2016 Indiana Code TITLE 36. LOCAL GOVERNMENT ARTICLE 7. PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 3. PLATTING AND VACATION OF REAL PROPERTY
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IC 36-7-3
Chapter 3. Platting and Vacation of Real Property
IC 36-7-3-0.1
Application of certain amendments to chapter
Sec. 0.1. The amendments made to sections 1, 2, 10, 11, and 16 of
this chapter by P.L.220-1986 do not affect a proposal initiated before
September 1, 1986, to amend, repeal, or otherwise change a
comprehensive plan or zoning ordinance under IC 36-7-4. Such a
proposal may be considered, adopted, and approved under the
statutes in effect before September 1, 1986, as if P.L.220-1986 had
not been enacted.
As added by P.L.220-2011, SEC.657.
IC 36-7-3-1
Application of chapter
Sec. 1. (a) Section 2 of this chapter applies only to areas subject
to the jurisdiction of no plan commission under this article.
(b) Sections 3 through 9 of this chapter apply only to:
(1) areas subject to the jurisdiction of an advisory plan
commission under this article; and
(2) areas subject to the jurisdiction of no plan commission
under this article.
(c) Sections 10, 14, and 16 of this chapter apply to all areas of the
state.
(d) Sections 12, 13, and 15 of this chapter apply to all areas of the
state, except in a county having a consolidated city.
As added by Acts 1981, P.L.309, SEC.22. Amended by Acts 1981,
P.L.46, SEC.5; P.L.220-1986, SEC.3; P.L.126-2011, SEC.2.
IC 36-7-3-2
Subdivision of lots or lands outside boundaries of municipality;
requisites, approval, and recording of plat
Sec. 2. (a) A person who lays out a subdivision of lots or lands
outside the corporate boundaries of any municipality shall record a
correct plat of the subdivision in the office of the recorder of the
county before selling any lots in the subdivision. The plat must show
public places, public ways, and the length, width, and size of each
lot. Lots shown on the plat must be regularly numbered.
(b) The certificate of a professional surveyor certifying the
correctness of the plat must be attached to the plat. This certificate
must include a description, by metes and bounds, of the location of
the plat.
(c) Before offering a plat for record under this section, a person
must acknowledge it before an officer authorized by law to take and
certify acknowledgments of deeds. The officer shall then attach to
the plat a certificate of the acknowledgment, which must be recorded
with the plat.
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(d) Before offering a plat for recording under this section, a
person must file a copy of the plat in the county auditor's office and
must submit the plat for the approval of the county executive. The
county recorder may record the plat only if a certificate showing the
approval of the county executive is attached to it. If the record of a
plat is not executed and approved as required by this subsection, it
is void.
(e) Except as provided in subsection (f), the county executive may
approve or disapprove a subdivision plat only on the basis of whether
the plat complies with the requirements set forth in subsections (a)
through (c).
(f) The county executive may approve or disapprove a subdivision
plat based upon whether the plat complies with standards for
development of subdivisions within the county executive's
jurisdiction. The standards shall be set by the county executive, shall
be reasonable, and may include a minimum lot size. The county
executive shall rely only upon the following criteria in establishing
the standards for development:
(1) The standards must protect and provide for the public
health, safety, and welfare of the county.
(2) The standards must ensure that public facilities and services
are available to support the subdivision.
(g) The county executive may not approve or disapprove a
subdivision plat based upon the standards for development until the
county executive has had at least one (1) public hearing on the issue.
The county executive shall publish notice of a hearing in accordance
with IC 5-3-1. The notice must set forth the following information:
(1) A legal description of the property where the proposed
subdivision will be located.
(2) The date, time, and location of the hearing.
(3) The name of the applicant submitting the plat for the
approval of the county executive.
(4) A statement that the county executive will consider at the
hearing whether to approve the plat based upon whether the plat
is in accordance with the county's development standards.
(h) If, after a hearing, the county executive disapproves the plat,
the county executive shall make written findings that set forth its
reasons and a decision denying approval and shall provide the
applicant with a copy.
