Signatures on Certificates for Subdivision Plats - Approved 2-5-1996 MeetingCITY OF DUBUQUE, IOWA
MEMORANDUM
February 1, 1996
TO: The Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
SUBJECT: Signatures on Certificates for Subdivision Plats
Planning Services Manage Laura Carstens is recommending affirmation of a long
standing policy that the surveyor's, owner's and attorney's signatures be
obtained by the petitioner on the plat certificates prior to submittal of the
plat for Council approval. This guarantees that the petitioner's attorney has
verified that there are no liens on the property.
I concur with the recommendation and respectfully request Mayor and City
Council approval.
U
ichael C. Van
MCVM/j
Attachment
cc: Barry Lindahl, Corporation Counsel
Tim Moerman, Assistant City Manager
Laura Carstens, Planning Services Manager
CITY OF DUBUQUE, IOWA
MEMORANDUM
January 29, 1996
TO: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
FROM: Laura Carstens, Planning Services Manager C
SUBJECT: Signatures on Certificates for Subdivision Plats
INTRODUCTION
This memo discusses the procedural options for signatures on certificates for
subdivision plats, for review and direction from the City Council.
BACKGROUND
Requiring signatures on plat certificates prior to submission of the plat for
City Council approval has been a long-standing practice. City staff would like
an affirmation that this procedure is still the preferred policy of the City
Council, or direction from City Council members as to what procedure they would
like staff to follow.
DISCUSSION
The City's unwritten policy has been that the surveyor's, owner's and attorney's
signatures are completed on plat certificates prior to the Mayor's signature.
This policy has been in effect for at least 15 years. There is no legal
requirement (State or local) that dictates the order in which certificate
sections are to be signed.
One reason to have the attorney sign before the Mayor is because this attorney
is certifying that the property being subdivided does not have a lien against it
or is otherwise encumbered. If the Mayor signs before the attorney, and
subsequently, a lien against the property is discovered, the City could be held
partly responsible if the plat was recorded and a third party was damaged in some
way.
The above scenario does not seem likely, as it is the County Recorder's
responsibility to ensure that all certificates are signed, and if the attorney
made a mistake, it may or may not be discovered prior to recording of the plat.
Requiring the attorney to sign before the Mayor does not ensure that he or she
won't make a mistake.
By requiring the subdivider or developer to get signatures of the owner, surveyor
and attorney before submission of the plat for City Council approval, the City
is adding a bureaucratic step that is not legally required. If the subdivider
fails to obtain these signatures by the established deadline, approval of the
plat will be delayed two or three weeks (until the next City Council meeting).
Prior to recording of a plat, the subdivider must have all the required
signatures on the certificates in any case. If the subdivider can get these
signatures in any order, then the City would not be in the possible position of
delaying a project due to the absence of these signatures. The burden rests with
the subdivider to get all the necessary signatures for recording the plat.
RECOMMENDATION
In summary, the City's policy to require the signatures of the surveyor, owner
and attorney before the Mayor's signature, although unwritten, has been in effect
for many years. There is no legal requirement regarding in which order
signatures are to be obtained; however, this is the preferred policy of City
staff.
I recommend that the City Council affirm that the requirement for surveyor's,
owner's and attorney's signatures on plat certificates prior to submission of the
plat for City Council approval is their preferred policy.
Upon receiving the City Council's direction in regard to the procedure for
signatures for plat certificates, I will add the procedure to our written
directions for submittal of plats, and I will inform our Roundtable mailing list
of the City Council's decision.
ACTION STEP
This memo is provided for your review and approval, as requested. Please let me
know if you have any questions or need further information.
LC/dd
cc:
Mary Davis, City Clerk
Barry Lindahl, Corporation Counsel
Mike Koch, Public Works Director