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The Legislative Service Commission staff updates the Revised Code on an ongoing basis, as it completes its act review of enacted legislation. Updates may be slower during some times of the year, depending on the volume of enacted legislation.
 
 
 
Section
Section 711.001 | Plat definitions.
 

As used in this chapter:

(A) "Plat" means a map of a tract or parcel of land.

(B) "Subdivision" means either of the following:

(1) The division of any parcel of land shown as a unit or as contiguous units on the last preceding general tax list and duplicate of real and public utility property, into two or more parcels, sites, or lots, any one of which is less than five acres for the purpose, whether immediate or future, of transfer of ownership, provided, however, that the following are exempt:

(a) A division or partition of land into parcels of more than five acres not involving any new streets or easements of access;

(b) The sale or exchange of parcels between adjoining lot owners, where that sale or exchange does not create additional building sites;

(c) If the planning authority adopts a rule in accordance with section 711.133 of the Revised Code that exempts from division (B)(1) of this section any parcel of land that is four acres or more, parcels in the size range delineated in that rule.

(2) The improvement of one or more parcels of land for residential, commercial, or industrial structures or groups of structures involving the division or allocation of land for the opening, widening, or extension of any public or private street or streets, except private streets serving industrial structures, or involving the division or allocation of land as open spaces for common use by owners, occupants, or leaseholders or as easements for the extension and maintenance of public or private sewer, water, storm drainage, or other similar facilities.

Section 711.01 | Plat of proposed village or addition.
 

Any person may lay out a village, or subdivision or addition to a municipal corporation, by causing the territory to be surveyed, and by having a plat of it made by a competent surveyor. The plat shall particularly describe the streets, alleys, commons, or public grounds, and all in-lots, out-lots, fractional-lots, within or adjacent to such village. The description shall include the courses, boundaries, and extent.

Section 711.02 | Contents of plat.
 

(A) In-lots intended for sale shall be numbered in progressive numbers, or by the squares in which situated, and their precise length and width shall be stated on the plat provided for in section 711.01 of the Revised Code. Out-lots which do not exceed ten acres in size shall, in like manner, be surveyed and numbered, and their precise length and width stated on the plat, together with any streets, alleys, or roads which divide or border on them.

(B) Every plat shall be superimposed on a survey of the lands of the dedicators from which such plat is drawn, and shall contain an accurate background drawing of any metes-and-bounds descriptions of the lands of the dedicators from which such plat is drawn.

Section 711.03 | Cornerstones, markers, and iron pins.
 

At the time of surveying and laying out a village, or subdivision or addition to a municipal corporation, the proprietor of such village, or subdivision or addition, shall plant at the corner of the public ground or lot, if there is such, and if there is none, then at the corner of one of the in-lots and at the corner of each out-lot, a good and sufficient stone, of such size and dimensions and in such manner as the surveyor provided for under section 711.01 of the Revised Code directs, for a corner from which to make future surveys, and the point at which it may be found shall be designated on the plat.

Such proprietor shall direct the surveyor to place and set at least four permanent markers in each plat of ten lots or less. In a village or in a subdivision, addition, or allotment having more than ten lots, whether within or without a municipal corporation, the proprietor shall cause to be placed as many additional permanent markers as the surveyor deems necessary to properly control his original survey. Such permanent markers shall be placed in a manner so that the line of sight between such markers can be observed from one marker to the other. Such markers shall be made of either stone or concrete at least four inches in diamenter, or four inches square, and properly marked. The markings on such markers shall consist of a cross cut with the legs of the cross at least three inches long and at least one-eighth inch deep. Solid iron pins of at least one inch diameter may also be used as permanent markers. All stone, concrete, or iron pin markers shall be at least thirty inches long and the bottom of such markers shall be set at least thirty inches below finished grade.

If the location for a permanent marker is originally determined to be in an area of solid rock it may be relocated and offset from its original position. Such relocation must be noted on the plat. These and all other markers shall be designated on the plat before it is presented for record, but setting of such markers shall not be required prior to completion of construction necessary to the improvement of the land.

Section 711.04 | Acknowledgment and recording.
 

After a plat of a subdivision is completed, it shall be certified by the surveyor and acknowledged by the owner before an officer authorized to take the acknowledgment of deeds, which officer shall certify his official act on the plat. If any owner is a nonresident of the state, his agent, authorized by writing, may make such acknowledgment. Such plat, and if the execution is by agent, his written authority, shall thereupon be recorded in the office of the county recorder.

Section 711.041 | Approval of plats outside municipal corporation.
 

No plat certifying lands outside a municipal corporation may be recorded without the approval thereon of the board of county commissioners of the county wherein such lands are situated.

The approval of a plat by the board of county commissioners shall not be deemed to be an acceptance of the dedication of any public street, road, or highway dedicated on such plat.

This section does not apply to such plats as are required by section 711.09 or 711.10 of the Revised Code to be approved by a planning commission.

Section 711.05 | Approval or rejection - rules to govern plats.
 

(A) Upon the submission of a plat for approval, in accordance with section 711.041 of the Revised Code, the board of county commissioners shall certify on it the date of the submission. Within five days of submission of the plat, the board shall schedule a meeting to consider the plat and send a written notice by regular mail to the fiscal officer of the board of township trustees of the township in which the plat is located and the board of health of the health district in which the plat is located. The notice shall inform the trustees and the board of health of the submission of the plat and of the date, time, and location of any meeting at which the board of county commissioners will consider or act upon the proposed plat. The meeting shall take place within thirty days of submission of the plat, and no meeting shall be held until at least seven days have passed from the date the notice was sent by the board of county commissioners. The approval of the board required by section 711.041 of the Revised Code or the refusal to approve shall take place within thirty days from the date of submission or such further time as the applying party may agree to in writing; otherwise, the plat is deemed approved and may be recorded as if bearing such approval.

