AN ACT Relating to the platting of real property; amending RCW 58.17.205 and 58.17.255; and reenacting and amending RCW 58.17.040 and 58.17.060.

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

Sec. 1. Section 12, chapter 293, Laws of 1981 and RCW 58.17.205 are each amended to read as follows:

If performance of an offer or agreement to sell, lease, or otherwise transfer a lot, tract, or parcel of land following preliminary plat approval is expressly conditioned on the recording of the final plat containing the lot, tract, or parcel under this chapter, the offer or agreement is not subject to RCW 58.17.200 or 58.17.300 and does not violate any provision of this chapter. If performance of an offer or agreement to sell or otherwise transfer ownership of a lot, tract, or parcel of land is expressly conditioned upon final approval of a short plat containing the lot, tract, or parcel under this chapter and local regulations adopted pursuant thereto, the offer or agreement is not subject to RCW 58.17.300 and does not violate any provision of this chapter. All payments on account of an offer or agreement conditioned as provided in this section shall be deposited in an escrow or other regulated trust account and no disbursement to sellers shall be permitted until the final plat is recorded or the short plat is approved, as the case may be.

Sec. 2. Section 2, chapter 121, Laws of 1983 as amended by section 1, chapter 108, Laws of 1987 and by section 1, chapter 354, Laws of 1987 and RCW 58.17.040 are each reenacted and 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; ((~~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; and

(8) A conveyance of land to the United States, the state of Washington, or any city, county, or town within the state of Washington where the transferor reasonably believes that the transferee intends to use the land for public roadways or utility purposes.

Sec. 3. Section 6, chapter 271, Laws of 1969 ex. sess. as last amended by section 1, chapter 92, Laws of 1987 and by section 5, chapter 354, Laws of 1987 and RCW 58.17.060 are each reenacted and 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 alteration or vacation thereof. When an alteration or vacation involves a public dedication, the alteration or vacation shall be processed as provided in RCW 58.17.212 or 58.17.215. 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, may create additional exemptions from the application of this chapter to short subdivisions and authorize administrative officers to grant exemptions for individual applications, both where such exemptions are consistent with the purposes and policies of this chapter, 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, except that when the short plat contains fewer than four parcels, nothing in this section shall prevent the owner who filed the short plat from filing an alteration within the five-year period to create up to a total of four lots within the original short plat boundaries: 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.

Sec. 4. Section 6, chapter 354, Laws of 1987 and RCW 58.17.255 are each amended 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.