§ 335 — Filing of maps and abandonment of subdivisions in Suffolk county; penalty for nonfiling

§ 335. Filing of maps and abandonment of subdivisions in Suffolk\ncounty; penalty for nonfiling. 1. It shall be the duty of every person\nor corporation, excepting church cemetery organizations, attached to a\nreligious parish within the county of Suffolk, who as owner or agent\nsubdivides real property in Suffolk county into lots, plots, blocks or\nsites, with or without streets, for the purpose of offering such lots,\nplots, blocks or sites for sale to the public, regardless of how they\nare conveyed, to file or cause to be filed in the office of the county\nclerk of Suffolk county a map thereof together with a certificate of the\nsurveyor endorsed on the face of such map certifying same to have been\nmade from an actual survey of the property that was performed by or\nunder the direction of said surveyor and the date of the completion of\nthe survey. Said certificate shall state that stone or concrete\nmonuments have been set at not less than two corners of every street\nintersection as indicated on such map, provided, however, that where the\nplanning board or other governmental agency having jurisdiction over the\napproval of said maps has required the subdivider to deposit with the\ntown or local governing body a performance bond or bonds to secure the\ninstallation and completion of all site improvements, including setting\nstone or concrete monuments in the streets as aforesaid, and\nsimultaneously with the filing of said map the subdivider files with the\ncounty clerk a written certification from the town or local governing\nbody that such bond or bonds have been duly deposited and accepted by\nthe town or local governing body and that said bond or bonds expressly\ninclude the setting of stone or concrete monuments as aforesaid, the\nsaid surveyor's certificate may state that stone or concrete monuments\nwill be set at not less than two corners of every street intersection as\nindicated on such map upon completion of the installation of said\nstreets and that the surveyor shall execute and deliver a further\nwritten certification of the completion of such monumentation to both\nthe county clerk and the town or local governing body prior to and as a\ncondition for the release of said performance bond or bonds. All lots\nand blocks on such map shall be numbered consecutively. Said map shall\nset forth the courses, measurements and adjoining property owners with\nsufficient definiteness to determine the location of said property and\nthe name of the subdivision as stated by the owner. Said name must\ndiffer from any name already filed with the county clerk and must be\napproved by the county clerk before the acceptance of the map. At the\ntime of the filing of such map there shall also be furnished to the\ncounty clerk two copies of such map for each town and village in which\nany portion of the mapped property is located. Such copies shall be duly\ncertified by him to be true copies of the original and one certified\ncopy shall be forwarded by said county clerk to the assessor or board of\nassessors, as the case may be, of each town or village in which any\nportion of said property is located. At the time of filing such map with\nthe county clerk an abstract of title of all of the property shown on\nsaid map which shall cover a period of not less than the twenty years\nlast past the date it is submitted, certified by an attorney and\ncounselor at law of the state of New York, a title company duly\nincorporated and authorized to transact business in the state of New\nYork or a competent searcher of titles, shall be presented to said\ncounty clerk, and be filed in his office, unless the title to said\nproperty has been duly registered pursuant to the provisions of the real\nproperty law for the registration of titles to real property, in which\ncase this fact shall be set forth upon the original map together with\nthe number of the certificate of the title so registered. An index of\nsuch abstracts and registrations shall be maintained to clearly indicate\nthe maps to which they refer. In the case of a tax title, the fee title\nfor a period of at least twenty years prior to the date of the tax sale\nunder which title is claimed must be submitted as a part of the\nabstract. A key map, made to the scale of six hundred feet to one inch,\nmust appear on all maps submitted and must show one or more monuments in\nthe tract definitely tied to a given point or a monument set at the\npoint of the intersection of the side lines (as prolonged, if there is a\ncurve) of two established highways; said point or monument shall be that\nwhich is nearest the proposed subdivision and shall not require a\nmeasurement to be made across any portion of an established highway. No\nre-mapping of subdivided property will be accepted for filing until\nthere has been filed with the county clerk a certificate of abandonment\nand cancellation of the original map or the portion thereof to be\nabandoned and cancelled in accordance with the provisions of this act.\nBefore a map will be eligible for filing, a certificate of the county\ntreasurer of Suffolk county or the report of a tax search by a licensed\ntitle company must be submitted by the party presenting the map for\nfiling as a part of the abstract of title showing the payment in full of\nall taxes due and payable at the date of filing. Such maps and abstracts\nof title shall be filed as aforesaid and a copy of said map filed in the\noffice of the clerk of each town or village where any portion of said\nproperty is located prior to the offering for sale of any lot, plot,\nblock or site thereon. All such maps must be printed or drawn upon\ntracing cloth or linen or printed on mylar and must be of a standard\nsize of eighteen inches by twenty inches or thirty-six inches by twenty\ninches and the original of such maps filed in said county clerk's office\nshall be placed and kept by some suitable method in consecutive order,\nbe consecutively numbered in the order of filing and shall be indexed\nunder the initial letters of all of the substantives in the title of the\nsubdivision. However, he may maintain a record of such maps in a\nmicrofilm format provided he supplies facilities for displaying said\nmaps through projection with microfilm to the aforesaid standard sizes.