 platting authority  [IN THE UNORGANIZED BOROUGH IN THE AREA OUTSIDE 04 ALL CITIES]. 05  * Sec. 4. AS 34.65.100 is amended by adding a new paragraph to read: 06  (6) "subdivision" has the meaning given in AS 40.15.900. 07 * Sec. 5. AS 38.04.910 is amended by adding a new paragraph to read: 08  (13) "subdivision" has the meaning given in AS 40.15.900. 09 * Sec. 6. AS 40.15.010 is amended to read: 10  Sec. 40.15.010. Approval, filing, and recording of subdivisions. Before the 11 lots or tracts of any subdivision or dedication may be sold or offered for sale, the 12 subdivision or dedication shall be approved by [SUBMITTED FOR APPROVAL TO] 13 the authority having jurisdiction, as prescribed in this chapter and [. THE REGULAR 14 APPROVAL OF THE AUTHORITY SHALL BE SHOWN ON IT OR ATTACHED 15 TO IT AND THE SUBDIVISION OR DEDICATION] shall be filed and recorded in 16 the office of the recorder. The recorder may not accept a subdivision or dedication for 17 filing and recording unless it shows this approval. [IF NO PLATTING AUTHORITY 18 EXISTS AS PROVIDED IN AS 40.15.070 AND 40.15.075, LAND MAY BE SOLD 19 WITHOUT APPROVAL.] 20  * Sec. 7. AS 40.15.070 is amended to read: 21  Sec. 40.15.070. Platting authority. If land proposed to be subdivided or 22 dedicated is situated within a municipality that has the power of land use regulation 23 and that is exercising platting authority  [FIRST OR SECOND CLASS BOROUGH], 24 the proposed subdivision or dedication shall be submitted to the municipal platting 25 authority  [BOROUGH PLANNING COMMISSION] for approval. [IF THE LAND 26 IS SITUATED WITHIN A CITY IN THE UNORGANIZED BOROUGH OR THE 27 THIRD CLASS BOROUGH, THE PROPOSED SUBDIVISION OR DEDICATION 28 SHALL BE SUBMITTED TO THE CITY PLANNING COMMISSION FOR 29 APPROVAL. THE BOROUGH PLANNING COMMISSION IS THE PLATTING 30 AUTHORITY FOR THE FIRST OR SECOND CLASS BOROUGH, THE CITY 31 PLANNING COMMISSION IS THE PLATTING AUTHORITY FOR THE CITY, 01 AND THE DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES IS THE PLATTING 02 AUTHORITY IN THE REMAINING AREAS OF THE STATE AND THIRD CLASS 03 BOROUGH FOR THE CHANGE OR VACATION OF EXISTING PLATS OR A 04 PORTION OF SUCH PLATS, AS PROVIDED IN AS 40.15.075. IF THE 05 BOROUGH OR THE CITY DOES NOT HAVE A PLANNING COMMISSION, THE 06 BOROUGH ASSEMBLY OR THE CITY GOVERNING BODY, RESPECTIVELY, 07 IS THE PLATTING AUTHORITY AND THE PROPOSED SUBDIVISION OR 08 DEDICATION SHALL BE SUBMITTED TO IT.] A subdivision may not be filed and 09 recorded until it is approved by the platting authority. 10  * Sec. 8. AS 40.15.070 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 11  (b) The Department of Natural Resources is the platting authority in the areas 12 of the state not described in (a) of this section. 13  * Sec. 9. AS 40.15.200 is amended to read: 14  Sec. 40.15.200. Application to state and political subdivisions. All 15 subdivisions of land made by the state, its agencies, instrumentalities ,  and political 16 subdivisions are subject to the provisions of AS 40.15.010 - 40.15.200  [THIS 17 CHAPTER] and AS 29.40.070 - 29.40.160, or home rule ordinances or regulations 18 governing subdivisions, and shall comply with ordinances and other local regulations 19 adopted under AS 40.15.010 - 40.15.200 [THIS CHAPTER] and AS 29.40.070 - 20 29.40.160 or former AS 29.33.150 - 29.33.240, or under home rule authority, in the 21 same manner and to the same extent as subdivisions made by other landowners. 22  * Sec. 10. AS 40.15 is amended by adding new sections to read: 23 Article 4. Platting in Areas Outside Certain Municipalities. 24  Sec. 40.15.300. Purposes of AS 40.15.300 - 40.15.380. The purposes of 25 AS 40.15.300 - 40.15.380 are to provide the public with an improved mechanism for 26 the recording of plats for subdivisions in areas of the state identified in 27 AS 40.15.305(a) and to ensure that provision has been made for access to those 28 subdivisions. AS 40.15.300 - 40.15.380 are not intended to provide the state with any 29 authority to establish engineering or other standards for subdivisions beyond those 30 expressly set out in AS 40.15.300 - 40.15.380. 31  Sec. 40.15.305. Examination of plats before recording. (a) The 01 commissioner shall exercise the platting authority for the state except within a 02 municipality that has the power of land use regulation and that is exercising platting 03 authority. 04  (b) The commissioner shall review and approve each plat under 05 AS 40.15.300 - 40.15.380 before the plat is recorded under AS 40.17. The approval 06 by the commissioner shall be affixed to the plat in the form of the following statement: 07 PLAT APPROVAL 08 This plat is approved by the commissioner of natural resources, 09 or the commissioner's designee, in accordance with AS 40.15. 