AN ACT Relating to the administrative approval of plats; amending RCW 58.17.040 and 58.17.060; adding a new section to chapter 58.17 RCW; and repealing RCW 58.11.010, 58.11.020, 58.11.030, 58.11.040, 58.11.050, 58.12.010, 58.12.020, 58.12.030, 58.12.040, 58.12.050, 58.12.060, 58.12.065, 58.12.070, and 58.12.080.

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

Sec. 1. Section 2, chapter 121, Laws of 1983 and RCW 58.17.040 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 ((~~governing body of the~~)) city, town, or county has approved a binding site plan for the use of the land in accordance with local regulations((: PROVIDED, That when a binding site plan authorizes a sale or other transfer of ownership of a lot, parcel, or tract, the binding site plan shall be filed for record in the county auditor's office on each lot, parcel, or tract created pursuant to the binding site plan: PROVIDED FURTHER, That the binding site plan and all of its requirements shall be legally enforceable on the purchaser or other person acquiring ownership of the lot, parcel, or tract: AND PROVIDED FURTHER, That sale or transfer of such a lot, parcel, or tract in violation of the binding site plan, or without obtaining binding site plan approval, shall be considered a violation of chapter 58.17 RCW and shall be restrained by injunctive action and be illegal as provided in chapter 58.17 RCW));

(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 ((~~governing body of 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; and

(7) A division which is made by subjecting a portion of a parcel or tract of land to chapter 64.32 RCW if a city, town, or county has approved a binding site plan for all of such land.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 58.17 RCW to read as follows:

A city, town, or county may adopt by ordinance procedures for the divisions of land by use of a binding site plan as an alternative to the procedures required by this chapter. The ordinance shall be limited and only apply to one or more of the following: (1) The use of a binding site plan to divisions for sale or lease of commercially or industrially zoned property as provided in RCW 58.17.040(4); (2) divisions of property for lease as provided for in RCW 58.17.040(5); and (3) divisions of property as provided for in RCW 58.17.040(7). Such ordinance may apply the same or different requirements and procedures to each of the three types of divisions and shall provide for the alteration or vacation of the binding site plan, and may provide for the administrative approval of the binding site plan.

The ordinance shall provide that after approval of the general binding site plan for industrial or commercial divisions subject to a binding site plan, the approval for improvements and finalization of specific individual commercial or industrial lots shall be done by administrative approval.

The binding site plan, after approval, and/or when specific lots are administratively approved, shall be filed with the county auditor with a record of survey. Lots, parcels, or tracts created through the binding site plan procedure shall be legal lots of record. The number of lots, tracts, parcels, sites, or divisions shall not exceed the number of lots allowed by the local zoning ordinances.

All provisions, conditions, and requirements of the binding site plan shall be legally enforceable on the purchaser or any other person acquiring a lease or other ownership interest of any lot, parcel, or tract created pursuant to the binding site plan.

Any sale, transfer, or lease of any lot, tract, or parcel created pursuant to the binding site plan, that does not conform to the requirements of the binding site plan or without binding site plan approval, shall be considered a violation of chapter 58.17 RCW and shall be restrained by injunctive action and be illegal as provided in chapter 58.17 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 58.17 RCW to read as follows:

Whenever any person is interested in the vacation of any subdivision or portion thereof, or any area designated or dedicated for public use, that person shall file an application for vacation with the legislative authority of the city, town, or county in which the subdivision is located. The application shall set forth the reasons for vacation and shall contain signatures of all parties having an ownership interest in that portion of the subdivision subject to vacation. If the subdivision is subject to restrictive covenants which were filed at the time of the approval of the subdivision, and the application for vacation would result in the violation of a covenant, the application shall contain an agreement signed by all parties subject to the covenants providing that the parties agree to terminate or alter the relevant covenants to accomplish the purpose of the vacation of the subdivision or portion thereof.

When the vacation application is specifically for a county road or city or town street, the procedures for road vacation or street vacation in chapter 36.87 or 35.79 RCW shall be utilized for the road or street vacation. When the application is for the vacation of the plat together with the roads and/or streets, the procedure for vacation in this section shall be used, but vacations of streets may not be made that are prohibited under RCW 35.79.030, and vacations of roads may not be made that are prohibited under RCW 36.87.130.

The legislative authority of the city, town, or county shall give notice as provided in RCW 58.17.080 and 58.17.090 and shall conduct a public hearing on the application for a vacation and may approve or deny the application for vacation of the subdivision after determining the public use and interest to be served by the vacation of the subdivision. If any portion of the land contained in the subdivision was dedicated to the public for public use or benefit, such land, if not deeded to the city, town, or county, shall be deeded to the city, town, or county unless the legislative authority shall set forth findings that the public use would not be served in retaining title to those lands.

Title to the vacated property shall vest with the rightful owner as shown in the county records. If the vacated land is land that was dedicated to the public, for public use other than a road or street, and the legislative authority has found that retaining title to the land is not in the public interest, title thereto shall vest with the person or persons owning the property on each side thereof, as determined by the legislative authority. When the road or street that is to be vacated was contained wholly within the subdivision and is part of the boundary of the subdivision, title to the vacated road or street shall vest with the owner or owners of property contained within the vacated subdivision.