(B) The board may adopt general rules governing plats and subdivisions of land falling within its jurisdiction, to secure and provide for the coordination of the streets within the subdivision with existing streets and roads or with existing county highways, for the proper amount of open spaces for traffic, circulation, and utilities, and for the avoidance of future congestion of population detrimental to the public health, safety, or welfare, but shall not impose a greater minimum lot area than forty-eight hundred square feet. Before the board may amend or adopt rules, it shall notify all the townships in the county of the proposed amendments or rules by regular mail at least thirty days before the public meeting at which the proposed amendments or rules are to be considered.

The rules may require the board of health to review and comment on a plat before the board of county commissioners acts upon it and may also require proof of compliance with any applicable zoning resolutions, and with sewage treatment rules adopted under section 3718.02 of the Revised Code, as a basis for approval of a plat. Where under section 711.101 of the Revised Code the board of county commissioners has set up standards and specifications for the construction of streets, utilities, and other improvements for common use, the general rules may require the submission of appropriate plans and specifications for approval. The board shall not require the person submitting the plat to alter the plat or any part of it as a condition for approval, as long as the plat is in accordance with general rules governing plats and subdivisions of land, adopted by the board as provided in this section, in effect at the time the plat was submitted and the plat is in accordance with any standards and specifications set up under section 711.101 of the Revised Code, in effect at the time the plat was submitted.

(C) The ground of refusal to approve any plat, submitted in accordance with section 711.041 of the Revised Code, shall be stated upon the record of the board, and, within sixty days thereafter, the person submitting any plat that the board refuses to approve may file a petition in the court of common pleas of the county in which the land described in the plat is situated to review the action of the board. A board of township trustees is not entitled to appeal a decision of the board of county commissioners under this section.

Section 711.06 | Plat of subdivision - acknowledgment and record.
 

A proprietor of lots or grounds in a municipal corporation, who subdivides or lays them out for sale, shall make an accurate plat of such subdivision, describing with certainty all grounds laid out or granted for streets, alleys, ways, commons, or other public uses. The proprietor shall superimpose such plat upon the land from which such plat is drawn and shall make an accurate background drawing of any metes-and-bounds descriptions of the lands from which such plat is drawn. Lots sold or intended for sale shall be numbered by progressive numbers or described by the squares in which situated, and the precise length and width shall be given of each lot sold or intended for sale. Such plat shall be subscribed by the proprietor, or his agent duly authorized by writing, and acknowledged before an officer authorized to take the acknowledgment of deeds, who shall certify the acknowledgement of the instrument, and such plat shall be recorded in the office of the county recorder.

Section 711.07 | Fee shall vest in municipal corporation.
 

Upon recording, as required by section 711.06 of the Revised Code, the plat shall thereupon be a sufficient conveyance to vest in the municipal corporation the fee of the parcel of land designated or intended for streets, alleys, ways, commons, or other public uses, to be held in the corporate name in trust to and for the uses and purposes set forth in the instrument.

Section 711.08 | Map or plat by platting commission must be approved by city engineer or legislative authority.
 

When plats adopted by a platting commission or board of public works are on record, the plat mentioned in section 711.06 of the Revised Code of any addition within the limits of a municipal corporation shall not be recorded until the engineer thereof certifies that the streets, as laid out on the plats of such addition, correspond with those laid out on the recorded plats of the commission or board. When there are streets laid down in addition to those adopted by such commission or board, or in any municipal corporation where no commission is or has been in existence, no such plat shall be recorded until it has been approved by the legislative authority of the municipal corporation.

Section 711.09 | Plats to be approved by planning commission.
 

(A)(1) Except as otherwise provided in division (A)(2) of this section, when a city planning commission adopts a plan for the major streets or thoroughfares and for the parks and other open public grounds of a city or any part of it, or for the unincorporated territory within three miles of the corporate limits of a city or any part of it, then no plat of a subdivision of land within that city or territory shall be recorded until it has been approved by the city planning commission and that approval endorsed in writing on the plat. If the land lies within three miles of more than one city, then division (A)(1) of this section applies to the approval of the planning commission of the city whose boundary is nearest to the land.

(2) Division (A)(1) of this section does not apply to any unincorporated territory when all of the following conditions are met:

(a) The township in which the territory is located has a zoning resolution covering all the unincorporated territory in the township.

(b) The county in which the territory is located has a county or regional planning commission.

(c) Subdivision regulations other than municipal subdivision regulations are in effect in the county in which the unincorporated territory is located.

When all of these conditions are met, no plat of a subdivision of land in that unincorporated territory shall be recorded until it has been approved by the county or regional planning commission as provided in section 711.10 of the Revised Code.

(B)(1) Except as otherwise provided in division (B)(2) of this section, when a village planning commission, a platting commissioner, or, if there is no commission or commissioner, the legislative authority of a village, adopts a plan for the major streets or thoroughfares and for the parks and other public grounds of a village or any part of it, then no plat of a subdivision of land within that village shall be recorded until it has been approved by the village commission, commissioner, or legislative authority and that approval endorsed in writing on the plat. If the county in which the village lies contains no cities, has no county subdivision regulations in effect, and the village commission, commissioner, or legislative authority adopts a plan for the major streets or thoroughfares and for the parks and other public grounds for the unincorporated territory within one and one-half miles of the corporate limits of the village or any part of it, then no plat of a subdivision of land shall be recorded until it has been approved by the village commission, commissioner, or legislative authority and that approval is endorsed in writing on the plat. If the land lies within one and one-half miles of more than one village, then division (B)(1) of this section applies to the approval of the commission, commissioner, or legislative authority of the village whose boundary is nearest to the land.