10  11 Commissioner Date 12  (c) The recorder may not accept for filing and recording a plat for which the 13 commissioner's approval is required under this section without the approval of the 14 commissioner endorsed on the plat. 15  (d) Within 45 days after a plat is filed, the commissioner shall approve the plat 16 or return it to the applicant for modification or correction. Unless the applicant for 17 plat approval consents to an extension of time, the plat is approved and a certificate 18 of approval shall be issued by the commissioner if the commissioner fails to act within 19 that period. The commissioner shall state in writing reasons for disapproval of a plat. 20  (e) A recorded plat may not be altered or replatted except on petition of the 21 state, a municipality, a public utility, or the owner of a majority of the land affected 22 by the proposed alteration or replat. The petition shall be filed with the commissioner 23 and shall be accompanied by a copy of the existing plat showing the proposed 24 alteration or replat. The provisions of AS 29.40.130 and 29.40.140(a) apply to an 25 alteration or replat submitted under this subsection. The provisions of (d) of this 26 section do not apply to an alteration or replat petition, but the commissioner shall state 27 in writing reasons for disapproval of the petition. 28  (f) In the case of a vacation of a street, right-of-way, or other public area, the 29 provisions of AS 29.40.140(b) and 29.40.160(a) and (b) apply. When applying these 30 provisions to land outside a municipality, the word "municipality" should be read as 31 "state" when the context requires. 01  (g) Notwithstanding another provision of AS 40.15.300 - 40.15.380, the 02 commissioner shall approve, without review under AS 40.15.300 - 40.15.380, a plat 03 under AS 38.04.045 that consists solely of land owned by the state. The commissioner 04 may not charge a fee for the approval under this subsection. 05  Sec. 40.15.310. Requirements for plat approval. (a) Each plat must show 06 on its face a certificate of ownership, with the names and addresses of each owner 07 listed. Each owner of record shall sign the certificate, and the signatures shall be 08 acknowledged. 09  (b) The surveyor preparing the plat shall sign and affix the seal of the 10 surveyor. 11  Sec. 40.15.320. Monuments. (a) In a subdivision with five or fewer lots, the 12 existence of at least a 5/8 inch by 24 inch rebar and cap monument at controlling 13 exterior corners of the subdivision shall be established by the surveyor. 14  (b) In a subdivision of more than five lots, each interior corner shall be 15 monumented with at least a 5/8 inch by 24 inch rebar and cap. 16  (c) If a monument of record does not lie on the parcel or tract boundary, the 17 plat shall reflect a boundary survey and tie to a monument of record. 18  Sec. 40.15.330. Plat standards. The commissioner shall establish plat 19 standards by regulation. 20  Sec. 40.15.340. Engineering standards. Except for subdivisions of state land, 21 the commissioner may not establish engineering standards for subdivisions. 22  Sec. 40.15.350. Certified copy of plat as evidence. A copy of a plat certified 23 by the recorder of the recording district in which it is filed or recorded as a true and 24 complete copy of the original filed or recorded in the recording office for the district 25 is admissible in evidence in all courts in the state with the same effect as the original. 26  Sec. 40.15.360. Applicability. The provisions of AS 40.15.300 - 40.15.380 27 do not apply to maps, site plans, or other graphic representations prepared for 28  (1) the purpose of transferring a leasehold interest; the extraction of 29 natural resources; or solely for the issuance of licenses or permits; or 30  (2) disposing of land by aliquot part descriptions of 40 acres or more 31 within surveyed sections provided that the least aliquot part unit shall be not less than 01 a 1/4 1/4 section. 02  Sec. 40.15.370. Regulations. The commissioner may adopt regulations to 03 implement the provisions of AS 40.15.300 - 40.15.380, but only those that are 04 necessary and that are in accordance with the purposes stated in AS 40.15.300. 05  Sec. 40.15.380. Applicability to governmental bodies; right-of-way 06 acquisition plats. (a) Except as provided in this section and AS 40.15.300(g), 07 AS 40.15.300 - 40.15.380 apply to the state, its agencies, instrumentalities, and 08 political subdivisions in the same manner and to the same extent that they apply to 09 other landowners. 