As added by Acts 1981, P.L.309, SEC.22. Amended by P.L.104-1983,
SEC.4; P.L.220-1986, SEC.4; P.L.23-1991, SEC.38; P.L.153-2003,
SEC.1; P.L.57-2013, SEC.97.
IC 36-7-3-3
Laying out of town, addition to municipality, or subdivision of lots
or lands within boundaries of municipality; requisites, approval,
and recording of plat; donations or grants to public
Sec. 3. (a) A person who lays out:
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(1) a town;
(2) an addition to a municipality; or
(3) a subdivision of lots or lands within the corporate
boundaries of a municipality;
shall record a correct plat of the town, addition, or subdivision in the
office of the recorder of the county before selling any lots in the
town, addition, or subdivision. The plat must show public grounds,
public ways, and the length, width, and size of each lot. Lots shown
on the plat must be regularly numbered.
(b) Every donation or grant to the public, or to any person, that is
noted as such on the plat, is considered a general warranty to the
donee or grantee named on the plat, for the purposes intended by the
donor or grantor.
(c) Before offering a plat for record under this section, a person
must acknowledge it before an officer authorized by law to take and
certify acknowledgments of deeds. The plat may be recorded only if
it is made and acknowledged in the manner prescribed by this
section.
(d) Before a person offers a plat for recording under this section,
he must submit it for the approval of:
(1) the advisory plan commission that has jurisdiction over the
platted area under IC 36-7-4; or
(2) the municipal works board, if no advisory plan commission
has jurisdiction over the platted area under IC 36-7-4.
The advisory plan commission or works board shall approve or
disapprove the plat, and may require the public ways shown in the
plat to be as wide as, and coterminous with, the public ways in
contiguous parts of the municipality. The county recorder may record
the plat only if a certificate showing the approval of the plan
commission or works board is attached to it. If the record of a plat is
not executed and approved as required by this subsection, it is void.
As added by Acts 1981, P.L.309, SEC.22.
IC 36-7-3-4
Survey and plat; order; adoption; resolutions; requisites
Sec. 4. (a) A municipality that does not have a sufficient survey
and plat of its corporate territory may, by a resolution of its
legislative body passed by a two-thirds (2/3) vote, order a survey and
plat of the municipality. When the survey and plat have been made,
the legislative body may adopt them by a resolution passed by
three-fourths (3/4) vote (as described in IC 36-1-8-14). If a survey
and plat of the municipality have already been made, without the
order of the legislative body, it may adopt them by a resolution
passed by a three-fourths (3/4) vote.
(b) The survey and plat are considered adopted by the
municipality for all purposes if a certified copy of the resolution
adopting the survey and plat is:
(1) signed by the municipal executive and clerk;
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(2) attested by the seal of the municipality; and
(3) recorded with the survey and plat in the office of the
recorder of the county in which the municipality is located.
The copy of the resolution must include a statement of the names of
the persons voting for and against it.
As added by Acts 1981, P.L.309, SEC.22. Amended by P.L.125-2001,
SEC.4.
IC 36-7-3-5
Surveying, platting, and numbering of tracts of land in
municipality; requisites, approval, and recording of plat; public
ways
Sec. 5. (a) If there are five (5) or more specific tracts of land in a
municipality that:
(1) approximate in size any of the platted lots in the
municipality;
(2) are not platted or numbered; and
(3) are near or contiguous to each other;
the municipal legislative body may cause the tracts to be surveyed,
platted, and given a specific number on the plat. If the survey and
plat are approved by the legislative body and recorded in the
platbook records of the county in which the municipality is located,
they have the same legal effect as if they had been made by the
owners of the tracts under section 3 of this chapter.
(b) Tracts surveyed under this section may be described and
conveyed by the numbers assigned to them, in the same manner as
other platted lots. However, a new public way may be laid out or
opened only with the written consent of the owner of the real
property to be affected.
As added by Acts 1981, P.L.309, SEC.22.