(2) Division (B)(1) of this section does not apply to any unincorporated territory when both of the following conditions are met:

(a) The township in which the territory is located has a zoning resolution covering all the unincorporated territory in the township.

(b) The county in which the territory is located has a county or regional planning commission.

When both of these conditions are met, no plat of a subdivision of land in that unincorporated territory shall be recorded until it has been approved by the county or regional planning commission as provided in section 711.10 of the Revised Code.

(C) The approval of the planning commission, the platting commissioner, or the legislative authority of a village required by this section, or the refusal to approve, shall be endorsed on the plat within thirty days after the submission of the plat for approval or within such further time as the applying party may agree to; otherwise that plat is deemed approved, and the certificate of the planning commission, the platting commissioner, or the clerk of the legislative authority, as to the date of the submission of the plat for approval and the failure to take action on it within that time, shall be issued on demand and shall be sufficient in lieu of the written endorsement or other evidence of approval required by this section. The planning commission, platting commissioner, or legislative authority of a village shall not require a person submitting a plat to alter the plat or any part of it as a condition for approval, as long as the plat is in accordance with the general rules governing plats and subdivisions of land, adopted as provided in this section, in effect at the time the plat was submitted. The ground of refusal or approval of any plat submitted, including citation of or reference to the rule violated by the plat, shall be stated upon the record of the commission, commissioner, or legislative authority. Within sixty days after refusal, the person submitting any plat that the commission, commissioner, or legislative authority refuses to approve may file a petition in the court of common pleas of the proper county, in which the person shall be named plaintiff. The petition shall contain a copy of the plat sought to be recorded, a statement of the facts justifying the propriety and reasonableness of the proposed subdivision, and a prayer for an order directed to the recorder to record the plat and may include a statement of facts to support a claim that the rules of the planning authority under which it refused to approve the plat are unreasonable or unlawful. The planning authority refusing to approve the plat and the recorder of the county shall be joined as defendants and summons shall be issued upon those defendants as in civil actions. Within the rule day provided for a civil action, the planning authority may file an answer in which it may set forth a statement of the facts justifying its refusal to approve the plat, a copy of its rule under which it refused to approve the plat, and a statement of the facts supporting the reasonableness and lawfulness of that rule. The court shall hear the matter upon such evidence as is introduced by either party and the planning authority may introduce as a part of its case a complete transcript of any proceedings had before it. Any detail of the plat may be modified upon motion of the plaintiff before the cause is submitted to the court. If the court finds that the prayer for the recording of the plat or any modification of it as may be agreed to or proposed by the plaintiff, is supported by a preponderance of the evidence, it shall enter an order directed to the recorder to record the plat as originally submitted or as agreed to be modified. Otherwise, the petition shall be dismissed. The court shall return a separate finding upon the reasonableness and lawfulness of the refusal to approve the plat or upon the reasonableness and lawfulness of the rule under which the planning authority refused to approve the plat or both, as the case may require. The judgment or order of the court may be appealed by either party on questions of law as in other civil cases.

The planning commission, platting commissioner, or legislative authority of a village may adopt general rules governing plats and subdivisions of land falling within its jurisdiction in order to secure and provide for the coordination of the streets within the subdivision with existing streets and roads or with the plan or plats of the municipal corporation, for the proper amount of open spaces for traffic, circulation, and utilities, and for the avoidance of future congestion of population detrimental to the public health or safety but shall not impose a greater minimum lot area than forty-eight hundred square feet. The rules may provide for their modification by the planning commission in specific cases where unusual topographical or other exceptional conditions require the modification. The rules may require the county department of health to review and comment on a plat before the planning commission, platting commissioner, or legislative authority of a village acts upon it and may also require proof of compliance with any applicable zoning resolutions as a basis for approval of a plat.

However, no city or village planning commission shall adopt any rules requiring actual construction of streets or other improvements or facilities or assurance of that construction as a condition precedent to the approval of a plat of a subdivision unless the requirements have first been adopted by the legislative authority of the city or village after a public hearing. The rules shall be promulgated and published as provided by sections 731.17 to 731.42 of the Revised Code, and before adoption a public hearing shall be held on the adoption and a copy of the rules shall be certified by the commission, commissioner, or legislative authority to the county recorder of the county in which the municipal corporation is located.

In the exercise of any power over or concerning the platting and subdivision of land or the recording of plats of subdivisions by a city, county, regional, or other planning commission pursuant to any other section of the Revised Code, the provisions of this section with respect to appeals from a decision of a planning commission apply to the decision of any such commission in the exercise of any power of that kind granted by any other section of the Revised Code in addition to any other remedy of appeal granted by the Revised Code. When a plan has been adopted as provided in this section, the approval of plats shall be in lieu of the approvals provided for by any other section of the Revised Code, so far as territory within the approving jurisdiction of the commission, commissioner, or legislative authority, as provided in this section, is concerned. Approval of a plat shall not be an acceptance by the public of the dedication of any street, highway, or other way or open space shown upon the plat.

(D) This section does not apply to unincorporated territory in any county having five or more cities and having a regional planning commission or county planning commission not included within the geographic boundaries of a regional planning commission, where the regional or county planning commission has determined, by resolution, to exercise the authority granted under section 711.10 of the Revised Code for the unincorporated territory within three miles of cities within that county.

Section 711.091 | Inspection of street construction.
 

The city or village engineer in the case of lands within a city or village, and the county engineer in the case of lands outside of a city or village, shall, upon written request by the owner of the land upon which the street has been constructed check the construction and if the engineer finds that such street has been constructed in accordance with the specifications set forth on the approved plat, and that such street is in good repair, then such finding, endorsed on the approved plat, shall constitute an acceptance of the street for public use by the city, village or county as the case may be, provided such street has been theretofore duly dedicated.

Section 711.10 | Platting in unincorporated territory - county or regional planning commission to adopt rules.
 

