Subdivisions and Plats

Subdivision and Plat Basics

There are three (3) types of Plats that the City can approve:

• Major Plat
• Minor Plat
• Administrative Plat

Requests for Registered Land Surveys, as well as Metes and Bounds subdivisions, are handled separately under different processes. Metes and Bounds subdivisions require the issuance of a Variance to the Subdivision regulations. Please refer to the individual guides for these types of subdivisions.

Major Plat

A major plat is used when a subdivision or consolidation of unplatted parcels exceeds three (3) parcels and/or requires the construction of public streets or utilities. A major plat is also used for the subdivision or consolidation of platted tracts of land when construction of public streets or utilities is required. All major plat approvals require that the Developer enter into a Development Agreement with the City. When applying for a Major Plat, Applicants must provide the following applications:

1. Sketch Plan
2. Preliminary Plat (Public Hearing)
3. Final Plat

Minor Plat

A minor plat is used when a subdivision or consolidation of unplatted parcels does not exceed three (3) parcels and does not require the construction of public streets or utilities. A minor plat is also used for the subdivision or consolidation of platted tracts of land, in any number, that does not require the construction of public streets or utilities. All minor plat approvals require that the Developer enter into a Development Agreement with the City. When applying for a Minor Plat, Applicants must provide the following:

1. Sketch Plan
2. Final Plat

Administrative Plat

An administrative plat is used when a subdivision or consolidation of parcels does not result in the creation of a buildable parcel. Administrative Plat approvals are provided in the form of City authorization of a metes and bounds description on a Deed prepared by the Applicant. Applicants will be required to combine Property Identification Numbers (PINs) at Anoka County Property Records and Taxation at the time of Deed Transfer. When applying for an Administrative Plat, Applicants must provide the following:

1. Sketch Plan

Application Fee and Escrow

• Application Fee:  $500 (non-refundable)
• Minimum Escrow (Major Plat):  $2,000*
• Minimum Escrow (Minor Plat):  $2,000*
• Minimum Escrow (Administrative Plat):  $500*

* Required escrows are the minimum escrows. Escrows are collected with a Land Use Application to cover the costs of reviewing the application by the Planning Division, including public hearing notice mailings. A project may have multiple requests, and the escrow related to each request must be paid when submitting the application. The remaining surplus shall be refunded to the Applicant after all remaining obligations are completed and accepted by the City. The Applicant shall be responsible for all costs incurred by the City that exceed the minimum escrow amount. For more information, please contact the Planning Division at 763-433-9821.

Subdivision and Plat Process

As referenced in the previous sub-section of this guide, a Plat can include one (1) or all of the three (3) applications related to a request for a Plat. These steps include a Sketch Plan, Preliminary Plat, and Final Plat. Please reference the previous sub-section to determine which applications must be filed.

Sketch Plan Requirements

The Planning Commission will review the Sketch Plan. The Application for Sketch Plan Review must be submitted no less than 30 days prior to the next available Planning Commission Meeting. The Sketch Plan must be reviewed prior to submitting a Preliminary Plat.

1. Name of subdivision, which name shall not duplicate any plat already recorded in the county (not required for Administrative Plat).
2. Full legal description of the land involved in said plat.
3. Names and addresses of the owner and subdivider of the land, and the designer and surveyor of said plat.
4. Graphic scale of not more than one inch to 100 feet.
5. Date and north point.
6. Boundary line survey, including measured distances and angles, which shall be tied into the nearest quarter section or section line by traverse and certified by a registered land surveyor.
7. Total acreage and square feet of project area.
8. Location and names of existing or platted streets and other public ways, parks and public open spaces, permanent buildings and structures, easements and section and municipal boundary lines within the plat and to a distance of 100 feet beyond.
9. Identify all wetlands on the property.
10. Locations and widths of public right-of-way, public and private streets, and pedestrian trails and sidewalks.
11. Other areas intended to be dedicated or reserved for public use, including the size of such areas.
12. If residential, state type, number of dwelling units, and approximate net density (excluding major road rights-of-way and wetlands) (not required for Administrative Plats).
13. Additional information as requested by staff.

Preliminary Plat Requirements

The Planning Commission and City Council will review the preliminary plat. The Planning Commission will hold a Public Hearing. The application for Preliminary Plat review must be submitted at least 30 days prior to the next available Planning Commission Meeting. Applicants cannot apply for a Preliminary Plat until the Planning Commission has reviewed the Sketch Plan.