This section shall not be construed as applying to the vacation of any plat of state granted-tide or shore lands.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A new section is added to chapter 58.17 RCW to read as follows:

When any person is interested in the alteration of any subdivision or the altering of any portion thereof, except as provided in RCW 58.17.040(6), that person shall submit an application to request the alteration to the legislative authority of the city, town, or county where the subdivision is located. The application shall contain the signatures of the majority of those persons having an ownership interest of lots, tracts, parcels, sites, or divisions in the subject subdivision or portion to be altered. If the subdivision is subject to restrictive covenants which were filed at the time of the approval of the subdivision, and the application for alteration would result in the violation of a covenant, the application shall contain an agreement signed by all parties subject to the covenants providing that the parties agree to terminate or alter the relevant covenants to accomplish the purpose of the alteration of the subdivision or portion thereof.

Upon receipt of an application for alteration, the legislative body shall provide notice of the application to all owners of property within the subdivision, and as provided for in RCW 58.17.080 and 58.17.090. The notice shall either establish a date for a public hearing or provide that a hearing may be requested by a person receiving notice within fourteen days of receipt of the notice.

The legislative body shall determine the public use and interest in the proposed alteration and may deny or approve the application for alteration. If any land within the alteration is part of an assessment district, any outstanding assessments shall be equitably divided and levied against the remaining lots, parcels, or tracts, or be levied equitably on the lots resulting from the alteration. If any land within the alteration contains a dedication to the general use of persons residing within the subdivision, such land may be altered and divided equitably between the adjacent properties.

After approval of the alteration, the legislative body shall order the applicant to produce a revised drawing of the approved alteration of the final plat or short plat, which after signature of the legislative authority, shall be filed with the county auditor to become the lawful plat of the property.

This section shall not be construed as applying to the alteration or replatting of any plat of state-granted tide or shore lands.

Sec. 5. Section 6, chapter 271, Laws of 1969 ex. sess. as amended by section 3, chapter 134, Laws of 1974 ex. sess. and RCW 58.17.060 are each amended to read as follows:

The legislative body of a city, town, or county shall adopt regulations and procedures, and appoint administrative personnel for the summary approval of short plats and short subdivisions((~~, or revision thereof~~)) or alteration or vacation thereof. When an alteration or vacation involves a public dedication, the alteration or vacation shall be processed as provided in section 3 or 4 of this 1987 act. Such regulations shall be adopted by ordinance and may contain wholly different requirements than those governing the approval of preliminary and final plats of subdivisions and may require surveys and monumentations and shall require filing of a short plat, or alteration or vacation thereof, for record in the office of the county auditor: PROVIDED, That such regulations must contain a requirement that land in short subdivisions may not be further divided in any manner within a period of five years without the filing of a final plat: PROVIDED FURTHER, That such regulations are not required to contain a penalty clause as provided in RCW 36.32.120 and may provide for wholly injunctive relief.

An ordinance requiring a survey shall require that the survey be completed and filed with the application for approval of the short subdivision.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. A new section is added to chapter 58.17 RCW to read as follows:

Whenever a survey of a proposed subdivision or short subdivision reveals a discrepancy, the discrepancy shall be noted on the face of the final plat or short plat. Any discrepancy shall be disclosed in a title report prepared by a title insurer and issued after the filing of the final plat or short plat. As used in this section, "discrepancy" means: (1) A boundary hiatus; (2) an overlapping boundary; or (3) a physical appurtenance, which indicates encroachment, lines of possession, or conflict of title.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. A new section is added to chapter 58.17 RCW to read as follows:

Any hearing required by section 3 or 4 of this act or RCW 58.17.060 may be administered by a hearings examiner as provided in RCW 58.17.330.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. The following acts or parts of acts are each repealed:

(1) Section 1, chapter 114, Laws of 1953 and RCW 58.11.010;

(2) Section 2, page 27, Laws of 1857, section 2, page 432, Laws of 1862, section 2, page 410, Laws of 1869, section 2334, Code of 1881 and RCW 58.11.020;

(3) Section 3, page 27, Laws of 1857, section 3, page 433, Laws of 1862, section 3, page 410, Laws of 1869, section 2335, Code of 1881 and RCW 58.11.030;

(4) Section 2336, Code of 1881 and RCW 58.11.040;

(5) Section 5, page 28, Laws of 1857, section 5, page 433, Laws of 1862, section 5, page 411, Laws of 1869, section 2337, Code of 1881 and RCW 58.11.050;

(6) Section 1, chapter 92, Laws of 1903, section 1, chapter 139, Laws of 1927 and RCW 58.12.010;

(7) Section 2, chapter 92, Laws of 1903 and RCW 58.12.020;

(8) Section 3, chapter 92, Laws of 1903 and RCW 58.12.030;

(9) Section 4, chapter 92, Laws of 1903 and RCW 58.12.040;

(10) Section 5, chapter 92, Laws of 1903 and RCW 58.12.050;

(11) Section 6, chapter 92, Laws of 1903, section 1, chapter 136, Laws of 1909 and RCW 58.12.060;

(12) Section 7, chapter 92, Laws of 1903 and RCW 58.12.065;

(13) Section 8, chapter 92, Laws of 1903 and RCW 58.12.070; and

(14) Section 9, chapter 92, Laws of 1903 and RCW 58.12.080.