(A) Whenever a county planning commission or a regional planning commission adopts a plan for the major streets or highways of the county or region, no plat of a subdivision of land within the county or region, other than land within a municipal corporation or land within three miles of a city or one and one-half miles of a village as provided in section 711.09 of the Revised Code, shall be recorded until it is approved by the county or regional planning commission under division (C) of this section and the approval is endorsed in writing on the plat.

(B) A county or regional planning commission may require the submission of a preliminary plan for each plat sought to be recorded. If the commission requires this submission, it shall provide for a review process for the preliminary plan. Under this review process, the planning commission shall give its approval, its approval with conditions, or its disapproval of each preliminary plan. The commission's decision shall be in writing, shall be under the signature of the secretary of the commission, and shall be issued within thirty-five business days after the submission of the preliminary plan to the commission. The disapproval of a preliminary plan shall state the reasons for the disapproval. A decision of the commission under this division is preliminary to and separate from the commission's decision to approve, conditionally approve, or refuse to approve a plat under division (C) of this section.

(C) Within five calendar days after the submission of a plat for approval under this division, the county or regional planning commission shall schedule a meeting to consider the plat and send a notice by regular mail or by electronic mail to the fiscal officer of the board of township trustees of the township in which the plat is located and the board of health of the health district in which the plat is located. The notice shall inform the trustees and the board of health of the submission of the plat and of the date, time, and location of any meeting at which the county or regional planning commission will consider or act upon the plat. The meeting shall take place within thirty calendar days after submission of the plat, and no meeting shall be held until at least seven calendar days have passed from the date the planning commission sent the notice.

The approval of the county or regional planning commission, the commission's conditional approval as described in this division, or the refusal of the commission to approve shall be endorsed on the plat within thirty calendar days after the submission of the plat for approval under this division or within such further time as the applying party may agree to in writing; otherwise that plat is deemed approved, and the certificate of the commission as to the date of the submission of the plat for approval under this division and the failure to take action on it within that time shall be sufficient in lieu of the written endorsement or evidence of approval required by this division.

A county or regional planning commission may grant conditional approval under this division to a plat by requiring a person submitting the plat to alter the plat or any part of it, within a specified period after the end of the thirty calendar days, as a condition for final approval under this division. Once all the conditions have been met within the specified period, the commission shall cause its final approval under this division to be endorsed on the plat. No plat shall be recorded until it is endorsed with the commission's final or unconditional approval under this division.

The ground of refusal of approval of any plat submitted under this division, including citation of or reference to the rule violated by the plat, shall be stated upon the record of the county or regional planning commission. Within sixty calendar days after the refusal under this division, the person submitting any plat that the commission refuses to approve under this division may file a petition in the court of common pleas of the proper county, and the proceedings on the petition shall be governed by section 711.09 of the Revised Code as in the case of the refusal of a planning authority to approve a plat. A board of township trustees is not entitled to appeal a decision of the commission under this division.

A county or regional planning commission shall adopt general rules, of uniform application, governing plats and subdivisions of land falling within its jurisdiction, to secure and provide for the proper arrangement of streets or other highways in relation to existing or planned streets or highways or to the county or regional plan, for adequate and convenient open spaces for traffic, utilities, access of firefighting apparatus, recreation, light, and air, and for the avoidance of congestion of population. The rules may provide for their modification by the commission in specific cases where unusual topographical and other exceptional conditions require the modification. The rules may require the board of health to review and comment on a plat before the commission acts upon it and also may require proof of compliance with any applicable zoning resolutions, and with sewage treatment rules adopted under section 3718.02 of the Revised Code, as a basis for approval of a plat.

Before adoption of its rules or amendment of its rules, the commission shall hold a public hearing on the adoption or amendment. Notice of the public hearing shall be sent to all townships in the county or region by regular mail or electronic mail at least thirty business days before the hearing. No county or regional planning commission shall adopt any rules requiring actual construction of streets or other improvements or facilities or assurance of that construction as a condition precedent to the approval of a plat of a subdivision unless the requirements have first been adopted by the board of county commissioners after a public hearing. A copy of the rules shall be certified by the planning commission to the county recorders of the appropriate counties.

After a county or regional street or highway plan has been adopted as provided in this section, the approval of plats and subdivisions provided for in this section shall be in lieu of any approvals provided for in other sections of the Revised Code, insofar as the territory within the approving jurisdiction of the county or regional planning commission, as provided in this section, is concerned. Approval of a plat shall not be an acceptance by the public of the dedication of any street, highway, or other way or open space shown upon the plat.

No county or regional planning commission shall require a person submitting a plat to alter the plat or any part of it as long as the plat is in accordance with the general rules governing plats and subdivisions of land, adopted by the commission as provided in this section, in effect at the time the plat is submitted.

A county or regional planning commission and a city or village planning commission, or platting commissioner or legislative authority of a village, with subdivision regulation jurisdiction over unincorporated territory within the county or region may cooperate and agree by written agreement that the approval of a plat by the city or village planning commission, or platting commissioner or legislative authority of a village, as provided in section 711.09 of the Revised Code, shall be conditioned upon receiving advice from or approval by the county or regional planning commission.

(D) As used in this section, "business day" means a day of the week excluding Saturday, Sunday, or a legal holiday as defined in section 1.14 of the Revised Code.

Section 711.101 | General rules setting standards and requiring and securing construction of improvements shown on the plats and plans.
 

As to land falling within its jurisdiction or the jurisdiction of its planning commission, the legislative authority of a municipal corporation, or the board of county commissioners, may adopt general rules setting standards and requiring and securing the construction of improvements shown on the plats and plans required by sections 711.05, 711.09, and 711.10 of the Revised Code.