IC 36-7-3-6
Resolution declaring necessity of survey or plat requisites;
adoption procedures direction to professional surveyor
Sec. 6. (a) Before a survey of a municipality is made under this
chapter, the municipal legislative body must declare, by resolution,
the necessity for making the survey or plat. The resolution must
describe and embrace all tracts to be included in the plat, with the
description being by streets, alleys, corporate lines, other platted
additions' lines, or any boundary line that can be definitely located.
Notice of the adoption of the resolution must be given in accordance
with IC 5-3-1. The notice must fix a time and a place where the
persons owning the tracts may appear before the legislative body and
object to any further steps being taken in the proceedings.
(b) If, after hearing any objections, the legislative body considers
it necessary to proceed with the survey and plat, it shall direct the
municipal civil engineer, if the engineer is a professional surveyor,
or, if the engineer is not, some suitable and competent professional
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surveyor, to immediately make the survey and plat and report them
to the legislative body.
As added by Acts 1981, P.L.309, SEC.22. Amended by Acts 1981,
P.L.45, SEC.17; P.L.57-2013, SEC.98.
IC 36-7-3-7
Professional surveyor; completion of survey and plat;
requirements; boundary line dispute procedures; subdivision of
tracts; report; statement of costs and expenses; filing
Sec. 7. (a) In making a survey of a municipality under this
chapter, a professional surveyor shall adhere as nearly as possible to
boundary lines between tracts. If the owners of adjacent tracts do not
agree on the location of the boundary line between them, the
professional surveyor shall give all interested parties ten (10) days'
notice that, at a specified time, the professional surveyor will
establish the boundary line. The line established is the correct
boundary line, but an aggrieved party may appeal from the survey in
the same manner as is provided by IC 36-2-12-14 for an appeal from
a survey made by a county surveyor. However, an appeal does not
delay the completion of the survey and plat.
(b) All public ways shall be preserved and properly designated on
the plat.
(c) Each specific description shall be platted as one (1) lot and
given a distinct number on the plat, except that where a part of the
specific description is cut off by a street or alley, the tract may be
given two (2) or more distinct numbers, as required by the situation.
(d) If any part of the entire tract to be platted is cut up into blocks
by streets or alleys, the tract shall be platted in lots extending from
the street or alley in the front to the alley in the rear.
(e) If a lot embraces more than one (1) specific description, the
memoranda attached to the plat must designate how much of the lot
belongs to each of the part owners.
(f) A person owning a tract that is within the boundaries of the
territory to be platted and is larger than an ordinary lot may have that
tract subdivided into lots of convenient size in the making of the plat.
(g) The professional surveyor shall show on the plat the exact size
and shape, the number, and the name of the owner (as determined
from the records of the county), of each lot platted, and shall attach
to the plat, as a part of it, a brief memorandum of the tract
description of each lot platted.
(h) The professional surveyor shall sign the plat and acknowledge
its execution before an officer authorized to take the
acknowledgment of deeds. When the survey and plat are completed,
the professional surveyor shall file them with the municipal clerk.
The professional surveyor shall also file with the professional
surveyor's report of the survey and plat an itemized statement of all
costs and expenses incident to the proceedings, and an apportionment
of the expenses to the lots platted, as required by section 9 of this
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chapter.
As added by Acts 1981, P.L.309, SEC.22. Amended by P.L.57-2013,
SEC.99.
IC 36-7-3-8
Report of survey and plat; approval procedures; recording; legal
effect of plat
Sec. 8. (a) When a plat is filed under section 7 of this chapter, the
municipal clerk shall immediately give notice, in accordance with
IC 5-3-1, that on a specified day, at an hour and place named in the
notice, the municipal legislative body will meet to consider the
professional surveyor's report and plat, and to hear any objections to
the report and plat by interested parties.
(b) If any errors or omissions are discovered, the legislative body
shall require the professional surveyor to correct them. When the
legislative body has approved the report of the survey and plat, it
shall give the plat an appropriate name and have it, together with the
resolution of approval, recorded in the proper records in the county
recorder's office. When recorded, the plat has the same legal effect
as if it had been done by the owners of the tracts platted.
As added by Acts 1981, P.L.309, SEC.22. Amended by P.L.57-2013,
SEC.100.