Preliminary Plat Sheet

1. Name of subdivision, which name shall not duplicate any plat already recorded in the county.
2. Full legal description of the land involved in said plat.
3. Names and addresses of the owner and subdivider of the land, and the designer and surveyor of said plat.
4. Graphic scale of not more than one inch to 100 feet.
5. Date and north point.
6. Boundary line survey, including measured distances and angles, which shall be tied into the nearest quarter section or section line by traverse and certified by a registered land surveyor.
7. Total acreage and square feet of project area.
8. Existing zoning classifications for the tract of land in and abutting the project area.
9. Location and names of existing or platted streets and other public ways, parks and public open spaces, permanent buildings and structures, easements and section and municipal boundary lines within the plat and to a distance of 100 feet beyond.
10. If the preliminary plat is a rearrangement or a re-plat of any recorded plat, the lot and block arrangement of the original plat, its original name and all revised or vacated roadways shall be shown by dotted or dashed lines.
11. Layouts of lots and blocks with the number of each, square footage of lots and dimensions scaled to the nearest tenth of a foot.
12. Location of existing and proposed public and private streets.
13. Whenever a portion of a tract of land is proposed for subdividing and said tract is large enough or is intended for future enlargement, a tentative plan for the future subdivision of the entire tract shall be submitted.
14. If residential, state type, number of dwelling units, and approximate net density (excluding state, county, and MSA road rights-of-way and wetlands).
15. Areas, other than streets, pedestrian ways and utility easements, intended to be dedicated or reserved for public use, including the size of such areas.
16. Building setback lines.
17. Additional information as requested by staff.

Grading Plan

1. Topographic data, including contours at vertical intervals of not more than two feet, except that where the horizontal contour interval is 100 feet or more, a one-foot vertical interval shall be shown. Watercourses, lakes, wetlands, limits of floodplains and other significant physical features shall be delineated. The ordinary high-water elevation and 100-year floodplain elevation shall be identified. The USGS datum survey shall be used for topographic mapping.
2. All high points and emergency overflow elevations shall be provided.
3. Soil data, including classification of all surface soils, in accordance with the Soil Conservation Service Classification system and logs of borings sufficient in number and depth to establish the elevation of the water table and soil types throughout the plat.
4. If the subdivision is to be serviced with on-site systems, the soil types shall be identified. For each lot with less than 30,000 square feet of Class I soils, the locations of both a septic field and an alternative field must be identified.
5. Locations and invert elevations of storm sewers, drainage ditches, and culverts within the plat and to a distance of 100 feet beyond the plat.
6. Drainage area map of existing subdivisions showing the acreage of each drainage area (existing and proposed) as well as providing the pre-development and post-development runoff rate, in cfs, for the ten-year and 100-year storm events.
7. Pre- and post-runoff calculations.
8. Size and type of each proposed storm sewer facility.
9. Proposed method of disposing of surface water drainage and method of conveying surface water drainage within and beyond the limits of the plat to publicly owned or controlled drainage facilities or storm sewers. There shall be no grades less than one percent. When grades are less than two percent, a certificate of grading will be required prior to occupancy. The certificate of grading shall provide a statement from a registered land surveyor stating that they have surveyed the lot and determined that it contains no grade flatter than one percent and conforms to the approved grading plan.
10. A development plan for each lot specifying house type, garage elevation, minimum floor elevation, and lowest opening elevation.
11. A table specifying house type, garage elevation, minimum floor elevation, lowest opening elevation, street centerline grade, 100-year flood elevation, and back yard and front yard slopes must be provided.
12. Additional information as requested by the city.

Street Plan

1. Layout of existing and proposed public and private streets, showing right-of-way and pavement widths and proposed names of streets. The name of any street used in the city must be an extension of an already-named street.
2. Existing and proposed centerline grades of public and private streets.
3. Location and widths of existing railroad rights-of-way.
4. Locations and widths of trails and sidewalks.
5. Length of street identified by centerline stationing.
6. Angle of intersection as measured 100 feet from the intersection.
7. Horizontal and vertical curve information.
8. For streets intended to be continued as through streets, a temporary road easement shall be provided having a minimum radius of 65 feet.
9. Additional information as requested by the city.

Utility Plan

1. Locations and widths of existing and proposed utility easements.
2. Location, width, size, type, and invert elevations of existing and proposed sanitary sewers, water mains, storm sewers, culverts, manholes, lift stations, hydrants, valves, and any other underground facilities within the plat and to a distance of 100 feet beyond shall be shown.
3. Location and size of utility laterals and irrigation taps. The connection to the city municipal water system must be constructed of ductile iron piping with a gate valve in the street for operation. The size of irrigation meters is subject to the approval of the city engineer.
4. Additional information as requested by the city.

Landscape Plan/Tree Preservation Plan

(See the Ramsey Tree Book for preferred/prohibited species.)

