H-0243

AN ACT Relating to dedications; and amending RCW 58.17.040 and 58.17.165.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1. RCW 58.17.040 and 1989 c 43 s 4-123 are each amended to read as follows:

The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to:

(1) Cemeteries and other burial plots while used for that purpose;

(2) Divisions of land into lots or tracts each of which is one-one hundred twenty-eighth of a section of land or larger, or five acres or larger if the land is not capable of description as a fraction of a section of land, unless the governing authority of the city, town, or county in which the land is situated shall have adopted a subdivision ordinance requiring plat approval of such divisions: PROVIDED, That for purposes of computing the size of any lot under this item which borders on a street or road, the lot size shall be expanded to include that area which would be bounded by the center line of the road or street and the side lot lines of the lot running perpendicular to such center line;

(3) Divisions made by testamentary provisions, or the laws of descent;

(4) Divisions of land into lots or tracts classified for industrial or commercial use when the city, town, or county has approved a binding site plan for the use of the land in accordance with local regulations;

(5) A division for the purpose of lease when no residential structure other than mobile homes or travel trailers are permitted to be placed upon the land when the city, town, or county has approved a binding site plan for the use of the land in accordance with local regulations;

(6) A division made for the purpose of alteration by adjusting boundary lines, between platted or unplatted lots or both, which does not create any additional lot, tract, parcel, site, or division nor create any lot, tract, parcel, site, or division which contains insufficient area and dimension to meet minimum requirements for width and area for a building site nor adversely affect any dedication unless approved pursuant to RCW 58.17.165(2); and

(7) Divisions of land into lots or tracts if: (a) The improvements constructed or to be constructed thereon will be included in one or more condominiums or owned by an association or other legal entity in which the owners of units therein or their owners' associations have a membership or other legal or beneficial interest; (b) a city, town, or county has approved a binding site plan for all such land; and (c) the binding site plan contains thereon the following statement: "All development of the land described herein shall be in accordance with the binding site plan, as it may be amended. Upon completion, the improvements on the land shall be included in one or more condominiums or owned by an association or other legal entity in which the owners of units therein or their owners' associations have a membership or other legal or beneficial interest."

Sec. 2. RCW 58.17.165 and 1981 c 293 s 9 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Every final plat or short plat of a subdivision or short subdivision filed for record must contain a certificate giving a full and correct description of the lands divided as they appear on the plat or short plat, including a statement that the subdivision or short subdivision has been made with the free consent and in accordance with the desires of the owner or owners.

If the plat or short plat is subject to a dedication, the certificate or a separate written instrument shall contain the dedication of all streets and other areas to the public, and individual or individuals, religious society or societies or to any corporation, public or private as shown on the plat or short plat and a waiver of all claims for damages against any governmental authority which may be occasioned to the adjacent land by the established construction, drainage and maintenance of said road. Said certificate or instrument of dedication shall be signed and acknowledged before a notary public by all parties having any ownership interest in the lands subdivided and recorded as part of the final plat.

Every plat and short plat containing a dedication filed for record must be accompanied by a title report confirming that the title of the lands as described and shown on said plat is in the name of the owners signing the certificate or instrument of dedication.

An offer of dedication may include a waiver of right of direct access to any street from any property, and if the dedication is accepted, any such waiver is effective. Such waiver may be required by local authorities as a condition of approval. Roads not dedicated to the public must be clearly marked on the face of the plat. Any dedication, donation or grant as shown on the face of the plat shall be considered to all intents and purposes, as a quitclaim deed to the said donee or donees, grantee or grantees for his, her or their use for the purpose intended by the donors or grantors as aforesaid.

(2) Any redivision, replat, alteration, or other adjustment to a subdivision, short subdivision, plat, or short plat that in any way diminishes the size or changes the use of such dedication may not be approved unless the applicant provides proof of written consent from seventy-five percent of the owners of parcels benefited by such dedication. No court of general jurisdiction may as part of any relief granted in any lawsuit, whether by way of approval of any settlement or otherwise, enter any judgment which will diminish the size or change the use of such dedication unless it has received the written consent from seventy-five percent of the owners of parcels benefited by such dedication.

(3) Any subdivision, short subdivision, plat, or short plat that contains a dedication and that is duly filed for record in the proper office cannot be contradicted, impeached, or invalidated by parol or extrinsic evidence, and such evidence shall be inadmissible for purposes of determining the size or use of the dedication.