IC 36-7-3-9
Expenses of survey and plat; apportionment and assessment
against property platted; lien; collection and disbursement
Sec. 9. (a) The expenses arising from a survey and plat in a
municipality under this chapter shall be charged to the property
platted, in the proportion the municipal legislative body considers
just and equitable. When approving the land surveyor's report of the
survey and plat, the legislative body shall, at the same time, assess an
equitable part of the cost and expense against each tract platted.
(b) The assessment is a lien on the property from the time the
assessment is made, and is due and payable as soon as the plat is
recorded. If an assessment is not paid before the second day of
January after it is made, a certified copy of the assessment shall be
filed in the office of the auditor of the county in which the property
is located, and the auditor shall place the amount claimed on the tax
duplicate against the lands of the landowner. The amount shall be
collected as taxes are collected, and, when collected, shall be
disbursed to the general fund of the municipality.
As added by Acts 1981, P.L.309, SEC.22.
IC 36-7-3-10
Vacation of plat by owners; written instrument; filing and
approval; recording; land outside municipal boundaries excepted
from approval; effect; public ways
Sec. 10. (a) The owners of land in a plat may vacate all or part of
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that plat under:
(1) this section; or
(2) IC 36-7-4-711.
(b) In a case in which all the owners of land in a plat are in
agreement regarding a proposed vacation, the owners may file a
written instrument to vacate all or part of that plat. All the owners of
land in the plat must declare the plat or part of the plat to be vacated
in the written instrument. The instrument must be executed,
acknowledged, and recorded in the same manner as a deed to land.
(c) Before offering the instrument for recording under this section,
an owner must file a copy of the instrument in the county auditor's
office and must submit the instrument vacating all or part of the plat
for the approval of the plan commission that has jurisdiction over the
platted area under IC 36-7-4 or the plat committee acting on behalf
of the plan commission. If no plan commission has jurisdiction over
the platted area under IC 36-7-4, the instrument must be submitted
for the approval of:
(1) the county executive, in the case of land located in an
unincorporated area; or
(2) the municipal works board, in the case of land located inside
the corporate boundaries of a municipality.
The instrument may be approved under this section without notice or
a hearing. The provisions of IC 36-7-4 concerning notice and hearing
do not apply to the approval of an instrument under this section.
(d) The county recorder may record the instrument only if a
certificate showing the approval of the vacation by the plan
commission, county executive, or municipal works board is attached
to it. If the instrument is not executed and approved as required by
this section, it is void.
(e) The owners of land in a plat that is located outside the
corporate boundaries of any municipality may vacate all of the plat
without the approval required by subsections (c) and (d) if no lots
have been sold and no roads constructed in the plat, and all of the
owners of land in the plat declare the plat to be vacated in a written
instrument. The instrument must be executed, acknowledged, and
recorded in the same manner as a deed to land.
(f) An instrument recorded under this section terminates the effect
of the plat or part of the plat declared to be vacated, and it also
terminates all public rights in the public ways and public places
described in the plat or part of the plat. However, a public way that
has been improved, or that is part of an improved plat, may be
vacated only in accordance with section 12 of this chapter or with
IC 36-7-4-712, whichever is applicable.
As added by Acts 1981, P.L.309, SEC.22. Amended by P.L.220-1986,
SEC.5; P.L.126-2011, SEC.3.
IC 36-7-3-11
Repealed
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(As added by Acts 1981, P.L.309, SEC.22. Amended by
P.L.220-1986, SEC.6. Repealed by P.L.126-2011, SEC.68.)
IC 36-7-3-12
Vacation of public way or place; petition; notice; hearing; adoption
of ordinance; appeals
Sec. 12. (a) Persons who:
(1) own or are interested in any lots or parts of lots; and
(2) want to vacate all or part of a public way or public place in
or contiguous to those lots or parts of lots;
may file a petition for vacation with the legislative body of:
(A) a municipality, if all or any part of the public way or
public place to be vacated is located within the corporate
boundaries of that municipality; or
(B) the county, if all or the only part of the public way or
public place to be vacated is located outside the corporate
boundaries of a municipality.
