Platting

All attachments are from the Land Development Procedures Manual

AFFECTED PROJECTS

Basically projects that involve a combination of splitting land into three or more parcels and roadway construction or renovation must go through the platting process. It should be noted that there are several exemptions to this in City Ordinance Section 654.106(nn).

Being exempted from the platting process does not necessarily exempt a project from having to submit Construction Plans for Site Development. Any project that proposes only to split land into three or more parcels must submit plans for review. Any project that proposes only roadway construction or renovation must also submit plans for review.
 

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AVAILABLE DOCUMENTS

Subdivision Scenarios
Plat Bond Form
Plat Surety Bond Form
Warranty of Title

GENERAL PLAT REQUREMENTS
(for the benefit of the surveyor creating the plat)

Per Section 654.110 of the City of Jacksonville ordinance code, the plat submitted with the recording package:

• Must be prepared by a surveyor
• Must be drawn in black India ink on mylar
• Can have a scale of no more than 1"=100'
• Pages must be on 18"x26" sheets
• Must contain the following items
  • Subdivision name or identifying title and the name of the record owner
  • Primary control points approved by the Director of Public Works or description and ties to the control points, to which all dimensions, angles, bearings and similar data on the plat shall be referred
  • North point, scale, graphic scale and date; and the basis of bearing (desired grid bearing)
  • State plane coordinate references on at least two property corners
  • Tract boundary lines, right-of-way lines of streets and easements and other rights-of-way and property lines of residential dimensions, bearings or angles, and radii, arcs and central angles of all curves. Distances are to be accurate to hundredths of a foot and angles to the nearest ten seconds except where this is not feasible due to topographical boundaries
  • Location of the subdivision with respect to Section lines or a tie to a point of record if Section lines are not readily available
  • Location of all pertinent reference monuments
  • The exact names, location and width along the property lines of existing or recorded streets intersecting or paralleling the boundaries of the tract
  • The exact layout, including street and alley lines and rights-of-way; street bearings and widths (including widths along the lines of obliquely intersecting street); lengths of arcs, radii and points of curvature or chord lengths and bearings; points of tangency or nontangency intersects; easements owned by or rights-of-way provided for public utilities; and lot lines with dimensions in feet and hundredths, if feasible, and with bearings or angles. Street names shall conform to the City system and be approved through the Addressing
  • Lots numbered in accordance with F.S. § 177.091(18)
  • The accurate outline of property which is to be dedicated, reserved or proposed for public use, including easements, and property that may be reserved by covenants in deeds for the common use of the property owners in the subdivision, with the purposes indicated thereon
  • A reference to recorded subdivision plats of adjoining platted land by record book and page number and plat name, the adjacent portions of which may be shown in outline form
  • A complete legal description of the land to be subdivided.
  • A certification by the surveyor attesting to the accuracy of the survey and the legal description and that the permanent reference monuments have been established according to law and these regulations
  • Space and form for appropriate certifications and acknowledgment from the Director of Public Works and the Clerk of the Circuit Court
  • Unless this requirement is waived by the Planning and Development Department, on the face of the plat an unreserved dedication to the public of streets, highways, alleys, parks, parkways, easements, commons or other public places included within the plat
  • PSD number assigned to project by Planning and Development Department
  • Receipts for payment of filing fees.

WHERE TO SUBMIT

All plat review submissions need to be sent to:

Development Services Review Group
214 N. Hogan St., Second Floor
Jacksonville, Florida 32202.
Phone: (904) 255-8310
Fax: (904) 255-8311

SUBMISSION / REVIEW PROCESSES

Preliminary (First Submittal)

Six sets of prints of the proposed plat will need to be submitted for the preliminary or first review along with the preliminary plat filing fee and, if obtainable, an updated title certification for the property. The plat is then routed to the various review agencies.

When all reviews are finished the plat will be sent back to the surveyor for corrections. If there are no corrections needed, a plat approval letter listing what will be needed with the recording package will be included.