1. Survey of existing tree cover prepared by an International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) certified arborist that shall include the following information:
   a.  Location of proposed lots and building pads.
   b.  Tree species, diameter (DBH), condition (healthy, dead or diseased). Any development involving oak trees on or adjacent to the development area must submit a plan in conjunction with the preliminary plat.
   c.  Soil conditions.
   d.  Existing contour data for the entire property with vertical contour data consistent with city standards for all areas to be distributed by proposed tree removal operations, extending for a distance of at least 50 feet beyond the limits of the proposed plat. Elevations may be based on data from the U.S. Geological Survey.
2. Proposed tree removal limits. Any clearing of oak stands shall be performed prior to April 15 or after July 15 of each season.
3. Proposed number, species, and size of trees and shrubs to be planted.
4. All irrigation systems must have an approved backflow device installed in the irrigation enclosure. The location and construction materials of the irrigation enclosure are subject to approval by the City engineer. Furthermore, all new or updated systems must be equipped with a rain sensor device to stop irrigation during rain events automatically.
5. Additional information as requested by the city.

Final Plat Requirements

The City Council will review the Final Plat. The application for Final Plat Review must be submitted to the City at least 30 days prior to the City Council meeting. Applicants may not submit an application for a Final Plat until the City Council has reviewed the Sketch Plan. Still, they may request Final Plat approval concurrently with City Council approval of the Preliminary Plat. The City reserves the right to require that the Final Plat be reviewed separately from the Preliminary Plat.

Final Plat Sheet

1. Name of the subdivision, which name shall not duplicate or too closely approximate the name of any existing subdivision.
2. Municipal, township, county or section lines accurately tied to the boundaries of the subdivision by distances and angles.
3. Scale of the plat, date and north arrow.
4. A numbering system for all lots and blocks must be clearly shown.
5. Streets shall be named, and all names shall be shown. A sequence of street naming shall conform to the county name grid or the pattern that has been established in the area.
6. In the event the final plat is a re-plat of an earlier subdivision, the original plat shall be shown and identified by dotted lines.
7. Official monuments as designated and adopted by the county surveyor and approved by the district court for use as judicial monuments shall be set at each corner or angle of the outside boundary of the final plat.
8. Judicial and county ditches shall be shown by dimensions and angles as determined from the county record and encumbered with a 66-foot-wide drainage and utility easement.
9. Delineated watercourses, lakes, and wetlands shall be encumbered with a drainage and utility easement.
10. Statement dedicating all streets, alleys and other public areas.
11. Name and address of the subdivider and the surveyor preparing the plat.
12. An appropriate statement dedicating all easements.
13. Revised in accordance with preliminary plat comments and staff review letter.
14. Additional information as requested by the city.

Final Grading Plan

1. Topographic data, including contours at vertical intervals of not more than two feet, except that where the horizontal contour interval is 100 feet or more, a one-foot vertical interval shall be shown. Watercourses, lakes, wetlands, limits of floodplains and other significant physical features shall be delineated. The ordinary high-water elevation and 100-year floodplain elevation shall be identified. The USGS datum survey shall be used for topographic mapping.
2. All high points and emergency overflow elevations shall be provided.
3. Soil data, including classification of all surface soils, in accordance with the Soil Conservation Service Classification system and logs of borings sufficient in number and depth to establish the elevation of the water table and soil types throughout the plat.
4. If the subdivision is to be serviced with on-site systems, the soil types shall be identified. For each lot having less than 25 percent Class I soils, the location of a septic field and an alternative field must be identified.
5. Locations and invert elevations of storm sewers, drainage ditches, and culverts within the plat and to a distance of 100 feet beyond the plat.
6. Drainage area map of existing subdivisions showing the acreage of each drainage area (existing and proposed) as well as providing the pre-development and post-development runoff rate, in cubic feet per second (cfs), for the ten-year and 100-year storm events.
7. Pre- and post-runoff calculations.
8. Size and type of each proposed storm sewer facility.
9. Proposed method of conveying surface water drainage within and beyond the limits of the plat to publicly owned or controlled drainage facilities or storm sewers.
10. Proposed method of disposing of surface water drainage and method of conveying surface water drainage within and beyond the limits of the plat to publicly owned or controlled drainage facilities or storm sewers. There shall be no grades less than one percent. When grades are less than two percent, a certificate of grading will be required prior to the occupancy. The certificate of grading shall provide a statement from a registered land surveyor stating that such surveyor has surveyed the lot and determined that it contains no grade flatter than one percent and conforms to the approved grading plan.
11. Lot corner elevations as well as drainage swale centerline grades at intersections of lot lines.
12. Drainage and utility easements.
13. Direction of flow arrows in and around house pads.
14. Revised in accordance with preliminary plat comments and staff review letter.
15. Additional information as requested by the city.

Final Street Plan

1. Layout of existing and proposed public and private streets, showing right-of-way and pavement widths and proposed names of streets. The name of any street used in the city must be an extension of an already-named street.
2. Existing and proposed centerline grades of public and private streets.
3. Location and widths of existing railroad rights-of-way.
4. Locations and widths of trails and sidewalks.
5. Length of street identified by centerline stationing.
6. Angle of intersection as measured 100 feet from the intersection.
7. Horizontal and vertical curve information.
8. For streets intended to be continued as through streets, a temporary road easement shall be provided having a minimum radius of 65 feet.
9. Revised in accordance with preliminary plat comments and staff review letter.
10. Additional information as requested by the city.