Such rules may establish standards and specifications for the construction of streets, curbs, gutters, sidewalks, street lights, water mains, storm sewers, sanitary sewers, and other utility mains, piping, and other facilities, may require complete or partial installation of such improvements, and may make such installation a condition precedent to the sale or lease of lots in a subdivision or the issuance of a building permit for the improvement of a lot, and may require in lieu of actual construction a performance agreement and the furnishing of a performance bond or other guarantee or security for the purpose of assuring the installation of such improvements deemed necessary or appropriate in the public interest. The legislative authority of a municipal corporation or the board of county commissioners may accept such performance bond or other guarantee or security, under such conditions and time limitations as it may determine. However, any actual construction or performance bond required by the legislative authority of a municipal corporation or board of county commissioners shall be limited to improvements and facilities directly affecting the lots to be improved or sold.

Such rules may require the submission of plans and specifications for the improvements set forth in this section for approval as a condition precedent to the approval of a plat required by sections 711.05, 711.09, and 711.10 of the Revised Code, and may require the actual construction or agreement or assurance of such construction as a condition precedent to the approval required under those sections. The rules shall not require the alteration of plans and specifications for improvements, as long as the plans and specifications are in accordance with the rules provided for in this section in effect at the time the plat was submitted.

Such rules may provide for the administration thereof by the regulating body or by a city, county, or regional planning commission having platting jurisdiction over the land affected and may provide for the modification thereof in specific cases, where unusual or exceptional factors or conditions require such modifications, by such body or commission.

The board of county commissioners may prepare such specifications and make such orders, inspections, examinations, and certificates as are necessary to carry out the provisions of this section. The county engineer and the county sanitary engineer shall act in an advisory capacity to the board in preparing such specifications, orders, inspections, examinations, and certificates.

Before the adoption or amendment of rules pursuant to this section, a public hearing shall be held thereon by the legislative authority of the municipal corporation or the board of county commissioners, as the case may be.

Section 711.102 | Violations.
 

Whoever willfully violates a rule or regulation adopted by the legislative authority of a municipal corporation or a board of county commissioners pursuant to section 711.101 of the Revised Code or fails to comply with any order issued pursuant thereto, shall forfeit and pay not less than ten nor more than one thousand dollars.

Such sum may be recovered with costs in a civil action brought in the court of common pleas of the county in which the land lies relative to which such violation occurred, by the legal representative of the village, city or county, in the name of such village, city, or county and for the use thereof.

Section 711.103 | Tentative approval of plat by planning commission.
 

When, prior to June 1, 1953, a subdivision plat has been tentatively approved by a planning commission, and lots have been transferred from the subdivision by metes and bounds descriptions prior to June 1, 1953, and a registered surveyor certifies on such plat, or copy thereof, that all such transfers are in conformity with the plat as tentatively approved, such plat, or a copy thereof, may be recorded by the county recorder, notwithstanding that it has not been subscribed and acknowledged by the proprietor thereof, nor finally approved by the planning commission. The certificate of the planning commission as to the date of tentative approval shall be issued on demand.

Section 711.104 | Entry of lots shown on plat upon tax list.
 

When a plat has been recorded under the provisions of section 711.103 of the Revised Code, the lots shown thereon shall be entered upon the tax list for taxation according to their lot numbers and subdivision, and conveyances made by lot number and subdivision shall be legally sufficient to pass title.

Section 711.11 | Fee simple title.
 

The plats, mentioned in section 711.01 of the Revised Code, shall be a sufficient conveyance to vest a fee simple title of all such parcels of land as are therein expressed, named, or intended for public use, in the county in which the village is situated, for the uses and purposes therein named, expressed, or intended, and for no other use or purpose.

Section 711.121 | Evidence of legality of conveyance by metes and bounds by affidavit.
 

The county auditor and the county recorder shall not transfer property or record deeds or leases which attempt to convey property contrary to the provisions of Chapter 711. of the Revised Code. In case of doubt, the county auditor or county recorder may require the person presenting such deed or lease to give evidence of the legality of a conveyance by metes and bounds by an affidavit as to the facts which exempt such conveyance from the provisions of Chapter 711. of the Revised Code.

Section 711.13 | Transfer of land before recording - forfeiture.
 

Whoever, being the owner or agent of the owner of any land within or without a municipal corporation, willfully transfers any lot, parcel, or tract of such land from or in accordance with a plat of a subdivision as specifically defined in this chapter, before the plat has been recorded in the office of the county recorder, shall forfeit and pay the sum of not less than ten nor more than five hundred dollars for each lot, parcel, or tract of land so sold. The description of the lot, parcel, or tract by metes and bounds in the deed or transfer shall not serve to exempt the seller from the forfeiture provided in this section.

If the land is within a municipal corporation, the sum may be recovered in a civil action, brought in any court of competent jurisdiction by the city director of law or other corresponding official of the municipal corporation in the name of the municipal corporation and for the use of the street repair fund thereof.

If the land is situated outside a municipal corporation, the sum may be recovered in a civil action, brought by the prosecuting attorney, other corresponding official, or planning commission of the county in which the land is situated, in the name of the county and for the use of the road repair fund thereof.

The sale of lots, parcels, or tracts from a plat of a subdivision on which any and all areas indicated as streets or open grounds are expressly indicated as for the exclusive use of the abutting or other owners in the subdivision and not as public streets, ways, or grounds shall not serve to exempt the seller from the requirements of this chapter or from the forfeiture provided in this section.

Section 711.131 | Approval without plat.
 