10  (b) A plat for a subdivision created by the acquisition by the state, its agencies, 11 instrumentalities, or political subdivisions, of a right-of-way, airport parcel, or land for 12 a similar public purpose in an area outside a municipality that has the power of land 13 use regulation and that is exercising platting authority, is subject only to the approval 14 provisions of this section and any provision of AS 40.15.300 - 40.15.380 not in 15 conflict with this section. 16  (c) A right-of-way acquisition plat must contain the 17  (1) location and name of the acquisition project; 18  (2) approximate timetable for the acquisition and construction; 19  (3) dimensions and area of the proposed tract, parcel, or parcels to be 20 acquired and the remainder of the parcel or parcels; 21  (4) name of the record owner or owners of the subject parcels; 22  (5) signature and seal of the surveyor preparing the plat. 23  (d) The commissioner shall review each right-of-way acquisition plat for 24 compliance with this section. If the plat does not meet the requirements of this 25 section, it shall be returned to the submitting agency with an explanation of the 26 deficiencies. A plat for which the commissioner's approval is required under 27 AS 40.15.305 may not be recorded under AS 40.17 without the commissioner's 28 approval endorsed on the plat. 29  (e) After approval by the commissioner, the original plat shall be filed with 30 the appropriate district recorder within 30 days by the submitting agency. 31  (f) The minimum monumentation requirements for 01  (1) right-of-way acquisition subdivisions are a 5/8 inch by 24 inch 02 reinforcement bar with appropriate identification cap set points from which the right- 03 of-way may be defined, not exceeding 1,320 feet or, when line of sight permits, 2,640 feet; 04 all recovered monumented property corners of records, the lines of which are intersected by 05 a right-of-way acquisition, shall be monumented as part of the right-of- 06 way plat, either on the right-of-way line or at the original monument position; 07  (2) an airport parcel and land for a similar public purpose subdivision 08 not defined by centerline shall be as provided in AS 40.15.320. 09  (g) If construction of improvements is scheduled to follow the right-of-way 10 acquisition, the placement of the centerline monuments may be delayed until the 11 improvements have been completed, in which case a statement designating the 12 schedule for placing the monuments must be included on the plat. 13  (h) The state, its agencies, instrumentalities, or political subdivisions may 14 acquire or obtain conveyances, including dedication of lots or tracts of a right-of-way 15 acquisition plat, before submittal of a right-of-way acquisition plat for approval by the 16 commissioner. A right-of-way acquisition conveyance may be recorded before 17 approval and recording of the right-of-way acquisition plat. 18 Article 5. General Provisions. 19  Sec. 40.15.900. Definitions. In this chapter, 20  (1) "commissioner" means the commissioner of natural resources; 21  (2) "monument" means a fixed physical object marking a point on the 22 surface of the earth used to commence or control a survey or to establish a lot corner; 23  (3) "plat" means a map or delineated representation of a tract or parcel 24 of land showing the subdivision of land into lots, blocks, streets, or other divisions; 25  (4) "street" means an access way in common use including all of the 26 land lying within a dedicated right-of-way as delineated on a plat showing streets, 27 whether improved or unimproved; 28  (5) "subdivision" 29  (A) means the division of a tract or parcel of land into two or 30 more lots by the landowner or by the creation of public access, excluding 31 common carrier and public utility access; 01  (B) does not include cadastral plats or cadastral control plats 02 created by or on behalf of the United States Department of the Interior, Bureau 03 of Land Management, regardless of whether these plats include easements or 04 other public dedications; 05  (6) "surveyor" means an individual licensed to practice land surveying 06 in the state under AS 08.48. 07 * Sec. 11. AS 46.03.900 is amended by adding a new paragraph to read: 08  (36) "subdivision" has the meaning given in AS 40.15.900. 09  * Sec. 12. AS 40.15.075 and 40.15.290 are repealed. 10  * Sec. 13. AS 40.15.330 and 40.15.370, added in sec. 10 of this Act, take effect 11 immediately under AS 01.10.070(c).