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West Haven council adopts change shifting amended-subdivision approvals to planning commission
Summary
The council approved Ordinance O1-2025 to align city code with recent state legislation, making the planning commission the land-use authority for amended subdivision plats and keeping local safeguards against flag lots and unwanted densification in place.
The West Haven City Council on a unanimous roll call adopted Ordinance O1-2025, amending Chapter 156 of the city code to make the planning commission the approval authority for amended subdivision plats.
The change aligns the city’s ordinance with recent state legislation (SB 174 and HB 406) that shifts approval authority for most subdivision actions to administrative land-use bodies. "So tonight, the ordinance in front of you is changing the approval of the land use authority for amended subdivision plats," Steven, the city’s community development director, said during his presentation.
Council and staff said the change reflects current practice and clarifies the code. Steven told the council the city’s practice had already been to use the planning commission as the approval authority after the state bills passed, but the written code still required both the planning commission and city council to act. The ordinance removes the council from the required approval step for amended plats and cites state standards (10-9a-608 and 10-9a-609) that govern amended-plat contents and process.
Council members raised concerns about the possibility that allowing amended plats to be approved administratively could increase neighborhood density or create flag lots. Steven said the city code already addresses those risks: the code’s flag-lot provision prohibits using an amended plat to create a flag lot inside a recorded subdivision, and minimum-lot-size provisions in the A-1 and A-2 zones (A-1 minimum: 20,000 square feet) contain limits that prevent increasing density in many established neighborhoods unless a parcel meets larger-area thresholds.
Council members also asked whether the city could create a "hybrid" land-use authority or appoint another body by ordinance. Steven said state code allows a city to designate the land-use authority by ordinance and that staff could not unilaterally create such a committee without council action.
After questions, a council member moved to approve the ordinance and the council carried the motion on a roll-call vote.
The ordinance will alter the approval path for amended subdivision plats, but staff and council emphasized that other code provisions will continue to control lot configuration, frontage and minimum sizes.
