Gainesville › Unified Land Development Code

Article 11 — Subdivisions and Land Development, Chapter 11-13 — FINAL PLATS

current as of 2025-12-16verified current · checked 2026-08-24Officialofficial source ↗11 sections · full chapter

§ 11-13-1

Final Plat Approval Required

The purpose of this chapter is to ensure compliance with the legal recording requirements of subdivisions and the proper installation of all required public or private improvements through the submittal of a final plat.

§ 11-13-2

Conformance with Preliminary Plat

The final subdivision plat shall conform substantially to the preliminary subdivision plat and may constitute only that portion of the approved preliminary subdivision plat that the owner proposes to record at any one time, provided that such portion conforms to the requirements of this article and Code.

§ 11-13-3

Responsibilities

The property owner is responsible for compliance with all requirements of this article and Code.

Approval of a final subdivision plat and acceptance of the public improvements and dedications therein shall not relieve the owner of that responsibility.

§ 11-13-4

Installation of Improvements

Prior to submission of an application for final subdivision plat approval, all public and private improvements shall have been properly installed and completed in accordance with all requirements and standards of this article and Code (except traffic signs, street name signs, street striping, and signalization, the responsibility for which is with the City).

§ 11-13-5

Final Plat Specifications

A final plat shall be prepared by a registered land surveyor. In addition, if the subdivision involves public dedications of improvements, the final plat shall be approved and stamped by a professional engineer.

The final subdivision plat shall be drawn on an appropriate material and sheet size, and using minimum line weights and letter heights as required by state law for the recordation of maps and plats (O.C.G.A. 15-6-67, as amended), and as acceptable to the clerk of the superior court.

The final combination, retracement, and subdivision plat shall meet the following specifications:

(a)All data required by state law pertaining to the recordation of maps and plats (O.C.G.A. 15-6-67, as amended).

(b)Name of the subdivision and street names.

(c)Name of the former subdivision if any or all of the property has been previously subdivided.

(d)Location map.

(e)Reference to north point (magnetic, true north, or grid north).

(f)Graphic scale.

(g)Total acreage of the property being subdivided.

(h)Names of owners of record of all abutting land and deed/plat book references.

(i)Lot lines with dimensions to the 1/10 -foot, necessary internal angles, arcs, and chords and tangent or radii of rounded corner.

(j)Building setback lines (front, side, rear, and build-to lines) with dimensions as to length across each lot and distance from the street right-of-way.

(k)Lots or sites numbered in numerical order and blocks lettered alphabetically.

(l)Location, dimensions and purpose of all easements, including slope easements, if required, and any areas to be reserved, donated, or dedicated to public use.

(1)Utility easements. Whenever it is necessary or desirable to locate a utility line outside of the street right-of-way, the line shall be located in an easement dedicated to the city for such purpose. The easement shall be no less than 20 feet wide for water and 30 feet wide for sewer, or as otherwise acceptable to the Department of Water Resources.

(2)Water course and drainage easements. A publicly dedicated stormwater easement or drainage easement is to be provided along any drainage channel, stream, stormwater conveyance, detention facility or surface water impoundment within a development. The easement is to be substantially centered on the stream, stormwater channel or conveyance, or below-ground stormwater facility. The drainage easement should surround the detention facility or surface water impoundment. All easements shall be as described in this article or as otherwise acceptable to the city.

(m)The location and size of all utility lines.

(n)Designated tree save areas.

(o)A listing of the private covenants recorded with each lot or a statement of the location of such covenants, if applicable.

(p)The extent of any area of special flood hazard, as defined in this code, and any wetlands protection overlay zones/buffers and required stream buffers shall be delineated and labeled.

(q)Conditions of zoning, special use, or other approval by the city.

(r)Acreage to be dedicated to the public, or as privately maintained (common area, roads, etc.).

(s)A surveyor's certificate and owner's certificate, as provided in this paragraph. In addition, the original final subdivision plat drawing shall bear the original signature, in black ink, of the registered land surveyor placed across the surveyor's seal in order to be valid and recordable.

(t)Owners certificate, as provided in this code section, if applicable.

SURVEYOR’S CERTIFICATE It is hereby certified that this plat is true and correct and was prepared from an actual survey of the property by me or under my supervision; that all monuments shown thereon actually exist.

By (name): ________________________________ Registered Georgia Land Surveyor No. __________ Address: __________________________________ Telephone Number: _________________________ Date: _____________________________________ OWNER’S CERTIFICATE State of Georgia County of Hall The undersigned certifies that he or she is the owner and subdivider of the land shown on this plat and that the plat and the public and private improvements contained therein or associated therewith meet all applicable requirements and standards of the Gainesville Unified Land Development Code. The owner further acknowledges this plat and allotment to be his free act and deed, and dedicates to the Public forever all areas shown or indicated on this plat as public streets, public easements or other public use areas, and all water system, sewerage and other public improvements (hereinafter “facilities”). However, the City of Gainesville will not take ownership and maintenance of these facilities until such time as the undersigned petitions for and the Governing Body of the City of Gainesville accepts the dedication and acceptance of the facilities as provided in Section 11-13-11 of the Gainesville Unified Land Development Code and provided a maintenance bond as required in Section 11-12-9 and Section 11-12-10.

Owner’s name: _____________________________ Owner’s address: ___________________________ ____________________________ Date_________ (Owner’s signature)

(u)Plat recording and signature block for the Clerk of Superior Court.

§ 11-13-6

Final Plat Application Requirements

Applications for final plat approval shall include the following:

(a)Application. A properly completed application requesting review for project approval of the final plat.

