Platting – Subdividing the Land Surface – Subdivision Process
– Development Process
Fragmenting Space – Real Property Units
The Nature of Landscape
Legislation
Regulation
Judicial Opinions
Organization of Space
Law
Public Policy
Goods
Service
Artifacts
Landscape
Organization of Behavior
Evaluation
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
Section
Township
Subdivision Plat
A Context
Land System
Legal System
Native American Land Cessions
Northwest Territory
Michigan Territory
Public Land Surveys
Public Land Conveyances
Landowners
Wisconsin Territory
Minnesota Territory
Landowners in Minnesota
Township Plats
Me
Plats
A particular type of map showing actual or planned divisions of the land surface
into 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)
Registered Land – Torrens (Registrar)
Title – ownership interests – evidenced
by an abstract of the documents that link
the present owner with all past owners
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 Requirements
The Plat Review Process
Recording 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 RLS
Half-Section Maps
Ramsey County Coordinates
GIS
Ramsey 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 Map
Dakota Home & Property
• Plats & Surveys – RLS Checking
• Plat & CIC Checking
• Plat Manuals
• Plat Recording Policy
Goodhue County Plats and Maps
Douglas County Public Works, County Surveyor and GIS Division
Carver County Surveyor
• GIS Mapping Applications
• Plat Maps
Washington 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
2
1
4
5
3
Beth Heights
Beth Height First Addition
Pipeline Easement
Highway Easement
Highway Easement – Linwood Avenue
Pipeline Easement