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Des Moines County waives subdivision review after misrecorded plat
Summary
The Board of Supervisors approved Resolution 2025-005 to waive a subdivision-ordinance requirement after staff found a recorded plat and subsequent deed showed the parcel was combined with a much smaller property than originally represented.
Des Moines County supervisors on Jan. 21 approved Resolution 2025-005 waiving a subdivision-ordinance review for a parcel whose recorded plat and subsequent deed diverged, a county staff member said.
The waiver, which the board adopted unanimously, resolves an inconsistency in the chain of title after a plat recorded in September described Parcel E as being combined with an adjacent Parcel B (an 80-plus-acre property), while a later deed transferred Parcel E to a different adjoining owner whose property was about 5 acres — a change that made the transfer exceed the county’s 50% sizing rule and therefore trigger subdivision review.
County planning staff explained that based on the surveyor’s information provided when the plat was filed, staff believed the transfer qualified for an exemption to the subdivision ordinance. After the deed was recorded and the larger-than-expected change became apparent, staff recommended a waiver so the recorded plat would match the practical chain of title without requiring a new minor-subdivision filing and review.
Greg (staff), who presented the background and staff report to supervisors, said the recorded plat included a statement that Parcel E was to be combined with Parcel B to the west, but the deed showed the parcel had been transferred to a different, much smaller property to the east. Greg recommended the waiver to avoid redoing the survey and subdivision review given the circumstances.
Supervisor Tom Brooker, Supervisor Shane McCampbell and Supervisor Jim Carey each voted yes to adopt the resolution.
Greg told the board the county will change its process to avoid similar problems in the future, saying, "in any situation where it appears that that 50% rule may come into play, we will insist on hearing it directly from the person doing the subdividing and not through a third‑party surveyor," to reduce miscommunication.
The waiver recognizes the parcel as recorded but does not rewrite past deeds; it clears the immediate title-chain inconsistency so county records reflect the surveyed parcel as filed. The board’s action assigns no retrofit subdivision reviews for past transactions beyond the specific parcel at issue.
