Senate Bill 2423

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 17-1-23, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A SUBDIVISION PLAT; TO CREATE REQUIREMENTS FOR RECORDATION; TO CREATE REQUIREMENTS FOR CHALLENGE; TO PROVIDE DEFENSES; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Section 17-1-23, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

17-1-23. (1) When new subdivisions are laid out, the governing authority of each municipality or county may, before allowing dedication, impose such terms as may be deemed necessary to make the provisions of Sections 17-1-1 through 17-1-27, inclusive, effective, and such governing authorities may receive easements in the land affected whereby such sections may be made effective.

(2) The board of supervisors of any county may order that no plat of a subdivision shall be recorded until it has been approved by the board of supervisors, and the board of supervisors shall have power to require the installation of utilities and laying out of streets in subdivisions or to accept performance bonds in lieu thereof; the board of supervisors of any county bordering on the State of Tennessee having a population of more than sixty-seven thousand nine hundred (67,900) but less than seventy thousand (70,000) according to the 1990 federal census and having a land area of more than four hundred seventy (470) square miles but less than five hundred (500) square miles may also, in lieu thereof, require the deposit of monies with the county which shall be placed in a special interest-bearing account in the county treasury, and such board of supervisors at the appropriate time shall spend monies from such account solely for the purpose of constructing or improving the roads and other infrastructure within the subdivision with respect to which the deposit or deposits were made.

(3) The governing authorities of a municipality may provide that any person desiring to subdivide a tract of land within the corporate limits shall submit a map and plat of such subdivision, and a correct abstract of title of the land platted, to said governing authorities, to be approved by them before the same shall be filed for record in the land records of the county; and where the municipality has adopted an ordinance so providing, no such map or plat of any such subdivision shall be recorded by the chancery clerk unless same has been approved by said governing authorities. In all cases where a map or plat of the subdivision is submitted to the governing authorities of a municipality, and is by them approved, all streets, roads, alleys and other public ways set forth and shown on said map or plat shall be thereby dedicated to the public use, and shall not be used otherwise unless and until said map or plat is vacated in the manner provided by law, notwithstanding that said streets, roads, alleys or other public ways have not been actually opened for the use of the public. If any easement dedicated pursuant to the provisions of this section for a street, road, alley or other public purpose is determined to be not needed for the public purpose, the easement may be declared abandoned, and ownership of the fee underlying the easement shall revert, regardless of the date of dedication, to the adjoining property owner or owners at the time of abandonment. Ownership of such easement shall extend to the centerline of said abandoned street, road or public way. Such abandonment and reversion shall not affect any private easements which might exist.

(4) If the owner of any land which shall have been laid off, mapped or platted as a city, town or village, or addition thereto, or subdivision thereof, or other platted area, whether inside or outside a municipality, desires to alter or vacate such map or plat, or any part thereof, he may petition the board of supervisors of the county or the governing authorities of the municipality for relief in the premises, setting forth the particular circumstances of the case and giving an accurate description of the property, the map or plat of which is to be vacated or altered and the names of the persons to be adversely affected thereby or directly interested therein. However, before taking such action, the parties named shall be made aware of the action and must agree in writing to the vacation or alteration. Failure to gain approval from the parties named shall prohibit the board of supervisors or governing authorities from altering or vacating the map or plat, or any part thereof. Any alterations of a plat or map must be recorded in the appropriate location and a note shall be placed on the original plat denoting the altered or revised plat. No land shall be subdivided nor shall the map or plat of any land be altered or vacated in violation of any duly recorded covenant running with the land. Any municipality which shall approve such a vacation or alteration pursuant to this section shall be exempt from the sale of surplus real property provisions as set forth in Section 21-17-1.

(5) (a) A subdivision plat that is presented to the chancery clerk for recording must conform to the provisions of Sections 19-27-21 through 19-27-27, and shall not be accepted for recording unless it contains or is accompanied by the following documents:

(i) A duly signed and acknowledged statement by the record owners that the plat is prepared with their free consent and in accordance with their desire. If the dedication is approved by the governing body, the owners' statement may also include a dedication to the public of all lands within the plat that are designated for streets, alleys, parks, open areas, school property or other public use.

(ii) A duly signed and acknowledged statement from the lienholders, if any, that the plat is prepared with their free consent and in accordance with their desire. When a lienholder consents to the subdivision, a release must be recorded for any areas conveyed to the governing body or dedicated to the public.

(iii) A duly signed and acknowledged statement by an attorney-at-law who has examined an abstract of title back to the original land patent for the real property being platted, stating the names of the record owners and holders of any deeds of trust, liens, or other encumbrances on the real property being platted. For the purposes of this section, utility easements shall not be construed to be encumbrances.

(b) If real property is or has been laid off, mapped or platted, whether inside or outside a municipality, the recorded plat thereof is conclusive evidence that the person offering the plat for recordation was the owner of the surface estate of the real property at the time the plat was recorded, and that the real property platted was free and clear of all encumbrances except those reflected on the face of the plat or in a separate affidavit filed within ninety (90) days after the date the plat was recorded, if: (i) any lot or a subdivision of the lots has been conveyed after the plat was recorded; (ii) the plat has been of record for more than ten (10) years; and (iii) the plat has not been vacated.

(c) An appearance of insufficiency shall not affect the conclusiveness of the plat, and the plat is deemed ratified as of the date of the recording of the plat to the same extent as if the plat did not appear insufficient if the requirements of paragraph (b) are met. The following constitute an appearance of insufficiency for purposes of this paragraph (c):

(i) Failure to show or a deficiency in a certificate of the surveyor, a certificate or approval of any governing body, or any acknowledgement;

(ii) Failure to fully comply with ordinance provisions in effect at the time of the recording of the plat; or

(iii) Failure to show or a deficiency in a signature or acknowledgment of an owner or lienholder as provided by law.

(d) From and after July 1, 2020, no action or suit shall be brought on any cause to establish, enforce, or recover any right, title, interest, lien, or condition existing at the time a plat was recorded that is adverse to the title reflected in a plat that is recorded on or after July 1, 2020, unless the action or suit is brought within ten (10) years after the date the plat was recorded in the official land records of the office of the chancery clerk in which such real property is located.

(e) From and after July 1, 2020, no action or suit shall be brought on any cause to establish, enforce, or recover any right, title, interest, lien, or condition existing at the time a plat was recorded that is adverse to the title reflected in a plat recorded before July 1, 2020, unless on or before July 1, 2030, there is filed in the official land records of the office of the chancery clerk of the county in which the real property is located a written statement, acknowledged by the claimant, definitively describing the real property involved, stating the nature and extent of the right or interest claimed, and stating the facts upon which the claim is based.

( * * *56) Subdivision regulation under this section shall not conflict with Article VII of the Chickasaw Trail Economic Development Compact described in Section 57-36-1.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2020.