Platting – Subdividing the Land Surface – Subdivision Process – Development Process

Fragmenting Space – Real Property Units

Organization of Space

Organization of Behavior

LawPublic Policy Landscape

Evaluation

The Nature of Landscape

GoodsServiceArtifacts

LegislationRegulation

Judicial Opinions

Landownership comprises

A. A spatial unit • Legal description• Jurisdiction

A. A behavioral unit – legal rights in that unit possessed

• By individuals• By corporations• By governments

Both of these attributes have evolved over time Some make no "sense" in the current setting They can only be appreciated with reference to an appropriate historical setting

Subdivision PlatTownship

Section

A Context

Land System

Native American Land Cessions

Public Land Surveys

Public Land Conveyances

Legal System

Northwest Territory

Michigan Territory

Wisconsin Territory

Landowners Minnesota Territory

Landowners in Minnesota

Township Plats

Me

Plats

A particular type of map showing actual or planned divisions of the land surfaceinto streets and building lots.

Shows the division of the land and features of the surface relevant to any use of the land – existing rights – pipeline easement, drainage easement – and the topography – hills, wetlands

The first plats showed how deputy surveyors employed by the federal government subdivided the surface into townships and sections

Google Earth General Land Office Townships

County Surveyors in Minnesota

“in restoring lost or obliterated government corners, the county surveyor shall follow the rules established by or pursuant to acts of Congress, and all such surveys shall be made in strict conformity to the original survey made by the United States” 389.04

“county boards shall procure and file with the county recorders of their respective counties certified copies of the original plats and field notes of the United States surveys” 389.05

“When the county board determines that the monuments established by the United States in the public lands survey to mark section, quarter section, and meander corners have been destroyed or are becoming obscure, it may employ a licensed surveyor to preserve, restore and mark the corners with a durable magnetic monument” 381.12

Later plats showed how counties allow this basic division to be further subdivided into blocks with streets, sidewalks, alleys and lots

In order for plats to become valid, a local governing body - in Minnesota a county surveyor - must review and approve them

Plats (Minnesota Statutes)Plats and Coordinate Surveys (Minnesota Statutes Chapter 505)

Modern Section 31 T28N R22W

Modern Corners

Me

Subdivision Plat shows the division of land into lots and blocks, and may dedicate lands for public use

Manual of Guidelines for Platting in Minnesota

A common interest community plat shows the division of land for condominium, planned communities, and co-op purposes

Minnesota Statutes Chapter 515 , 515A, 515B

Common Interest Community Plat Manual

Registered land survey is a survey performed to identify registered (Torrens) land Minnesota Statutes Chapter 508 – must be used for

registered land - can be used for Abstract land

Ramsey County's Manual of Minimum Guidelines for Subdivision Plats (2007 draft)

Abstract Land (Recorder)

Title – ownership interests – evidenced by an abstract of the documents that link the present owner with all past owners

Registered Land – Torrens (Registrar)

Title – ownership interests – evidenced by a certificate of title issued by the District Court

County surveyors are responsible for maintaining the original corner monuments set by the deputies during the

Minnesota Statutes 383D.65 and 389.09 give the County Surveyor the authority to review and approve plats created unde rMS 505 and Common Interest Community (CIC) 515B, and 508 which creates Registered Land Surveys (RLS)

Under Minnesota Statute 389.09 county surveyor must approve Subdivision Plats,

Registered Land Surveys (RLS), and Common Interest Community (CIC) Plats before they can be recorded

All plats must be prepared by a land surveyor licensed to practice in the State of Minnesota - Minnesota Statute 505, 515, 515A, 515B, and 508.46-7

Hennepin County Survey Division

Instructions for making plats may be found in Hennepin County's manuals for new subdivisions plats and CIC's

All plats adjoining a county road must be reviewed by the Transportation Department

The Platting Process in Hennepin

Minimum Plat Submittal RequirementsThe Plat Review ProcessRecording a Subdivision Plat in Hennepin County

Ramsey County Surveyor’s Office

Survey History

• Subdivision Plats• Registered Land Surveys• Ramsey County's Manual of Minimum Guidelines for Subdivision Plats• Common Interests Community Plats

Recorded Plats and RLSHalf-Section Maps

Ramsey County CoordinatesGISRamsey County Section Township Range Map

Dakota County Surveyor

Dakota County Plat Commission - The Contiguous Plat Ordinance No. 108 relates to plats and surveys in Dakota County on property contiguous with any existing or proposed county road, pursuant to Laws of Minnesota, 1973, Chapter 416, codified at Minnesota Statute 383D.65

The County Surveyor serves as the Secretary of the Plat Commission, which reviews all plats adjoining county roads

Dakota County PLS Control MapDakota Home & Property• Plats & Surveys – RLS Checking• Plat & CIC Checking• Plat Manuals• Plat Recording Policy

Goodhue County Plats and MapsDouglas County Public Works, County Surveyor and GIS DivisionCarver County Surveyor• GIS Mapping Applications• Plat MapsWashington County Survey and Land Management Division

Platting land in St Paul (City of St. Paul)

Auditor’s Plat

Not formal subdivision In order to more easily identify existing parcels of real estate, Minnesota County

Auditors sometimes employ a surveyor to draw a map of those existing parcels and give them a lot number designation simply for ease of reference in accounting for real estate taxes

Those shorthand lot numbers are often used later by property owners to describe their property

In spite of the fact that these plats are not formal, legal subdivisions, these maps are a source of information for determining lot sizes, location and dimensions of the real estate contained in them

They also make it much easier to describe a parcel than is the case when relying on the longer, metes and bounds, description from which the lots or parcels contained in the Auditor's Plat originally came

My Property in Sunfish Lake

Dakota County PLS Control Map & Breakdowns

Dakota County Standard Property Map Locator

Monuments Around my Property

Section 31 Township 28 North Range 22 West 4th PM

North ½ Section 31 Township 28 North Range 22 West 4th PM

South ½ Section 31 Township 28 North Range 22 West 4th PM

S1/2 Section 12 T 28N R22W 4th PM

40 acres

40 acres

SW1/4 of SE1/4 Section 12

1

2

3

4

5

Beth Heights

Beth Height First Addition

Pipeline Easement

Highway Easement

Highway Easement – Linwood Avenue

Pipeline Easement