(A) Notwithstanding sections 711.001 to 711.13 of the Revised Code and except as provided in division (C) of this section, unless the rules adopted under section 711.05, 711.09, or 711.10 of the Revised Code are amended pursuant to division (B) of this section, a proposed division of a parcel of land along an existing public street, not involving the opening, widening, or extension of any street or road, and involving no more than five lots after the original tract has been completely subdivided, may be submitted to the planning authority having approving jurisdiction of plats under section 711.05, 711.09, or 711.10 of the Revised Code for approval without plat. If the authority acting through a properly designated representative finds that a proposed division is not contrary to applicable platting, subdividing, zoning, health, sanitary, or access management regulations, regulations adopted under division (B)(3) of section 307.37 of the Revised Code regarding existing surface or subsurface drainage, or household sewage treatment rules adopted under section 3718.02 of the Revised Code, it shall approve the proposed division within seven business days after its submission and, on presentation of a conveyance of the parcel, shall stamp the conveyance "approved by (planning authority); no plat required" and have it signed by its clerk, secretary, or other official as may be designated by it. The planning authority may require the submission of a sketch and other information that is pertinent to its determination under this division.

(B) For a period of up to two years after the effective date of this amendment , the rules adopted under section 711.05, 711.09, or 711.10 of the Revised Code may be amended within that period to authorize the planning authority involved to approve proposed divisions of parcels of land without plat under this division. If an authority so amends its rules, it may approve no more than five lots without a plat from an original tract as that original tract exists on the effective date of the amendment to the rules. The authority shall make the findings and approve a proposed division in the time and manner specified in division (A) of this section.

(C) This section does not apply to parcels subject to section 711.133 of the Revised Code.

(D) As used in this section, "business day" means a day of the week excluding Saturday, Sunday, or a legal holiday as defined in section 1.14 of the Revised Code.

Section 711.132 | Effective date of planning commission rules.
 

No rule or regulation of a planning commission adopted pursuant to this chapter, including any rule adopted under section 711.133 of the Revised Code, shall become effective until it has been approved, after public hearing, by the legislative authority of the municipal corporation in the case of a municipal planning commission or by the board of county commissioners in the case of a regional or county planning commission.

Section 711.133 | Procedure for approval of qualifying division without plat.
 

(A) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in sections 711.001 to 711.13 of the Revised Code, rules may be adopted and amended that require a proposed division of a parcel of land along an existing public street, not involving the opening, widening, or extension of any street or road, and involving the establishment of any lot that meets acreage requirements under division (B) of this section, to be submitted to the planning authority having approving jurisdiction of plats under section 711.05, 711.09, or 711.10 of the Revised Code for approval without plat in accordance with this section. The rules shall provide that, if the authority acting through a properly designated representative finds that a proposed division is not contrary to any applicable zoning, health, sanitary, or access management regulations, regulations adopted under division (B)(3) of section 307.37 of the Revised Code regarding existing surface or subsurface drainage, including, but not limited to, rules governing household sewage disposal systems, or regulations adopted under division (D) of this section, it shall approve the proposed division within the applicable timeframe listed in division (F) of this section and, on presentation of a conveyance of the parcel, shall stamp the conveyance "approved by (planning authority); no plat required" and have it signed by its clerk, secretary, or other official as may be designated by it. For purposes of this division, "household sewage disposal system" has the same meaning as in section 3709.091 of the Revised Code.

(B) Rules adopted under this section shall designate the size range of parcels to be approved in compliance with this section; parcels may be in a range of not less than four acres and not more than twenty acres. If the designated size range includes any parcels of four to five acres in size, the rules shall state that the proposed division shall not be considered a subdivision for purposes of division (B)(1) of section 711.001 of the Revised Code and need only be approved as specified in division (A) of this section and the rules adopted under this section.

(C) Rules adopted under this section shall exempt from the approval requirements of this section parcels of land to be used only for agricultural or personal recreational purposes. On the presentation of a conveyance of such a parcel, the authority's designated representative shall stamp the conveyance "no approval or plat required under R.C. 711.133; for agricultural or personal recreational use only" and have it signed by its clerk, secretary, or other official as the authority may designate. Nothing in this division excludes, or shall be construed as excluding, parcels that are exempt under this division as being used only for agricultural or personal recreational purposes, from the provisions of this chapter for any future divisions or partitions of those parcels.

When parcels of land that are exempt under this division from the approval requirements of this section are subsequently to be used for other than agricultural or personal recreational purposes, the planning authority shall first determine that such a parcel complies with the rules adopted under this section.

(D) Rules adopted under this section may regulate lot frontage and width to depth ratios for parcels to be approved in compliance with this section, but those regulations shall apply to a parcel only if there is no applicable zoning regulation for lot frontage or width to depth ratios that apply to the parcel.

(E) Rules adopted under this section may require the submission of a sketch and other information that is pertinent to the authority's determination under this section.

(F) A proposed division subject to approval in accordance with this section shall be approved within one of the following timeframes:

(1) For proposed divisions into not more than six separate parcels, approval shall be within seven calendar days after its submission.

(2) For proposed divisions into more than six separate parcels but less than fifteen separate parcels, approval shall be within fourteen calendar days after its submission.

(3) For proposed divisions into fifteen parcels or more, approval shall be within twenty-one calendar days after its submission.

Section 711.14 | Planting of cornerstone - forfeiture.
 

Any person who lays out a village or an addition to a municipal corporation, and neglects to plant the cornerstones therein, or causes such village or addition to be surveyed or platted in any manner other than that prescribed in sections 711.01 to 711.13, inclusive, of the Revised Code, shall forfeit and pay one hundred dollars and costs of suit, to be recovered in a civil action in the name of the county treasurer, for the use of the county.

Section 711.15 | Disposal of lots - forfeiture.
 

Any person who disposes of, offers for sale, or leases for a time exceeding five years, any lot, or any part of a lot, in a subdivision with intent to violate sections 711.001 to 711.14, inclusive, of the Revised Code, shall forfeit and pay the sum of not less than ten nor more than five hundred dollars for each lot or part of a lot so sold, offered for sale, or leased, to be recovered, with costs, in a civil action, in the name of the county treasurer for the use of the county.

