(a) Except where the county commission is responsible for the regulation of subdivision regulations within the territorial jurisdiction of a municipal planning commission pursuant to Section 11-52-30, the municipal planning commission shall adopt subdivision regulations governing the subdivision of land within its jurisdiction. The regulations may provide for the proper arrangement of streets in relation to other existing or planned streets and to the master plan, for adequate and convenient open spaces for traffic, utilities, access of fire-fighting apparatus, recreation, light and air and for the avoidance of congestion of population, including minimum width and area of lots. The regulations may include provisions as to the extent to which streets and other ways shall be graded and improved and to which water and sewer and other utility mains, piping, or other facilities shall be installed as a condition precedent to the approval of the plat. The regulations or practice of the municipal planning commission may provide for a tentative approval of the plat previous to the installation, but any tentative approval shall be revocable and shall not be entered on the plat. In lieu of the completion of the improvements and utilities prior to the final approval of the plat, the municipal planning commission may accept a bond with surety to secure to the municipality the actual construction and installation of the improvements or utilities at a time and according to specifications fixed by or in accordance with the regulations of the municipal planning commission. The municipality is hereby granted the power to enforce the bond by all appropriate legal and equitable remedies.
Terms Used In Alabama Code 11-52-31
Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
Precedent: A court decision in an earlier case with facts and law similar to a dispute currently before a court. Precedent will ordinarily govern the decision of a later similar case, unless a party can show that it was wrongly decided or that it differed in some significant way.
Probate: Proving a will
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, regulations adopted by a municipal planning commission may authorize administrative approval of a minor subdivision without a public hearing. A minor subdivision consists of the subdivision of land into not more than six lots or a reduction of the number of lots in an existing subdivision. The developer of a minor subdivision approved by the municipal planning commission shall not require any public improvements, the dedication of a public way, or the expenditure of any public funds, and the plan for the minor subdivision shall not conflict with the master plan, official zoning map, any zoning ordinance, or any other subdivision regulations. This subsection does not require a municipal planning commission to authorize approval of a minor subdivision without first holding a public hearing.(c) All regulations shall be published as provided by law for the publication of ordinances, and before adoption a public hearing shall be held thereon. A copy thereof shall be certified by the municipal planning commission to the probate judge of the county in which the municipality and territory are located.
