§ 152.080. Improvements.

(A)

The subdivider shall improve, or agree in writing to improve, all public and private roads, pathways, trails, and easements and to install other improvements required by this chapter as are necessary for the benefit of the lot owners in the land division or subdivision and the surrounding community.

(B)

Improvement work, including grading, shall not be commenced until improvement plans and specifications have been approved by the Town Engineer. Improvements shall be installed in accordance with the approved plans and specifications to permanent lines and grades to the satisfaction of the Town Engineer. All work shall be completed under his/her supervision and shall be subject to such inspections as he/she deems necessary to protect the interests of the Town. The costs of the inspections shall be borne by the subdivider.

(1)

Improvement plans.

(a)

The subdivider shall submit to the Town Engineer a complete set of plans and profiles on suitable material, pencil or ink, size 24 inches by 36 inches, to a scale of one-inch equals 40 feet to one inch equals ten feet, with all necessary details and specifications. Improvement plans shall be prepared by a registered civil engineer who shall sign and seal each sheet of the plans. After the approval and signature of the plans by the Town Engineer, three sets of prints and one set of duplicate tracings shall be delivered to the Town Engineer for his/her use.

(b)

The subdivider may install such improvements before the parcel map or final map is recorded. If the work is completed in the absence of an improvement agreement, the subdivider shall use a licensed contractor, supply evidence of Workers' Compensation Insurance, and supply evidence of public liability and property damage insurance, naming the Town as an additional insured to the limits normally required in an improvement agreement. The insurance certificates shall be approved by the Town Attorney prior to the commencement of the work.

(2)

Completion. A complete "as built" improvement plan shall be filed as a permanent record of the Town upon the completion of the required improvements. Upon the acceptance of the "as built" plans, the Town Engineer shall recommend formal acceptance by the Council when he/she is satisfied that the improvements have been installed in conformance with the standards of this chapter. After formal acceptance by the Council, a notice of completion will be recorded by the Town Engineer.

(3)

Guarantees. The subdivider shall guarantee the completed work and the improvements and shall make or agree to make the necessary repairs or modifications for damages resulting from storms, erosion, or landslides and to correct errors in the design or construction for a minimum of one year after the date of completion, except as otherwise provided in this chapter. The subdivider shall also guarantee the maintenance of all private roads within the land division or subdivision until a majority of the lots have been sold.

(4)

Building permits. No building permit shall be issued for any lot until all required improvements have been completed.

(5)

Improvement security. The subdivider shall file with the Town Clerk a faithful performance bond, cash deposit, or other improvement security in the amount deemed sufficient by the Town Engineer to cover all costs of the improvements, engineering, inspection fees, inflation, and incidental expenses. The subdivider shall also cover by bond or other improvement security laborers and materialmen in the amount of 100 percent of the amount of the estimated costs of the improvements. Such security shall be one of the following at the option of the subdivider and subject to the approval of the Town.

(a)

A bond or bonds by one or more duly authorized corporate sureties;

(b)

A cash deposit, either with the Town or a responsible escrow agent or trust company; or

(c)

An instrument of credit from one or more financial institutions subject to regulation by the state or federal government pledging that the funds necessary to carry out the act or agreement are on deposit and guaranteed for payment.

(6)

Forfeiture of surety. In the event the subdivider shall fail to complete all improvement work, and the Town shall have to complete such work, or if the subdivider shall fail to reimburse the Town for the costs of inspection, engineering fees, and incidental expenses, the Town shall call on the surety for reimbursement or shall appropriate funds for reimbursement from any cash deposit or improvement security. In any event, if the amount of the bond, cash deposit, or improvement security exceeds all the costs and expenses incurred by the Town, the remainder shall be released to the subdivider, and if the amount of the bond or other improvement security is less than the costs and expenses incurred by the Town, the subdivider shall be liable to the Town for the difference.

(7)

Release of surety. No extension of time, progress payment from a cash deposit, or release of a surety bond, cash deposit, or improvement security shall be made, except upon certification by the Town Engineer that the work covered by the security has been satisfactorily completed and upon the approval of the Council.

(8)

Improvement agreements. In the event the improvements required have not been made at the time the parcel map or final map is filed with the Council, the subdivider shall execute and file with the Town Clerk an agreement between himself and the Town specifying the period within which he/she shall complete all improvements and work. The agreement shall be in a form prescribed by the Town Attorney and shall be based on improvement plans signed by the Town Engineer. The agreement shall also prescribe that the subdivider shall repair any damage to a public road or any other public or private property or improvement which results from or is incidental to the construction of improvements in the subdivision or that, in lieu of making such repairs, the subdivider shall pay to the owner or to the Town the full cost thereof. The subdivider shall also file with the Town Clerk at the same time a faithful performance bond and labor and materialmen bond or other improvement security as set forth in subsection (5) of this division.

(9)

Improvement agreements: extensions of time.

(a)

If a subdivider requests an extension of time in which to comply with the requirements of an improvement agreement, the amount of the improvement agreement security will be adjusted to reflect current inflation upon the recommendation of the Town Engineer.

(b)

If a subdivider begins grading or any other construction on the property on which improvements are to be constructed as required by an improvement agreement, and is thereafter unable to complete such construction within the time set out therein, and requests an extension of time in which to complete such improvements, the Town will suffer damages, the actual amount of which would be extremely difficult or impractical to ascertain. Therefore, each subdivider entering into a subdivision improvement agreement with the Town shall deposit with the Town cash in an amount to be recommended by the Town Engineer, such amount being a reasonable estimate of the Town's damages, and, upon the granting of an extension of time in which to complete the improvements required by an improvement agreement after the subdivider has begun grading on the property for the required improvements, the Town, at its election, may retain such deposit as its sole right to damages.

(1975 Code, § 9-1.515) (Ord. 1982-305, effective 4-8-82; Am. Ord. 1983-310, effective 7-14-83)

Cross reference

Penalty, see § 152.999.