(b) Notice of the petition must be given in the manner prescribed
by subsection (c). The petition must:
(1) state the circumstances of the case;
(2) specifically describe the property proposed to be vacated;
and
(3) give the names and addresses of all owners of land that
abuts the property proposed to be vacated.
(c) The legislative body shall hold a hearing on the petition within
thirty (30) days after it is received. The clerk of the legislative body
shall give notice of the petition and of the time and place of the
hearing:
(1) in the manner prescribed in IC 5-3-1; and
(2) by certified mail to each owner of land that abuts the
property proposed to be vacated.
The petitioner shall pay the expense of providing this notice.
(d) The hearing on the petition is subject to IC 5-14-1.5. At the
hearing, any person aggrieved by the proposed vacation may object
to it as provided by section 13 of this chapter.
(e) After the hearing on the petition, the legislative body may, by
ordinance, vacate the public way or public place. The clerk of the
legislative body shall furnish a copy of each vacation ordinance to
the county recorder for recording and to the county auditor.
(f) Within thirty (30) days after the adoption of a vacation
ordinance, any aggrieved person may appeal the ordinance to the
circuit court, superior court, or probate court of the county. The court
shall try the matter de novo and may award damages.
As added by Acts 1981, P.L.309, SEC.22. Amended by Acts 1981,
P.L.46, SEC.6; Acts 1982, P.L.211, SEC.2; P.L.84-2016, SEC.178.
IC 36-7-3-13
Vacation proceedings; filing of remonstrances and objections;
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grounds
Sec. 13. A remonstrance or objection permitted by section 12 of
this chapter may be filed or raised by any person aggrieved by the
proposed vacation, but only on one (1) or more of the following
grounds:
(1) The vacation would hinder the growth or orderly
development of the unit or neighborhood in which it is located
or to which it is contiguous.
(2) The vacation would make access to the lands of the
aggrieved person by means of public way difficult or
inconvenient.
(3) The vacation would hinder the public's access to a church,
school, or other public building or place.
(4) The vacation would hinder the use of a public way by the
neighborhood in which it is located or to which it is contiguous.
As added by Acts 1981, P.L.309, SEC.22. Amended by Acts 1981,
P.L.46, SEC.7; Acts 1982, P.L.211, SEC.3; P.L.353-1983, SEC.1;
P.L.126-2011, SEC.4.
IC 36-7-3-14
Vacation of platted land; descriptions of lots and parcels in plat
preserved; exceptions
Sec. 14. (a) If any platted land is vacated, the descriptions of the
lots and parcels of that land shall be preserved as set forth in the plat,
with the proportionate parts of vacated streets and alleys added as
provided by law, unless all the owners of land in the vacated area
consent in writing to the description of the area by:
(1) the method used before the plat was made;
(2) metes and bounds; or
(3) other appropriate description.
(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a), a vacated tract of five (5)
acres or more that is owned by one (1) person, or jointly by two (2)
or more persons, need not be described by lot number and may be
described by metes and bounds or some other method.
As added by Acts 1981, P.L.309, SEC.22.
IC 36-7-3-15
Termination of vacation proceeding; limitation
Sec. 15. After the termination of a vacation proceeding under this
chapter, a subsequent vacation proceeding affecting the same
property and asking for the same relief may not be initiated for two
(2) years.
As added by Acts 1981, P.L.309, SEC.22.
IC 36-7-3-16
Vacation of platted easements; public utility's use of public way or
place notwithstanding vacation proceedings; waiver
Sec. 16. (a) Platted easements may be vacated in the same manner
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as public ways and public places, in accordance with section 12 of
this chapter or with IC 36-7-4-712, whichever is applicable.
(b) Notwithstanding this article, vacation proceedings do not
deprive a public utility of the use of all or part of a public way or
public place to be vacated, if, at the time the proceedings are
instituted, the utility is occupying and using all or part of that public
way or public place for the location and operation of its facilities.
However, the utility may waive its rights under this subsection by
filing its written consent in the vacation proceedings.
As added by Acts 1981, P.L.309, SEC.22. Amended by P.L.220-1986,
SEC.7.
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