Final

This is identical to the preliminary plat review. The second plat submittal will need to include the final plat filing fee and, if applicable, the construction inspection fee.  The final review process will repeat until the plat is approved.

Recording Package

Once the plat has been approved, the recording package can be submitted. Many items are required with the recording package, some of which are time sensitive. Following is a list of the required items and some helpful details:

• A mylar of the proposed plat and two blue line copies
• All signature and notary sections need to be completed.
• All written and stamped information (signatures, written names, notary stamps, dates, etc.) needs to be clear and dark enough for recording.  To ensure written information is dark enough, it should be in black permanent ink. Good pens to use are technical drafting pens or fine point permanent markers. Ballpoint pens are not a good choice.  Also, stamped information may be prone to smudging or bleeding. If this happens, the mylar will need to be re-stamped before recording.
• An updated opinion-of-title or title certification letter (This is a document prepared either by an attorney or a title company showing the current status of the property being platted).
• The document needs to show the current owner or owners, any encumbrances (liens, mortgages, easement, etc.) on the property, and the last year for which the taxes have been paid.  *Note that the latest payable property taxes have to be paid before the plat can be recorded. Property taxes become payable on November 1st of each year. If the plat is not recorded before then, that year's taxes will need to be paid.
• The search date on the document needs to be within twenty days of the day the recording package is submitted. If you can not obtain an up-to-date opinion-of-title letter, you can provide an executed Warranty of Title as assurance that nothing has changes since the opinion-of-title letter was written.
• All references to the name of the plat and the owner need to match the plat exactly.
• A copy of the approved letter requesting approval of the plat bond amount.  This is typically done by the Registered Professional that designed the project and is not  required if the subdivision is complete, and the acceptance package has been submitted. (See the construction completion letter information in the next section).
• A plat bond or a construction completion letter issued by the City.
  • Plat Bond
    • This can either be a plat bond, secured by cash or an irrevocable letter of credit, or it can be a plat surety bond which is secured by an insurance company.
    • The bond needs to be for at least a year.
    • The amounts need to match the above letter submitted by the Registered Professional.
    • The references to the name of the plat and the owner need to match the plat exactly.
  • Construction Completion Letter
    • If the subdivision construction is complete and the acceptance package has been submitted and approved, the construction completion letter signed by the City Engineer or the Chief of Development Services can be provided in lieu of a plat or plat surety bond.
  • Sidewalk Bonds
    • Sidewalk bonds are no longer required. If there is common area sidewalk proposed for the development, the costs should be incorporated into the plat bond.
• A signed and sealed copy of the Concurrency Reservation Certificate for the project.  This is obtained from the CMMSO (904-255-8330).  The date on the seal needs to be within fourteen calendar days of the date the recording package is submitted.
• A copy of the receipt for the Recreation and Open Space fee if applicable.  This is required only if the subdivision has between 25 an 99 lots and the developer opted to pay the fee instead of providing the open space required by city ordinance 656.420 Recreation and Open Space Standards.
• A copy of the receipts for the various signs required by Traffic Engineering.  (See the cover sheet of the construction plans for site development for the number of signs needed).
• A copy of the plat with each sheet stamped and signed 'approved' by JEA
• A corporate or cashiers check payable to Clerk of the Circuit Court for the plat recording fee.  The Clerk's office will not take personal checks for plat recording fees.
• Copies of correspondence from JEA evidencing payment of all charges for the underground electrical distribution facilities and street light standards or a letter stating that street lights are not required
• A computer disk with the plat in AutoCAD's .DWG or .DXF format

Revisions

Once a plat has been recorded, there are two ways to handle revisions to the plat:

• The surveyor can file a Scrivener's Error with the Clerk of the Circuit Court if the revision is minor and the surveyor agrees to it. Many surveyors will not agree to this if the revision is not due to an error on their part.
   
• The revised plat can by sent through the above review and recording processes again. The revised plat would be labeled as 'replat.'

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Page Last Updated 9/27/2019