Section 711.151 | Exceptions.
 

Sections 711.001 to 711.151 of the Revised Code do not apply to conveyances executed and delivered prior to October 16, 1953 and to conveyances made in performance of executory contracts existing prior to October 16, 1953.

Section 711.16 | Directors to lay out village where county seat located.
 

The directors appointed by the court of common pleas to lay out a village, where a seat of justice is situated, shall be governed by sections 711.01 to 711.38, inclusive, of the Revised Code, and liable to the same forfeitures for violation of such sections as county recorders under section 729.05 of the Revised Code.

Section 711.17 | Vacation of plat.
 

Upon the application of two thirds of the proprietors of land described in a plat of a municipal corporation, the court of common pleas may alter or vacate the plat of any such municipal corporation, addition thereto, or parts thereof, within the county.

Section 711.18 | Application for vacating or altering plat - notice.
 

Applications for vacating or altering a plat, addition, or part thereof, shall be by petition in writing, filed with the clerk of the court of common pleas. The applicant shall give thirty days' notice thereof, by publication in a newspaper published in and of general circulation in the county. Such notice shall set forth briefly the part of the plat or addition to be vacated.

Section 711.19 | Vacation of plat by court action.
 

If the petitioners for the alteration or vacation of a plat under section 711.17 of the Revised Code produce to the court of common pleas satisfactory evidence that notice has been given as required by section 711.18 of the Revised Code, and that two thirds of the persons owning lots or parts thereof in a municipal corporation, part thereof, or addition thereto, or their authorized agents or attorneys, have made application to have the whole or a part of such municipal corporation or addition altered or vacated, the court may proceed to so alter or vacate. The vacation of a municipal corporation, addition, or part thereof, shall not vacate any part of a state or county highway.

Section 711.20 | Record - party defendant.
 

The proceedings for vacating or altering a plat under sections 711.17 to 711.19 of the Revised Code, shall be recorded by the clerk of the court of common pleas in the records of the court of common pleas. A copy of such record shall be made and certified, under the seal of the court, by the clerk thereof, and shall be deposited, by the parties applying for such vacation or alteration, within thirty days after such certification with the county recorder, who shall record it. At the term at which notice is given of such application, or at any subsequent term during the pendency of the application, any person feeling interested in the proceedings, upon motion, may be made a party defendant to the application, in which case, upon final hearing, the party succeeding shall have judgment against the other for the costs of the proceedings, and execution may issue therefor as in other cases.

Section 711.21 | Commons may be changed into streets.
 

On application made and notice given according to sections 711.17 and 711.18 of the Revised Code, the court of common pleas may change any commons included in the plat of a municipal corporation into streets, and cause such change to be recorded as provided by section 711.20 of the Revised Code.

Section 711.22 | Clerk's fees.
 

The clerk of the court of common pleas, for recording a plat required to be recorded under sections 711.17 to 711.21, inclusive, of the Revised Code, and for other services required of him, is entitled to the same fees as are allowed him for similar services.

Section 711.23 | Application for vacation and assessment of damages.
 

As used in this section, "incompetent person" means a person who is so mentally impaired, as a result of a mental or physical illness or disability, as a result of intellectual disability, or as a result of chronic substance abuse, that the person is incapable of taking proper care of the person's self or property or fails to provide for the person's family or other persons for whom the person is charged by law to provide.

If the court of common pleas is of the opinion that any person owning a lot in a plat, addition, or part thereof proposed to be vacated or altered, and not assenting to such vacation or alteration, will sustain damage thereby, it may proceed to hear proof in reference thereto, and may render judgment against the petitioners for such damages as it thinks proper and just, to be assessed ratably against the petitioners by the court, according to the value of the property owned by the petitioners as it stands taxed on the tax list of the county. When necessary, the court shall appoint a guardian ad litem for all minors or incompetent persons interested in the premises. The judgment of the court vacating such plat, addition, or parts thereof, shall be conditioned upon the payment of the damages thus assessed.

Section 711.24 | Changing of town lots.
 

Any person owning, either jointly or severally, and either in his own right or in trust, and having the legal title to any land laid out in town lots, not within the limits or subject to the control of a municipal corporation, may change such lots and the streets and alleys bounding them by making, acknowledging, and having recorded, as provided in sections 711.01 to 711.38, inclusive, of the Revised Code, a new plat of such land, and having the proper transfers made in the office of the county auditor. No such change shall be made if it injuriously affects any lots on the streets or alleys, or within the plat so changed, unless all the owners of the lots so affected are parties joining in making the change, or such owners give their consent in writing on the new plat, which is recorded therewith. Any change of a town plat made under this section shall have the same effect as if made by the judgment of a court having jurisdiction thereof.

Section 711.28 | Lots may be revised and renumbered.
 

Where the lots of a municipal corporation are not numbered consecutively upon the original plat thereof, the plats of additions thereto, or subdivisions thereof, the county auditor and county recorder, in conjunction with a person appointed by the mayor of such municipal corporation, may make a revision of the numbers of all the in-lots and out-lots of such municipal corporation as they stand upon the record, and renumber all the lots, so that the in-lots shall have but one consecutive series of numbers, beginning with the number one, and the out-lots shall have but one similar series of numbers, also beginning with the number one.

Section 711.29 | Mode of renumbering.
 

The county auditor and the county recorder, in conjunction with an associate appointed as provided by section 711.28 of the Revised Code, shall make a schedule of all the in-lots of a municipal corporation, beginning with the original plat thereof, by setting down the lots in the order of their numbers and placing opposite such old numbers the new numbers assigned thereto. There shall follow in such schedule, in the same manner, the plats of additions and subdivisions, according to their priority in date of record, so that the first column contains the old numbers of the in-lots in their consecutive order and the second column exhibits opposite such old numbers, the new numbers assigned to each of such lots. A schedule of the out-lots shall be made in the same manner. Such schedule shall accurately and distinctly indicate the plat in which such in-lot or out-lot originally stands upon record, and the auditor and recorder shall place such schedule on record in their respective offices.

