STEP 1

First contact the Planning Department to determine if a preliminary consultation regarding the requirements of the Subdivision Regulations is necessary. The preliminary consultation is intended to provide you with an opportunity to resolve problems in subdividing early in the proceedings.

Your consultation does not require a formal application fee or filing of a plat, but you need to develop a sketch plan to include the following information:

• A proposed layout of the streets, lots and other elements basic to the proposed use in relationship to site conditions; and
• A proposed method for sewage collection, storm drainage, water supply and other utilities.

You may want to contact a surveyor or engineer to assist you at this stage; however, it is not a requirement for a preliminary consultation.

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STEP 2

Now you should contact a surveyor or engineer licensed by the State of Maryland to prepare a plat of the property where you intend to build or subdivide. A plat is a map, plan, chart or drawing indicating the subdivision or resubdivision of land intended to be filed for record in the Land Records for Washington County.

If you are proposing to subdivide your land without the intention to develop, your surveyor or engineer will need to prepare a Simplified Plat instead of a Preliminary Plat. Examples of subdivisions not for development purposes are as follows: acquisition of additional acreage solely for property enlargement; a conveyance for acquisition purposes only; readjustment of property and/or correction of deed discrepancies; and conveyance of an existing structure for residential purposes only.

You will find a list of surveyors and engineers in the Washington County Yellow Pages. Your surveyor or engineer should be quite familiar with the requirements of the Subdivision Regulations and will be in a position to act on your behalf on the various steps needed for the preliminary and then the final approval.

Your plat should be prepared to include all information required by the Subdivision Regulations so that both preliminary and final approval may be granted at one time.

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STEP 3

Preliminary Plat Procedures

The staff of the Department of Planning for the City serves as the administrative agency for processing all subdivision applications and submitting them to the Hagerstown Planning Commission for formal review and action.

With the exception of simplified plats, all subdivision applications, Preliminary and Final Plats, and related data, submitted to the Department on or before the first working day of a particular month are placed on the Planning Commission's agenda for its regular monthly meeting of that same month. In order to assure adequate time for review, submissions received and accepted by the Department after the first working day of a month appear on the Commission's agenda for the first meeting following completion of the review by all affected departments or agencies.

The Preliminary Plat should be drawn at a scale of one (1) inch equals fifty (50) feet or one (1) inch equals one hundred (100) feet and may be of one or more sheets as necessary. The Preliminary Plat should strictly follow the drafting standards described in the Subdivision Regulations and include existing information, as well as propose a layout of the subdivision. Details are described in the Subdivision Regulations which is available at the Planning Department for a fee.

The applicant submits the required number of copies of the Preliminary Plat, along with a Subdivision Application, checklist, and filing fee.

The Department compares the submission against the Checklist. If the submission is incomplete, the Department immediately returns the submission to the applicant indicating any deficiencies. If submission is complete, the Department accepts the Preliminary Plat, Subdivision Application, and filing fee.

Upon acceptance of a complete Subdivision submission, the Department immediately prepares a Case File and assigns a case number. The Department then distributes one copy of the Plat and application to all applicable review agencies for review and comment. Each department or agency shall be allowed a maximum of two weeks to reply to the Planning Department, and if a response is not received within the two-week period, the Department will contact the review agency for comments or concurrence with the subdivision plat as submitted.

The Planning Commission shall proceed in the following manner with respect to all submissions appearing on its regular monthly meeting agenda:

• Formally receive and review the applicant's submission.
• Receive and review comments of the departments and agencies, including the recommendations of the Department of Planning.
• Hear applicant's presentation (if present).
• Evaluate applicant's submission, presentation, the comments of the departments and agencies and the recommendation of the Planning Department.
• Determine whether the Preliminary Plat complies with the Zoning Ordinance and meets the objectives of the Comprehensive Development Plan, and other relevant codes, regulations and ordinances.
• Act either to approve, conditionally approve, or disapprove the Preliminary Plat within 60 days following formal receipt of the Plat by the Commission.

Approval of the Preliminary Plat shall be noted by the chairman of the Commission signing two copies of the Plat. One copy is to be returned to the applicant and the second retained in the Commission's files.

If the Commission disapproves the Preliminary Plat, it shall set forth the reasons for disapproval in its records and provide the applicant with written notification of such reasons, along with one copy of the Preliminary Plat.

Conditional approval of a Preliminary Plat shall be noted by the Chairman of the Commission signing two copies of said Plat. All conditions or modifications necessary to satisfy the requirements of the Subdivision Regulations prior to the submission of the Final Plat shall likewise be noted on the Preliminary Plat or appropriately attached. One copy is to be returned to the applicant and the second retained in the Commission's files.

The Planning Department notifies the applicant in writing of the Commission's decision including the reasons for disapproval and any conditions or modifications required by the Commission.

Preliminary Plat approval is valid for a maximum period of one year. Unless an acceptable Final Plat is submitted in the form specified in the Subdivision Regulations and received by the Commission within one year from the date of Preliminary Plat approval, the preliminary approval shall be void and the applicant will be required to resubmit a new Preliminary Plat and Subdivision Application form.

Where provision has been made for staged development in connection with Preliminary Plat approval, including time limitations for each stage, one-year maximum period for Final Plat submission shall only apply to the portions of the subdivision agreed upon by the Commission within that time frame.

Final Plat Procedures

The applicant prepares the Final Plat on a reproducible linen or other acceptable transparency in accordance with the plat dimensions specified in the Subdivision Regulations.

Where provision has been made for staged development in connection with Preliminary Plat approval, the developer may submit a Final Plat for only the portion of the approved Preliminary Plat which he proposes to record and develop at that time.

The Planning Commission will proceed in the following manner with respect to all Final Plat submissions appearing on its regular monthly meeting agenda:

Formally receive and review the applicant's submission.

Evaluate the applicant's submission, presentation, and the Planning Department's recommendation.

Determine whether the Final Plat complies with the Subdivision Regulations, conditions and modifications imposed by the Planning Commission pursuant to Conditional Preliminary Plat approval and other applicable regulations, codes and ordinances.

Act to approve the Final Plat, if all requirements of the Subdivision Regulations have been complied with.

After the Final Plat is approved by the Commission, such approval is noted by the signing of the Certificate of Approval by the Chairman of the Commission on the Final Plat. The Final Plat and one copy of the print shall be returned to the applicant and one retained for the Commission's files.

The applicant, engineer, or surveyor immediately records the Final Plat with the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Washington County. This is normally done by the applicant's surveyor or engineer.

The applicant, engineer, or surveyor then submits to the Department a reproducible Final Plat as signed by the Planning Commission Chairman with proof of recordation along with four black or blue line prints of the recorded plat.

The Department then compares the reproducible Final Plat as recorded with the Commission's file copy for any discrepancies and then submit the original reproducible Final Plat to the City Engineer for his permanent file.

If there are any additions, deletions or alterations in the original reproducible Final Plat, as recorded, when compared to the Planning Commission's file copy (except for markings incidental to recording), approval of the Final Plat shall be void. The applicant, City Engineer, City Attorney, City Building Inspector, and the Clerk of the Court shall be notified and requested to take appropriate action.

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STEP 4

Contact the Department of Engineering & Inspections, Third Floor, City Hall, when you are ready to apply for a Building Permit.

Specific requirements for all of the plats are included in the Development Review Checklist, which is based on the Subdivision Regulations.

The Planning Department Fee Schedule and Planning Department Fee Worksheet will help you to calculate the fees required for each plat

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For more information, please email planningr@hagerstownmd.org.