\nThe fee of the county clerk for such filing, certifying and indexing\neach map and copy thereof, and abstract of title therewith and\nforwarding copies of said map to the assessors, boards of assessors and\nclerks of the towns and villages where the property therein described is\nlocated, shall be ten dollars and be paid by the party presenting them\nfor filing. Failure to file any such map as required by the provisions\nof this section shall subject the owner of such subdivision or of the\nunsold lots therein, to a penalty to the people of the state of New York\nof two hundred fifty dollars for each and every lot therein sold and\nconveyed by or for such owner prior to the due filing of such map and\nabstract of title as aforesaid. The requirements as provided for in this\nsection may be applied to the filing of each and every kind of map\nsubmitted for filing which is not a subdivision map of real property, at\nthe discretion of the county clerk, and the filing fee of ten dollars\nshall be paid for the filing of any non-subdivision map so submitted.\n 2. Every such subdivision map of property in any of the towns of\nSuffolk county located wholly or partly outside an incorporated village\nin such towns, shall, before the filing thereof, as hereinbefore\nprovided, have indorsed on the face thereof in writing the approval of\nthe planning board of such towns, or in the towns not having planning\nboards, the approval of the town board. Likewise, every such subdivision\nmap of property located wholly or partly within an incorporated village,\nshall before the filing thereof, as hereinbefore provided, have endorsed\non the face thereof in writing the approval of the planning board of\nsuch village, or in a village not having a planning board, the approval\nof the board of trustees. In addition, every such subdivision map of\nproperty in any of the towns of the county of Suffolk, whether located\nwholly or partly, inside or outside, an incorporated village in such\ntowns, shall before the filing thereof, as hereinbefore provided, have\nendorsed on the face thereof in writing the approval of the county\ndepartment of health.\n 3. Whenever at least two years have elapsed since the filing of a map\nof the subdivision of any tract of land into lots, plots, blocks or\nsites, with or without opened or proposed roads, the owner of such\ntract, or of any part thereof, may abandon and cancel the subdivision of\nthe property so owned by recording in the office of the county clerk a\nwritten certificate of abandonment, duly executed and acknowledged,\nwhich shall contain a description of the property to be abandoned, the\ncomplete title or name of the map, the filing date and file number\nthereof, except that no opened or proposed streets, other than those\nentirely within the bounds of the property to be abandoned, or the area\nwithin such bounds of streets which as laid out on said map come to a\ndead-end within such bounds, shall be abandoned unless each owner of a\nlot or interest in the subdivision consents to the abandonment thereof\nby instrument in writing duly executed, acknowledged and recorded with\nthe certificate of abandonment; provided, however, that whenever at\nleast twenty years have elapsed since the filing of said map, the owner\nof the property to be abandoned may, without such consent, abandon any\nstreets or portions thereof shown on said map and which are within the\nbounds of the property to be abandoned if such streets or portions\nthereof are neither opened, nor public highways, nor used by the public,\nnor necessary for the use of owners, occupants or any other persons\nhaving an interest in any part of the subdivision; but nothing herein\nshall prevent an owner using or a seller of land from conveying part of\na lot, plot or site separately or together with an adjoining lot, plot\nor site, subject to the provisions of local zoning ordinances. Whenever\nthere is on file more than one map of the property to be abandoned, such\nproperty must be abandoned in the manner herein provided as to each of\nsuch maps. A copy of each certificate of abandonment must be filed with\nthe assessor and/or board of assessors of each town and village wherein\nany portion of the property to be abandoned is situated, and the\nendorsement of approval by each such assessor and/or board of assessors\nmust be endorsed on the original of each certificate presented to the\ncounty clerk for recording. An abstract of title to the property to be\nabandoned covering a period of at least twenty years last past, and a\ncertificate of the county treasurer of Suffolk county to the effect that\nthere are no unpaid tax liens against such property, must be submitted\nto the county clerk and be approved by him at the time the certificate\nof abandonment and cancellation is offered for recording. Said\ncertificates and abstracts shall be filed in the county clerk's office,\na suitable index shall be kept of the same, and notice thereof shall be\nendorsed by the recording officer upon the map therein referred to at\nthe time of recording the certificate of abandonment. Where the\nendorsement of approval of the town or village assessor above referred\nto includes a recitation to the effect that the municipality has duly\nadopted an urban renewal plan pursuant to article fifteen of the general\nmunicipal law which plan provides for adequate street access to all\nproperties within and adjacent to the planning area, and further that\nthe property to be abandoned is subject to said plan, and its\nabandonment is required thereunder, the clerk shall accept and record\nthe certificate of abandonment tendered therefor regardless of the area\nthereof, and notwithstanding that the property to be abandoned is a\nportion of an opened or proposed street for which the consent to the\nabandonment thereof required in this subdivision has not been obtained.\nUpon the abandonment of subdivided property as herein provided such\nproperty shall, for all purposes, be regarded as a single tract of land.\nNo abandonment of lot divisions shall be made under this section for the\npurpose of reviving or making effective any other subdivision of the\nsame tract of land and no map may be reinstated as it was prior to the\nfiling of any abandonment certificate. The fee of the county clerk for\nsuch filing and indexing each certificate and abstract therewith shall\nbe ten dollars and shall be paid by the party presenting them for\nfiling. Provided, however, that the Suffolk county board of supervisors\nshall have full authority to abandon any subdivision of property or any\nportion thereof which the county of Suffolk now owns or may hereafter\nacquire through the sale of tax liens, by causing to be filed with the\ncounty clerk of Suffolk county, a certificate of abandonment, duly\nexecuted by the said county board, without regard to any of the other\nforegoing requirements of this section. Nothing contained in this\nsection shall be construed to prevent the filing of a new map and\ncertificate of a subdivision of real property in the manner prescribed\nherein, after, and in the area of, a subdivision or portion thereof\nabandoned in accordance with the provisions of this section.\n