Section 711.30 | New numbers shall be legal designation.
 

When the revision and renumbering of lots has been made, and the schedule thereof recorded as required by sections 711.28 and 711.29 of the Revised Code, such lots shall be assessed and entered upon the tax list for taxation according to their new numbers. In the assessment and collection of taxes the lots shall be known and designated by the new numbers given them, and conveyances of them made by the new numbers shall be sufficient to pass the title.

Section 711.31 | Payment of expenses.
 

When the revision and renumbering of lots are done at the request of a municipal corporation, the expenses shall be paid by such municipal corporation. The board of county commissioners of the county in which unincorporated territory is situated may direct the county auditor and county recorder to make such revision and renumbering and cause the expenses to be paid from the county treasury.

The board may direct such auditor and recorder to make such revision and renumbering of a village, if such board is of the opinion that it is necessary for convenience and efficiency in taxation.

Section 711.32 | Numbering of additions or subdivisions after revision.
 

After the revision of lot numbers in a municipal corporation is made and recorded as provided by sections 711.28 to 711.31, inclusive, of the Revised Code, each person who lays off lots as an addition to such municipal corporation, or who makes a subdivision of lots therein, shall number the lots so divided upon his plat in regular consecutive numbers, commencing with the next number after the highest number of such in-lots or out-lots, as ascertained by the county recorder from a careful examination of the original records and revisions.

Section 711.33 | Fees.
 

The county auditor, county recorder, and their associate, shall each receive two dollars per day for their services under sections 711.28 to 711.32, inclusive, of the Revised Code.

Section 711.34 | Application to supply lost or destroyed records.
 

Any ten persons, owning or interested in any lots of land in a municipal corporation, or the agents or attorneys of such persons, where the original plat of lands in such municipal corporation, or any addition thereto, has been recorded in the records of the county in which such municipal corporation is situated, and such records and original plat have been lost or destroyed, may make application in writing to the board of county commissioners to have such lost or destroyed records supplied, which application shall be filed with the county auditor.

Section 711.35 | Publication of notice.
 

Upon the filing of the application provided for in section 711.34 of the Revised Code, the county auditor shall give notice of the filing, by publication, for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county or as provided in section 7.16 of the Revised Code. The county auditor shall also notify the board of county commissioners of such filing.

Section 711.36 | Order by board to replat.
 

Upon the filing of the application and the giving of notice, as required in sections 711.34 and 711.35 of the Revised Code, the board of county commissioners shall forthwith employ a competent surveyor, who, after being sworn to well and faithfully discharge the duties assigned him, shall proceed to replat such municipal corporation according to the original plan or plat thereof. To enable him to find more easily the lines and corners of streets, lanes, alleys, and lots, the surveyor may call and examine witnesses, under oath or otherwise. When he has fully performed all the duties assigned him, and has made a plat of such municipal corporation, he shall make and attach his certificate to such plat that it is a correct copy of the original plat of the municipal corporation, as he verily believes, together with the costs and expenses of making the plat, and shall forthwith file it with the county auditor.

Section 711.37 | Record of plat and certificate.
 

Upon the filing of the plat and certificate by the surveyor as required by section 711.36 of the Revised Code, the board of county commissioners shall cause them to be recorded in the office of the county recorder, and such record, or a copy thereof, certified by the recorder, is prima-facie evidence of the plat of the municipal corporation in all the courts of this state.

Section 711.38 | Record of proceedings.
 

The county auditor shall keep a complete record of the proceedings under sections 711.34 to 711.37, inclusive, of the Revised Code, in the journal of the board of county commissioners. The surveyor shall be paid for his services from the county fund, on the order of the auditor, such fees as are allowed by law for similar services.

Section 711.39 | Vacating plat by legislative authority.
 

Upon the institution of proceedings by the legislative authority of a municipal corporation, the board of county commissioners of a county, the department of transportation of the state, or an individual, partnership, or corporation in the court of common pleas, for the vacation of any public streets, alley, avenue, lane, road, boulevard, driveway, or other public way, or any portion thereof, in a village, or addition to or subdivision in a municipal corporation, a plat, map or other plane representation showing such public way sought to be vacated, and all intersecting or connective public ways, shall be prepared and certified to by a licensed surveyor or engineer, and shall form a part of the petition and proceedings for such vacation. Any such public way sought to be vacated shall be shown on said plat by measurements, descriptions, coloring, hatched lines, or other method of identification to distinguish the extent, limit, width, and area of the public way or parts thereof sought to be vacated from those not vacated.

Such plat, map, or plane representation shall be transferred in the office of the county auditor and recorded in the office of the county recorder of the county in which said land is located in the same manner as are plats originally transferred and recorded.

Upon the filing of said plat, map, or plane representation with the county recorder, a cross reference to the record of the vacated portion of the plat shall be made by the recorder on the original plat of the village, or addition to or subdivision in the municipal corporation by which the dedication was made.

Upon the institution of proceedings to vacate platted lots of a village, or addition to or subdivision in a municipal corporation for the purpose of returning such lots as acreage to the tax duplicate, the same procedure shall be required.

Section 711.40 | Platting rules do not apply to division of parcel of land by instrument of conveyance.
 

Unless required by rules and regulations adopted pursuant to the provisions of sections 711.05, 711.09 and 711.10 of the Revised Code, the provisions of sections 711.01 to 711.39, inclusive, of the Revised Code, shall not apply to the division of any parcel of land by an instrument of conveyance.