Final Utility Plan

1. Locations and widths of existing and proposed utility easements.
2. Location, width, size, and type of existing and proposed sanitary sewers, water mains, storm sewers, culverts, manholes, lift stations, hydrants, valves, and any other underground facilities within the plat and to a distance of 100 feet beyond shall be shown.
3. Location and size of utility laterals and irrigation taps.
4. Revised in accordance with preliminary plat comments and staff review letter.
5. Additional information as requested by the City.

Final Landscape Plan/Tree Preservation Plan

(See the Ramsey Tree Book for preferred/prohibited species.)

1. A final landscape plan/tree preservation plan in accordance with subsection (d)(5) of this section, revised in accordance with preliminary plat comments and staff review letter.
2. All irrigation systems must have an approved backflow device installed in the irrigation enclosure. The location and construction materials of the irrigation enclosure are subject to approval by the City engineer. Furthermore, all new or updated systems must be equipped with a rain sensor device to stop irrigation during rain events automatically.
3. Additional information as requested by the city.

Final Construction Plans and Specifications

1. The title page is to include a vicinity map, as well as an index, and be certified by a professional engineer.
2. Traffic control and tabulation.
3. Construction details, including a typical section.
4. Existing topography with miscellaneous removals.
5. Sanitary sewer and water main plan and profile sheets with plan scale not to exceed one inch equal to 50 feet and profile no greater than one inch equal to five feet in vertical.
6. Storm sewer construction plans with one inch equal to 50 feet and a profile no greater than one inch equal to five feet in vertical.
7. Street and trail construction plans with a plan scale of one inch equal to 50 feet and a profile no greater than one inch equal to five feet in vertical.
8. If applicable, lift station detail.
9. Specifications to include City Engineers Association of Minnesota Standard Specifications for Construction and special provisions outlining the types of materials that are to be required, as well as completion date, and a complete set of contract documents.
10. Additional information as requested by the city.

Additional Resources

1. City of Ramsey – City Code - City Code for the City of Ramsey, outlining rules and procedures for the City.
2. City of Ramsey - Land Use Application - The application to apply for land use projects, including plats, use permits, variances, etc. Complete and send a copy to the City with applicable fees and other application review materials to formally submit an application.
3. City of Ramsey - Site Plan Guide: A How-To Guide for Creating a Site Plan for Project Submittals. This guide provides all the necessary information required for a site plan, along with visual examples.
4. City of Ramsey – ePermits - The City of Ramsey’s online permit application portal. Apply for building, electrical, and zoning permits on this site.
5. City of Ramsey - ProjectDox (use Microsoft Edge) - The City’s project review portal for applications. City staff can set up land use projects for developers to upload plans and receive plans reviewed by the City’s various departments. This portal is also used by City Staff for reviewing permit applications.
6. City of Ramsey – ProjectDox Guide - A how-to guide for first-time users of the ProjectDox website.
7. City of Ramsey – Land Use Application Review Schedule - The City of Ramsey’s review schedule for land use applications, including review schedules and meeting dates for the Planning Commission and City Council.
8. Minnesota Department of Health - The State division that reviews the health aspects of a project.
9. Minnesota Department of Labor & Industry - The State division that issues plumbing permits and reviews utility permits.
10. Minnesota Pollution Control Agency - The State agency in charge of preventing pollution of Minnesota’s water, air, noise, and land.
11. Lower Rum River Watershed Management Organization - The local watershed management organization for the City of Ramsey. The LRRWMO reviews development applications that are an acre or larger, in coordination with the City of Ramsey’s Engineering Department.
12. Metropolitan Council - A planning organization that reviews all proposed developments accessing City sewer and water within the seven-county metro area. Any proposals for Comprehensive Plan Amendments will need to be reviewed by the Met Council.
13. Anoka County - Highway Department - The division of Anoka County that reviews developments adjacent to county roads and highways, such as Ramsey Blvd, Armstrong Blvd, and Nowthen Blvd, in the City of Ramsey.
14. Anoka County – Public Health and Environmental Services - The division of Anoka County that reviews public health aspects of a project, such as a new restaurant.
15. Minnesota Department of Transportation – Metro District Planning, Development Review - The State transportation division for reviewing developments adjacent to State highways, such as Highway 47 (St. Francis Blvd. NW) and Highways 10/169 in the City of Ramsey.
16. Environmental Quality Board - They administer the State Environmental Review requirements for certain larger projects.

Subdivision and Plat Guide (PDF)

Created January 2012 | Revised January 2023