Division 50.5. Pre-Preliminary Submissions

A. Filing. Before a subdivider submits a preliminary plan, the subdivider may seek advice on limited aspects of a future subdivision plan from the Planning Department Staff, the Development Review Committee, or the Board as appropriate, or seek a binding decision from the Board. The Applicant must file a pre-preliminary submission and applicable supporting information, together with an application form and fee under Section 4.1.A.

B. The drawing. A pre-preliminary drawing must contain the location of the property and sufficient information concerning the issue on which advice or a decision is requested. The drawing may include, but is not limited to:

1. the generalized layout of the subdivision;

2. the location and classification of roads, public rights-of-way, existing and proposed easements, and dedications of land;

3. the method of controlling erosion, sediment, and stormwater;

4. the relationship to existing or planned subdivisions;

5. the provisions for water and sewerage; and

6. any other features or information the applicant chooses to submit.

A. Referral. Application processing and referral of the plan must satisfy Sections 4.1.D and 4.2.A.

B. Hearing date. The Board must schedule a public hearing to begin within 90 days after the date an application is accepted. The Director may postpone the public hearing once, by up to 30 days, without Board approval. The Director or applicant may request an extension beyond the original 30 days with Board approval. Any extension of the public hearing must be noticed and on the Board’s hearing agenda with the new public hearing date indicated.

C. Action on a pre-preliminary submission. At the applicant’s discretion, action on a pre-preliminary plan may be either advisory if only reviewed by the Development Review Committee or binding if reviewed by the Board.

1. Advisory. The Development Review Committee must provide recommendations on the pre-preliminary plan on the day of the scheduled committee meeting. Planning Department Staff must transmit the recommendations provided by agencies outside of the committee meeting to the applicant when they are received.

2. Binding.

a. After receiving the recommendations of the public agencies and the advice of the Development Review Committee, the Planning Department Staff must present the application to the Board, together with its recommendations for approval, disapproval, or approval with conditions. The Board must act to:

i. approve the pre-preliminary submission;

ii. disapprove it, stating in writing the reasons for disapproval; or

iii. approve it, subject to such conditions or modifications as the Board finds necessary. Approval of any feature of a pre-preliminary submission does not limit the ability of the Board to impose further conditions at the time of preliminary plan on features not included in the Board’s binding decision.

3. Modification of preliminary plan procedures after pre-preliminary submission approval.

a. A subdivider must file an application for a preliminary plan within 90 days after the date of mailing of the Board resolution for the pre-preliminary plan; otherwise, the approval will expire.

b. The procedures in Sections 4.1 and 4.2 are modified as follows:

i. the preliminary plan application must contain the statement of the Board’s action on the pre-preliminary application;

ii. in their review of the preliminary plan under Section 4.2, the agencies to which the preliminary plan is referred and the Planning Department Staff must not recommend changes or modifications to the binding pre-preliminary decision made by the Board, unless requested in writing by the applicant or unless the applicant substantially changes some feature of the approved pre-preliminary submission. The Board must review any conditions imposed as part of the Board’s binding decision to determine that the preliminary plan satisfied those conditions; and

iii. the Board, in its review of the preliminary plan, must consider only those features of the preliminary plan that are not in conformity with the conditions imposed by the Board in the pre-preliminary application review, plus any features not considered or acted upon in that review.