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Plat
PLATS - WITHOUT PLANNING COMMISSIONS
A deed and a plat are two legal instruments that relate to each other. Therefore, it can be argued that many of the requirements for a deed are also requirements for a plat. Refer to OAG 83-237 “…A deed is a present grant of an interest in real estate. 26 C.J.S., Deeds, §1, pp. 581-582. The court said in Terrill v. Kentucky Block Cannel Coal Co., 290 Ky. 35, 160 S.W.2d 326 (1942), that if the effect of an instrument, regardless of what it is called, is to sever the estate and to vest title to a certain part of it in another, it is a deed. A deed to be valid must pass some present interest vesting in the grantee upon delivery thereof. Spicer v. Spicer, 314 Ky. 560, 236 S.W.2d 474 (1951). Of course, a deed, to be valid, must contain a description of the property to be conveyed. The test as to sufficiency of description in a deed is whether the land can actually be located therefrom. Casteel v. Pennington, 228 Ky. 206, 14 S.W.2d 753 (1929).
The statutes provide the following document requirements for a plat:
• The plat cannot exceed 24 inches x 36 inches in size (KRS 100.283).
• The plat requires the surveyor’s certification, signed and dated and his seal. (KRS 322.400)
The statutes do not give additional specific requirements for plats, however the fact that a survey or plat describes the land, it is presumed that the survey or plat must have:
• The owner’s signed certification; signature must be notarized
• Source of title
The purpose of a plat or survey is to provide a map of the property. Land Survey is defined in KRS 322.010. Part of the definition includes:
a. Determination or establishment of the facts of size, shape, topography, and acreage;
c. Subdivision, division and consolidation of lands;
f. Preparation of physical written description for use in legal instruments of conveyance or real property and property rights;
g. Preparation of subdivision record plats
PLATS WITH PLANNING COMMISSION
KRS 100.283. The County Clerk shall record plats after approval by the planning commission.
The document requires:
• The plat must have the approval of the planning commission and the commission’s certification signed and dated. (KRS 100.277)
• The plat requires the surveyor’s certification, signed and dated and his seal. (KRS 322.400)
• The plat cannot exceed 24 inches x 36 inches in size (KRS 100.283).
The statutes do not give additional specific requirements for plats, however the fact that a survey or plat describes the land, it is presumed that the survey or plat must have:
• The owner’s signature
• Source of title
Planning commissions can provide additional regulations governing recording requirements, such as:
• The size of the document may be smaller than the statute indicates.
Additional expenses can be charged if a planning commission is involved. For example: an expense fee for having the mylar reproduced as a blue line by the county engineer.
PLATS - CONDOMINIUM (FLOOR PLANS)
Simultaneously with the recording of the Master Deed (Lease) there shall be filed in the office of the county clerk a set of the floor plans of the building or buildings. KRS 381.835
Condo Plats (Floor Plans) require:
• The layout, location, unit numbers and dimensions of the units,
• The name of the property or that it has no name,
• Certification from a registered architect or professional engineer that the plans fully and accurately depict the layout, location, unit numbers and dimensions of the units as built.
• If the plans do not include a verified statement by such architect or engineer that such plans fully and accurately depict the layout, location, unit numbers and dimensions of the units as built, there shall be recorded prior to the first conveyance of any unit an amendment to the declaration to which shall be attached a verified statement of a registered architect or professional engineer so certifying as to the plans theretofore filed, or being filed simultaneously with such amendment.
Recording/Indexing Requirements:
• The plans shall be kept by the recording officer in a separate file for each property,
• Indexed in the same manner as a conveyance entitled to record,
• Numbered serially in the order of receipt,
• Designated "condominium ownership"
• The name of the property, if any,
• Reference to the recording of the declaration.
Condominium plats (floor plans) are not required to go through the planning commission, but an ordinance may direct the county clerk to only accept plats from the planning commission. This is the case in Fayette County.
However additional expense fees may be charged as similar to the plats if the planning commission requires consistency for the preparation of a blue line.