(b)Copies of plats. An electronic copy of the final subdivision plat meeting final plat specifications of this chapter.

(c)Fees. Payment of all application and review fees, as established from time to time by the governing body.

(d)Payment for materials and installations. Payment to the city for materials and installation of traffic signs and street name signs. Payment of the cost of street striping or signalization, if required and not completed by the owner, shall also be included in the application.

(e)Financial guarantee of improvements. A maintenance bond, providing for the maintenance of all facilities required by this article and Code in the subdivision, shall be submitted which shall be valid for a period of 24 months following the date of approval of the final plat. If approved by the Director of Public Works, an alternative financial guarantee of improvements may be accepted, such as one of the following:

(1)An escrow of funds with the city.

(2)An escrow upon which the city can draw with a bank or financial institution in good standing authorized to do business in the state.

(3)An irrevocable letter of commitment or credit, from a bank in good standing authorized to do business in the state, upon which the city can draw.

(4)A performance bond for the benefit of the city upon which the city can collect.

(5)A certificate of deposit with assignment letter from the subdivider and a bank in good standing authorized to do business in the state.

§ 11-13-7

Review and Approval Process

The Director of Community and Economic Development, or their designee, is responsible for administering the review and approval process for final subdivision plats, which shall not be inconsistent with the provisions of this chapter. The procedures of this section may be supplemented by the Director of Community and Economic Development where additional specification is required.

(a)Review for completeness and application acceptance. The Community and Economic Development Department shall review the application for completeness at the time of submission. Incomplete applications will be returned to the applicant.

(b)Distribution and agency review of final plat. The Community and Economic Development Department shall route the plans to other city departments as may be appropriate, as well as any county departments such as Public Works for any development on a county road or Environmental Health if a septic system is proposed.

(c)Time period for completion of review. Within two weeks following distribution of the final plat, each reviewing agency shall provide comments to the applicant. Once all reviews have been completed and all comments received, revised plans can be provided by the applicant. Each reviewing agency will have one week to review and provide any additional comments on such revisions. This process will be repeated until all comments by reviewing agencies have been addressed. The Director of Community and Economic Development shall have sole authority to determine the applicability of any provisions of this Code to the final plat.

(d)Action. When the Community and Economic Development Department has determined that the final subdivision plat complies with the requirements, purpose and intent of this article and Code, it shall be approved and a copy of said approval shall be provided to the applicant.

§ 11-13-8

Recording of Final Plat

Once the final subdivision plat has been approval, it shall be recorded by the applicant with the clerk of the superior court. The applicant shall provide the Community and Economic Development Department with one electronic copy of the recorded final subdivision plat.

Recordation of a final plat constitutes approval to begin the sale or transfer of subdivision lots.

After recording, the reproducible copy may omit the stamp and seal of the registered land surveyor or the professional engineer, or both, upon request.

§ 11-13-9

Distribution of Recorded Final Plat

(a)The final plat is a source of essential information to tax officials, public safety officials, and utility officials, among others. The Director of Community and Economic Development or designee shall be responsible for ensuring that each applicable agency listed in this section receives a copy of the final recorded plat with addresses assigned by the addressing department, unless that function is done by another city department:

(1)The Hall County tax commissioner.

(2)The Hall County tax assessor.

(3)The Hall County environmental health department.

(4)The city police department.

(5)The city fire department.

(6)The city building inspector.

(7)The city Public Works Director.

(8)The city Water Resources Director.

(9)The Unites States Postal Service (local postmaster).

(b)At the discretion of the Director of Community and Economic Development, additional agencies or persons may be added to the above list.

§ 11-13-10

Amendments to Final Plat Approval

The application requirements and procedures for amending final plats shall be the same as for preliminary plat applications in Section 11-4-6, except that any amendment to an approved final plat must be recorded in accordance with Section 11-13-8.

§ 11-13-11

Dedication of Public Streets and Acceptance of Public

Improvements

(a)Petition for public acceptance. At any date after 12 months has passed since the date of final plat approval, the subdivider may petition in writing to the Director of Public Works for the governing body to accept public streets and other dedications, in whole or in part, within the subdivision. Said improvements shall not be accepted for maintenance until approved by the governing body.

(b)Completion of improvements. If construction of any required public improvements was authorized by the Director of Public Works to be deferred at the time of final plat approval, said work shall have been completed during the one-year maintenance period for the subdivision.

(c)Final inspection. The Public Works Department shall conduct a final acceptance inspection of the public improvements and facilities within 30 days of receipt of the letter requesting acceptance.

(d)Correction of deficiencies. The owner shall correct all defects or deficiencies in materials or workmanship and make such repairs as necessary to approximate the as-built condition of the improvements.

(e)Public acceptance. Upon certification by the Public Works Director that the public improvements and facilities depicted on the as-built surveys are in conformance with the specifications of this article and the Code and are in good repair, the governing body shall determine whether to accept the public improvements and facilities into perpetual maintenance by the city.

(f)Warranty deed. Subdivision streets and rights-of-way and other lands and facilities to be dedicated to the public shall be accepted by the city only upon the delivery to the governing body of a general warranty deed conveying fee simple title of such rights-of-way and lands. The warranty deed shall be accompanied by a certificate of title and a tax transfer form addressed to the governing body, certifying that the grantor in such deed is vested with marketable fee simple title to the property conveyed thereby, free and clear of all liens and encumbrances, and further that the individual executing such deed has full authority to do so.

(g)Release of bond. Upon certification by the Public Works Director that the public improvements and facilities depicted on the final plat are in conformance with the specifications of this article and the Code and are in good repair, and at any date after 24 months has passed since the date of final plat approval, the governing body may release the maintenance bond.